The Reds' Aroldis Chapman, 22, threw just 19 pitches in retiring all six Milwaukee hitters he faced in those two one-inning stints. Ten of those pitches topped 100 m.p.h., at least three were clocked at 103, one at 103.9.
According to Baseball Almanac, the fastest pitch ever recorded was 104.8 m.p.h. by Detroit's Joel Zumaya in October 2006. The only other pitcher to have hit 103 on a gun was Braves closer Mark Wohlers, in spring training 1995.
How fast is 103? If you'd like to find out, don't blink.
According to retired Penn physics professor Howard Brody, a ball thrown at that speed takes just .396 of a second to travel to home plate, even less when you factor in the pitcher's stride. Most eyeblinks are slower.
And when a guy who throws 103 also has a 90 m.p.h. slider like the 6-foot-4 Chapman does, hitters don't have much chance.
After his initial big-league pitch, a 98 m.p.h. fastball (or was it a change-up?), Cincinnati catcher Ryan Hanigan tossed the ball into the dugout so it could be saved for posterity.
And speaking of pitching myths, that's the image invoked by several of those who saw the lanky Chapman's performances at Great American Ball Park.
"You don't see this stuff outside of Sidd Finch," Wayne Krivsky, the ex-Reds GM, said after seeing Chapman last week. He was referring to the fictional phenom Sports Illustrated created for its April Fool's edition in 1985.
Reds officials plan to use Chapman in relief the rest of this season, then insert him into their already talented and baby-faced rotation in 2011.
Chapman's story fits neatly into the game's mythmaking niche.
A poor resident of rural Holguin province in baseball-mad Cuba, Chapman was 11 when the Baltimore Orioles made their historic Cuban visit in 1999.
