Aroldis Chapman Fastball Pathetically Not Even One-Seventh The Speed Of Sound

Tuesday night, flamethrowing sensation Aroldis Chapman made his Major League debut for the Reds and threw a perfect inning against the Brewers. He didn't just throw a perfect inning, though; he generated a strikeout, two weak groundouts, and four times broke triple digits with his fastball.

The fastest pitch of the evening was a 102.7mph burner in the middle of the plate that found Craig Counsell's bat and returned to the infield at a fraction of the speed. 102.7 is approaching uncharted territory, and it's the sort of pitch that makes you wonder: where does this pitch rank among the fastest pitches of all time?

That question, we can't answer. Not if we want to make a fair and consistent comparison, as we'd be comparing speeds measured by computers, radar guns, anecdotes, and a motorcycle. What we can do, though, is objectively compare it to other pitches thrown over the last few years.

Open up Gameday on MLB.com. Here's a link to last night's Brewers/Reds affair. Go to an at bat, and hover your cursor over a pitch. You see that data? That's generated by a system known as PITCHfx, which uses cameras and computers and technology and math to measure things like pitch speed and pitch spin. This system has been in place in every stadium since 2008, so why don't we go ahead and use that? Where does Aroldis Chapman's fastball rank among fastest pitches since 2008? This is a question we can answer.

At 102.7mph, Chapman's fastball is tied for the fastest pitch recorded by PITCHfx since 2008. The winning deliveries:

Aroldis Chapman, 8/31/10, vs. Craig Counsell
Joel Zumaya, 6/23/09, vs. Milton Bradley
Joel Zumaya, 6/30/09, vs. Matt Holliday

And coming in just narrowly behind, we get these pitches at 102.6mph:

Joel Zumaya, 6/24/09, vs. Mike Fontenot
Joel Zumaya, 6/30/09, vs. Matt Holliday
Jonathan Broxton, 7/3/09, vs. Kevin Kouzmanoff

...and these, at 102.5mph:

Aroldis Chapman, 8/31/10, vs. Jonathan Lucroy
Bobby Parnell, 8/18/10, vs. Chris Johnson

Note that two of the six fastest pitches of the last three years were thrown in the same at bat to Matt Holliday. Holliday would go on to fly out in a ten-pitch at bat.

In an eight-pitch debut, Aroldis Chapman threw a fastball that's tied for the fastest fastball of the last three years. It's also the fastest fastball of the 2010 season. And that's after eight pitches. More playing time hints at the possibility that he could do more. That he could break 103. That he could break 105. That he could prove Jerry Crasnick wrong.

Fastball velocity isn't everything. It's worth noting that, of the 19 pitches thrown at least 102mph over the past few years, only four of them were swung on and missed. But a guy who throws as hard as Chapman throws is a freak, and there's nothing we like watching more than freaks. Chapman's going to be a fun one.