Of course, radar guns werent around back then, so a test was set up: the plan was for a motorcycle traveling at a speed of 86-miles-per-hour to pass Feller at the exact moment he threw at a target 60 feet, six inches away. Bob Feller was a 35-year-old veteran of 15 major-league seasons in 1954 when the Cleveland Indians won 111 games and swept to the American League pennant by eight games over the New York Yankees. He debuted in the major leagues at age 17, and he dominated the competition. I saw a documentary called Fastball on Netflix where they combined scientific analyses with interviews of old players who had faced old time pitchers. His fastball had lost a good deal of its luster and manager Al Lopez had reportedly wanted to release him during spring training. However, this time the speed was measured right at home plate. We met Bob years ago and he graciously gave us his autograph.Incidently, my brothers name is Bob Feller, who we nicknamed "Rapid" because he walked so fast, but definitely couldn't throw a ball like the real Bob Feller.Our sympathy goes out to his family and friends. Feller was born and raised with his sister Marry, in Van Meter, Iowa.His father, William, ran the 360-acre (150 ha) family farm, and his mother Lena was a teacher and registered nurse. Early life [edit | edit source]. Bob Feller was dubbed The Heater from Van Meter for his four-seamer. He struck out 15 in his next game, in August against the Browns. His fastball was fast and fuzzy; it didn't go in a Six times, he won 20 or more games in a season, and he set new standards as a strikeout artist. Or, if necessary, buckle your knees with a nasty curve. Feller was clocked at 100 mph in several better tests than the one Johnson took. What Feller lost off his fastball during the war was negligible. Favorite Answer. On August 20, 1946 almost 70 years ago Bob Feller threw what was being called in the papers a world record fastball. Before his start against Washington, the U.S. Army had set up at home plate some sort of unwieldy contraption that was variously called a At that moment in U.S. history, Feller was just about the most famous ballplayer, certainly the most famous pitcher, in the land. Biographical Information [] "Feller was the fastest pitcher I've ever seen, and he had the best curveball I've ever seen." And that leads us to part two of that story. I have to go with Bob Feller. Adjusting Fellers pitch to align with todays standard, he was closer to 107.6 mph. Maybe it did have to happen sometime, but that doesn't meant it has to happen again. - Jim Hegan Nicknamed "Rapid Robert", Bob Feller was regarded as one of the hardest throwing pitchers of his era, and his blazing fastball set the standard against which all of his successors have been judged. Last year, at 22, McDowell struck out 325 batters in 273 innings, 23 strikeouts short of Bob Feller's American League record. Bob Feller was measured at 98.6 MPH. How fast could he really throw a baseball? He had simply pitched too many innings. Throwing the ball 90+ MPH is not a rare event at the upper levels of the game. Randy Johnsons heater instilled fear and exploded birds. I knew he was something special. Feller also won medals for his service as a Bob Feller rose with courage in baseball and World War II. Bob Feller's Famous Motorcycle Test By Tim Wendel - Author, Historian December 16, 2010 Bob Feller agreed to the stunt because he was as curious as everybody else. Some time later, 1945 or '46, I think, Yankee Stadium had a special treat between games of a This seems much more reasonable for a Bob Feller fastball than 115 mph or more. Feller's body disagrees. HOF Richie Ashburn said that Koufax either threw the fastest pitch he has ever seen, or he is going blind. Posted by 20 days ago. Feller also threw a pitch through a device as did Johnson. Answer Save. Consider the other article did say that in his prime he cranked it up over 100 mph. Sandy had to throw the ball over 100 mph many, many times during his career. https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=fellebo01 He threw 98.6 miles per hour. :6:4 Feller played catch daily with his father. There was article that asked over 100 MLB baseball players they said Nolan Ryan but then I came across another article that said Bob Feller throw harder. How good was Bob Feller? Presented are two such pieces: the very baseball thrown by Bob Feller in 1946 to set the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown, and the baseball thrown by Nolan Ryan in 1974 to break that record - a record that still stands today. Back in the 1940s, Indians ace -- and future Hall of Famer -- Bob Feller had his fastball velocity measured by Army ordnance equipment. Ryne Duren could throw the ball over 100 mph as well. Allie Reynolds was only clocked at 98, I believe. Bob Feller began his major league journey in 1936, at age 17, fresh off his familys farm in Van Meter, Iowa. Johnson was only 29 at the time of the test so he wasnt old when his fast ball started losing speed. No one ever put a radar gun on Sandy Koufax, while pitching anyway. He made his first major league start in August, striking out 15 St. Louis Browns. It also assumes that the time measured was accurate. In 1936, Feller was signed by Cy Slapnicka, a scout for the Indians, for one dollar and an autographed baseball. : 27 While scouting Feller, Slapnicka said, "This was a kid pitcher I had to get. Video: Hall of Fame Biography: Bob Feller. Bob Feller We'll never know exactly how fast Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller could throw, given the scarcity of radar guns back when he played, but it wasn't for lack of trying. It was during his rookie season that Feller earned the nickname Rapid Robert because of his devastating fastball and high strikeout totals. If anyone, Bob Feller was one human being who could, as they say, throw a hole through the wind. It does rely on the assumption that the distance was the standard distance between the pitcher's mound and home plate. 6 Answers. ''In the spring of 1947 we were in Philadelphia to play the A's there in the old ballpark,'' he recalled. Named the greatest living right-handed pitcher in baseball in 1969, Feller was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1962. In 1940, the folks were wondering just how fast Feller really was. So who do you believe 100 baseball players or not? Had he pitched 371 innings, as did Feller in that memorable year of 1946, he couldin statistical theory, at leasthave fanned 442. Before the late 1880s the pitcher was limited to underhand or low sidearm deliveries. Said Johnson's fastball was "live" - it had movement, down or away. Some estimated it at over 120 MPH! If baseball people who saw Johnson and Feller and said Johnson was fast or faster, I doubt they were lying. Feller clocked in at an astonishing 98.6 mph on his fastest pitch of the test. An Iowa farm boy who became a star for baseball's Cleveland Indians, Bob Feller (born 1918) threw harder than any pitcher of his generation. Anonymous. I spend each Spring in fantasy camp, Feller said. In July 1936, he played in his first game, and struck out 8 Cardinals in 3 innings. He had learned to throw a curveball by the time he was eight years old, and could throw a ball 270 feet (82 m) when he was nine. I still throw from the rubber, and I throw the ball as hard as I ever didthe ball just takes longer to get to home plate. Feller is the camp commissioner at the Cleveland Indians Fantasy Camp held every January at the 0. Where did he possibly rank among baseball's fastest of the fast? in 1936 how many strikeouts did bob feller throw in his mlb debut? My dad took me to see Bob Feller; and he thought Johnson was faster and more effective, with mastery of his control. Fast forward to April 4, 1994. Koufax pitched his last game in 1966. The 1946 season was his best for strikeouts--348--as he went after Rube Waddell's record and fell one short. Bob Feller: "Rapid Robert" or "The Heater From Van Meter" Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 December 15, 2010), was the first flame-throwing pitcher to have modern equipment measure his fastball's velocity. In the game when Bob Feller had his best stuff, however, his curve ball sabotaged him. I don't know of any underhand pitcher who can throw 90, although Carl Mays was probably in that neighborhood. Bob Feller was once clocked at 103 mph. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Bob Feller's mind tells him he still can throw the speed ball by you. Relevance. Before there were radar guns, you had to get awfully creative to figure out just how fast Bob Feller could actually throw. Close. 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