<
>
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Get ESPN+

Who throws baseball's fastest fastball?

Aroldis Chapman has thrown the fastest pitch ever recorded, but he has challengers for baseball's hottest heater in 2017. Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

Ever since Aroldis Chapman delivered a 105 mph fastball to Tony Gwynn Jr., Chapman's name has been synonymous with velocity. That was the fastest pitch ever recorded, and throwing 105 isn't the sort of thing you luck yourself into. Chapman throws so consistently hard that Hal Steinbrenner thinks he brings fans to the ballpark. On MLB.com's leaderboard of the fastest pitches ever thrown, the site provides a Chapman filter so you can find other names. FanGraphs has pitch data stretching back to 2002, and Chapman's average fastball last season clocked in at 100.4, the highest average on record.

The last thing I need to do is remind you how fast Aroldis Chapman's fastball is. That's household information, the sort of thing that transcends ordinary sports fandom. What's interesting is that Chapman actually has a few peers when it comes to throwing this hard.