He started again on July 31 against the Red Sox. Long before anyone knew what a radar gun was, Bob Feller had his fastest pitch clocked in a most unique way—with a motorcycle running through Chicago’s Lincoln Park in the summer of 1940. It was Feller’s generous tip of the cap to Johnson. Feller has also written that he slipped from the mound in a June 13, 1947 game against Philadelphia and injured his back, saying his fastball was never the same after that. "Feller's numbers from that season are mind-boggling from a modern perspective.
April 16 was a good day for Feller. In 1946, he started the season with a three-hit, 10-strikeout shutout, kicking off what he called his greatest season. For his career the flamethrower has recorded 8.4 SO/9, or 363 strikeouts in 389.1 innings. I'll buy that he could throw 100 mph, although it's impossible to know whether he did that consistently within games.But maybe he did. With today’s technology at all Major League ballparks, fans can immediately see the speed of a pitch on the scoreboard. At Griffith Stadium on Aug. 20, the machine was set up and Feller would fire in some fastballs.From Robert Weintraub's "The Victory Season," his book on the 1946 season:So Feller refused to take part, staying under the stands until (Senators owner Clark) Griffith was forced to come down to him and negotiate. Feller won 4-1, striking out five to get his record.The historical record suggests Feller paid a price for that record chase. In the Major League Baseball-approved test, Feller waited as a city policeman on a Harley Davidson motorcycle raced toward him. Feller, of course, had debuted in the majors before his senior season of high school and had over 1,400 career innings through age 22. That sounds plausible, but he was averaging 6.6 K's per nine before that game, well below his 1946 figure. He went 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA and 348 strikeouts, but that's not even the fun stuff. Your Account; Logout; Login; Create Account; Bob Feller. Feller's second pitch was the fastest one, clocked at 98.6 mph. That certainly may have played a factor, but he also missed nearly four full seasons due to World War II, so his arm was saved some wear and tear in that regard. "I won the All-Star Game in Boston. On August 13, in a night game at home against the Tigers, I recorded my 262nd strikeout, breaking my career high of 261 in 1940. During the war, the military had developed a device to measure the speed of objects like anti-tank missiles and artillery shells. Take Bob Feller, the legendary fireballer of the Let's start with this date in history. Numerous pitchers through the years have topped the century mark on the radar gun. He pitched 371.1 innings. A few minutes later, Feller walked out to a loud ovation, $700 richer. In 1947, his K's per 9 dropped from 8.4 to 5.9 (although that still led the league). Feller was sitting at 25. Based on his exceptional 1941 and 1946 seasons, it is likely that Feller would have finished his career with more than 300 wins and perhaps 3,800 strikeouts. I have serious doubts about the 107 mph estimate. "That was my best year," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2006. On July 28, he threw a shutout against the Senators, striking out 10. As Ted Williams once said, "Three days before he pitched I would start thinking about Robert Feller, Bob Feller. Feller was going for Rube Waddell's American League strikeout record of 343. In the past, technology like radar guns was not readily available, so there was never a way to get a consistently accurate reading of a pitch. As he’s bounced around a bit the last few seasons, Feliz has become more of a set-up man.