MLB: Showcasing the Nastiest Pitches of All-Time

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Randy Johnson’s Slider

Randy Johnson was a terrifying presence on the mound. Standing at 6′ 10″, Johnson struck fear into the hearts of opposing batters (just look at John Kruk’s at-bat in the 1993 All-Star Game). His three-quarters delivery, accompanied by a 100 mph fastball in his prime made him one of the most dominant pitchers the game has ever seen.

During his 21-year career across 7 different teams, “The Big Unit” was a 10x All-Star, 5x Cy Young Award winner, World Series MVP, and a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee. While he was infamous for throwing so hard he killed a bird in a spring training game, his slider was the pitch that cemented his legacy in baseball history.

Johnson’s slider was absolutely demoralizing for his opponents. If you thought his fastball was scary, his slider will give you nightmares. At peak velocity, Johnson’s slider sat in the low 90s, which was as hard as some other pitchers’ fastballs. Left-handed hitters stood little chance, as the pitch would start in on the hands and drop over the middle of the plate. But for righties, his slider created even more terrors. With it’s high velocity, the pitch would seem like a fastball down the middle, then break late low and inside on right-handed batters.

Fittingly, Johnson’s slider got better with age. Johnson was notoriously wild early in his career, but gained elite control late in his career. Despite a dip in velocity (where he was only throwing a cool 96 mph), Johnson had his best seasons in his late 30s due to his newfound control. His slider never lost its bite, and now he was able to throw it wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. As a result, he won 4-straight Cy Youngs from ages 35 to 38.

Simply put, Johnson was a strikeout machine. He lead the league in strikeouts 9x over the course of his career, thanks to his devastating slider. In fact, when he decided to call it quits at age 45, his 4,875 career strikeouts were the second-most all-time, and the most ever for a left handed pitcher. Johnson’s signature pitch, which he named “Mr. Snappy,” made professional hitters look like little leaguers.

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Sandy Koufax’s Curveball

Now, we move from one great lefty to perhaps the greatest of all-time. Sandy Koufax had one of the most unusually fantastic careers. For the first 6 years of his career, Koufax was just an above-average starter for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. However, Koufax would miraculously transform himself into one of the best pitchers the game has ever seen in his final 6 seasons before prematurely retiring at age 30.

Over that 6 year span, Koufax won 3 Cy Youngs, 3 Triple Crowns, an NL MVP, and was an All-Star in each season. When it comes to mechanics, Koufax was the anti-Randy Johnson. Koufax had picture-perfect body mechanics with a completely over-the-top arm angle. His repertoire  consisted of two main pitches: a hard, rising fastball, and an overhand curveball that seemingly dropped out of the sky.

While the natural movement on his fastball was astounding, it was his perfection of the curveball that carries his legacy today. Koufax would scare batters with his fastball, but he would embarrass them with his legendary curve. The pitch could drop anywhere from 12 to 24 inches on its path to home plate, and Koufax had complete control of where he wanted to throw it. He could make it seem like a pitch over your head, and then drop it on the outside corner for a strike. Or, he could throw it at the letters, just to drop in the dirt and make you look foolish.

The mystery of Sandy Koufax’s curveball was perfectly described in a story from Jane Leavy’s biography, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy. In the 1963 World Series versus the Yankees, Koufax struck out Mickey Mantle with nothing but his heater. In Mantle’s second at-bat, Koufax got an early 0-2 lead on the Yankee legend. Mantle had a reputation for crushing curveballs, and Koufax was told to avoid throwing one to him. However, he shook off the catcher twice, and threw a knee-buckling curve for the strikeout. Mantle then turned back to the catcher and said, “How the f*** is anybody supposed to hit that?” (Source: David Dobbs of Wired)

During his six-year reign, Koufax was untouchable. He threw four no-hitters and a perfect game during that span, and lead the league in strikeouts four times. In that very short time, Koufax cemented himself as one of the best pitchers of all time. Still to this day, nobody, not even his contemporary, Clayton Kershaw, can compete with Sandy Koufax’s curveball.

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Trevor Hoffman’s Changeup

Picking the nastiest changeup was perhaps the most difficult task in writing this article. The main reason is that there were so many different variations of deceptive change-ups to choose from. Pedro Martinez’s changeup moved as well as anybody’s, but he could overpower you with any of the tools in his five-pitch repertoire. Johan Santana’s would seemingly slow down and drop on its path to home plate. However, Trevor Hoffman reinvented himself behind his innovative change-up, which transformed him into one of the best closers of all-time.

Hoffman entered the league with a powerful arm. However, an injury in 1994 significantly diminished his velocity. Thus, he was forced to learn how to pitch without the arm he once had. Early in his career, Hoffman featured the typical circle-changeup that most pitchers relied on. However, during the 1994 offseason, his teammate Donnie Elliot famously introduced him the palm-ball grip.

“I choked the grip in the back of my hand,” Hoffman said in a 2016 interview with Bill Center. “The secret was I got it to look just like my fastball, but there was a 15- to 17-mph difference in the pitches. My changeup was fully engaged by 1995.”

From 1995 on, Hoffman’s palm-ball helped establish him as one of the most fearsome closers in the game. He built an illustrious resume fueled by deception, not velocity. Most of the time, Hoffman didn’t even eclipse 88 mph on his fastball, but he threw his changeup with the same arm speed that tricked batters at the plate.

When it was all said and done, Hoffman was 7x All-Star, 2x Reliever of the Year, and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His 601 career saves place hims second all-time, only behind Mariano Rivera (we’ll get to that later). Hoffman’s changeup proves that sometimes illusion, deception, and an intimidating glare on the mound can overpower velocity.

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Bruce Sutter’s Splitter

Everyone loves a good splitter. Many modern baseball fans grew up watching Roger Clemens demoralize opposing hitters with his split-finger fastball. A great splitter is thrown with the spin and velocity of a fastball, but breaks sharply towards the ground. While Clemens always had incredible stuff, his splitter is what evolved him into one of the best power pitchers of all-time.

However, a lesser-known name was the original king of the splitter. That would be Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter.  Sutter didn’t invent the splitter, but he perfected it and brought it to the limelight. Without Sutter’s mastery, Clemens’ career could look a whole lot different.

The development of Sutter’s splitter bears a similar story to Trevor Hoffman’s changeup. Early in his minor league career with the Cubs, a pinch-nerve that required surgery severely hindered the effectiveness of Sutter’s original pitches. In order to survive, he had to adjust and adapt. Then, his minor league pitching coach Fred Martin showed him the splitter, and the next year he was in the major leagues. Watch him tell the story in his own words.

Sutter quickly established himself as the Cubs’ closer, and by his second season he was an All-Star. Behind his magical splitter, Sutter was a 6x All-Star, 5x saves leader, 4x Reliever of the Year, World Series Champion and a Cy Young Award winner in 1979.

The way Sutter was able to mow down hitters en route to 300 saves and Hall of Fame career inspired the next generation of long-fingered pitchers to develop a splitter into their repertoire. Still, Sutter remains a lesser-known name in the greater history of baseball. In fact, it took him thirteen ballots until he was finally voted into Cooperstown in 2006. But his legacy lives on every time a pitcher rings somebody up with a filthy splitter.

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Phil Niekro’s Knuckleball

The knuckleball is perhaps the most mind-boggling pitch in baseball. Every young baseball player has tried to throw a knuckleball while playing with their friends in the backyard. However, very few come close to perfecting it. Recently, it is becoming increasingly rare to find a knuckleballer in the bigs. Right now, Steven Wright is the only known knuckleballer in the MLB, but has recently been released by the Red Sox and announced that he will undergo Tommy John surgery.

The knuckleball very well may be going extinct. However, when mastered, it has proven to be one of the most frustrating pitches for opposing batters. The low spin rate leads to unpredictable movement that is difficult for the pitcher to control, the catcher to catch, but most importantly, for the hitter to hit. Its low velocity has allowed some of the best knuckleballers like R.A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield to extend their careers well into their 40s. However, no knuckleballer had a more durable and illustrious career than Hall of Famer Phil Niekro.

Phil and his brother Joe Niekro learned the knuckleball at an early from their father, who was a semipro knuckleballer himself. While Joe enjoyed a respectable career with his knuckleball, Phil is the undisputed master. Phil was a 5x All-Star and Gold Glove winner, while being the only knuckleballer to win over 300 games in his career.

Niekro played until the ripe age of 48, ending his career with the most innings pitched of any pitcher in the live-ball era (5,404 IP). He earned a plaque in Cooperstown in 1997, where his legacy as the nastiest knuckleballer ever still lives on. Perhaps the depleted knuckleball community will be blessed with a new messiah to save their dying breed in the near future. Until then, Phil Niekro sits alone at top of the knuckleball throne.

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Nolan Ryan’s Four-Seam Fastball

Now we move away from the off-speed pitches and focus on the heat. And in the language of baseball, you cannot talk about heat without starting with Nolan Ryan. To put in plainly, Nolan Ryan was an enigma. Ryan was MLB’s original power arm. In other words, he was throwing 100+ mph before it was cool.

When he finally called it a career after 27-seasons, Nolan Ryan had all sorts of MLB records. He has the records for fewest hits per nine innings, (6.56), no-hitters (7), and most importantly, strikeouts (5,714). However, he also had some inherently negative records, topping the career leaderboards in walks (2,795) and wild pitches (277). Surprisingly, he never won a Cy Young award. Some analysts will point to the negatives to pin him as overrated, but there is no denying the his fastball was one of the most overpowering pitches of all time.

Even in the modern MLB where it is more common to throw 100 mph, Nolan Ryan’s fastball is still unmatched. According to legend, Ryan’s fastest measured pitch came in the ninth inning of a game against the Detriot Tigers in 1974 (He ended up pitching an 11-inning complete game). The pitch was measured at 100.9 mph. Even today, that’s cheese. However, the radar gun apparently measured him 10 feet in front of home plate. Thus, with proper adjustments, the heater was actually 108.5 mph. If this is accurate, that blows Aroldis Chapman‘s apparent record of 105.1 mph out of the water.

Nolan Ryan’s four-seamer dominated batters four the better part of four decades. Even in his 40s, Ryan was still pumping 100+ mph heat. Aided by natural movement, there was little you could do against a Nolan Ryan fastball. Thus, regardless of what people may say about his command, Nolan Ryan’s fastball is the best the game has ever seen.

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Greg Maddux’s Two-Seamer

Where Nolan Ryan was the king of heat, Greg Maddux was the king of control. Maddux wouldn’t overpower you with his velocity. At his peak, he only reached 93 mph and steadily declined throughout his career. Rather, he would outwit you with his masterful command of the strike zone. His durability, efficiency, and deep understanding of the game fueled his incredible Hall of Fame career.

He could throw any of his seven pitches wherever he wanted, mowing down hitters even when his fastball only reached 86 mph. He featured a four-seam fastball, a cutter, a slider, a changeup, a splitter, and a curveball. However, the two-seamer was his bread and butter.

The two-seam fastball is commonly utilized pitch in the majors. Its combination of speed and tail-like movement makes it a useful weapon for any pitcher. However, Maddux’s two-seamer was a weapon of mass destruction.

First of all, the movement on his two-seamer was absurd. As the pitch approached the plate, it would tail and sink so sharply that it almost looked like a screwball. In fact, many consider Maddux’s two-seamer as the closest thing to the Japanese “shuuto” pitch. Second of all, Maddux could manipulate the pitch in any way he saw fit. He could tie up lefties by dropping on the inside-corner, jam righties by throwing it in on their hands, or simply buckle anyone’s knees by dropping it over the plate with that insane movement.

Maddux is perhaps the best control pitcher in MLB history. He is the only pitcher ever to have over 300 wins, 3,000 strikeouts, and less than 1,000 walks. He had one of the most dominant stretches from 1992-1995, where we went 75-29 with a 1.98 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP. He won the NL Cy Young in all four of those seasons. When he was on the mound, he dictated the pace of the game. He could dizzy batters with a plethora of pitches, but he could always get you out with that disgusting two-seamer.

Nastiest Pitches in MLB History

Mariano Rivera’s Cutter

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Perhaps the most famous singular pitch ever, Mariano Rivera’s cutter is one of baseball legend. According to the story, Mariano discovered his signature pitch by accident during the 1997 season. During warm-ups one day, Rivera noticed his fastball was moving uncontrollably. For a month, he struggled to control his fastball, until he decided to embrace the movement and develop his legendary cutter.

Crediting the discovery of his cutter to divine intervention, Rivera transformed into the best closer of all time. The movement on his cutter was devastating. It cut away from the batter so late and sharply that they had little time to react. But beyond the movement, Mariano obtained masterful control of his signature pitch. Thus, it did not matter if you were a righty or lefty, Mariano could force you to make weak contact or break your bat. From 1997 until his retirement in 2013, Rivera owned the lowest Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) among all pitchers with a .260 mark.

Mariano’s cutter built one of the most fascinating career resumes of anybody to ever play the game. In the regular season, Rivera was a 13x All-Star, 5x Reliever of the Year, and the all-time saves leader (652). In the postseason, Rivera’s numbers are simply outstanding. He is the all-time leader in postseason ERA (0.70), saves (42), and World Series MVP, and 5x champion as the Yankees’ closer.

Rivera and his legendary cutter were rewarded for their career accomplishments in 2019, becoming the first unanimously elected player into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mariano’s cutter will go down as one of the most un-hittable single pitches in baseball history. The bigger the stage, worse it got for opposing hitters. By the time they heard “Enter Sandman” at Yankee Stadium, it was already goodnight.