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.