# Is 69 MPH the fastest any woman has ever thrown a baseball? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 16, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097 "2016-09-16T16:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/21 "2016-09-17T15:57:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > A good knuckler would be able to make it. R.A. Dickey, who won the Cy Young in 2012 (that’s the top pitching award in Major League Baseball) didn’t pitch any faster than the low-to-mid-80s for his fastball, but his pitching was mainly based on the knuckleball, which ranged from the mid-high-60s to the low-80s. [Stats here](http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfxo.aspx?playerid=1245&position=P&pitch=KN). In his Cy Young season, his knuckleball ranged from 66.6 mph to 83mph and comprised about 82% of his pitches thrown. His fastball topped off at 86mph, averaged 83 (and comprised 14.5% of his pitches. And his changeup averaged in the low 60s. Knuckleballers are an oddball style of pitching and kind of have a mixed reputation, especially as they are difficult to catch for. But you don’t have to have heat to make it. Speed is not the key factor in cricket either. There are plenty of bowlers out there at speeds that many women can easily attain. The problem with a slower ball is that it has to be accurately pitched and shaped through the air or off the pitch by means of spin and seam position. Where speed is the only weapon that the ball presents I doubt that any women can up to the necessary velocity. At a lower speed the ball has to pose other challenges and all these challenges are related to arm, wrist and finger strength and accuracy. Can a woman get the necessary rpm on a spinning ball? probably not, Can they be as accurate at a high enough speed as a mid-paced “seam” bowler? probably not. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/22 "2016-09-17T17:31:39Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The fastest recorded ball by a women in cricket is about 75 mph from memory. The fastest recorded ball by a man is 100.2 mph. I find this completely impossible to believe. They had a female college pitcher on a late night talk show a few years ago who threw in the 80s. I’ve known women who could throw 75 or better from level ground. [QUOTE=Oakminster] Greg Maddux didn’t throw very hard, especially towards the end of his career. [/QUOTE] In his youth and prime Maddux easily broke 90 anytime he wanted to. I know he didn’t look like it but he could bring some heat. In MLB, a pitcher who maxes out in the high 80s is VERY slow. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/23 "2016-09-17T17:49:05Z")
In cricket bowlers cannot throw. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/24 "2016-09-17T18:51:52Z")
I am guessing if you get more basketball player-sized females like Jenny Finch and built up arm strength a bit and worked on conditioning, we would probably be able to get female pitchers to toss in the 70s or even 80s. I don’t know enough about anatomical differences (i e differences in muscle) to know whether or not such a female pitcher would be able to sustain throwing that hard without some wear and tear on the shoulder and elbows. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/25 "2016-09-18T00:08:42Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > On her way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, she was shot by the unstable Harriet Bird (Barbara Hershey). After 16 years, she returned to pro baseball as a rookie for the last-place New York Knights. Despite early arguments with her manager, Pop Fisher (Wilford Brimley), she became one of the best players in the league, and the Knights started winning. But this upset the Judge (Robert Prosky), their owner, who wanted her to lose games, not win. This sounds like a made-for-TV movie. Why would the owner want them to lose? ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/26 "2016-09-18T00:26:58Z")
Does anyone remember the legendary Joan Joyce, who happens to be from my home state of Connecticut? This is a fascinating article, and mentions that she could throw a softball at least 70: [http://http://www.espn.com/espnw/news/article/6833700/best-ted-williams-ever-faced](http://www.espn.com/espnw/news/article/6833700/best-ted-williams-ever-faced) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/27 "2016-09-18T02:37:09Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Speed is not the key factor in cricket either. There are plenty of bowlers out there at speeds that many women can easily attain. > The problem with a slower ball is that it has to be accurately pitched and shaped through the air or off the pitch by means of spin and seam position. > Where speed is the only weapon that the ball presents I doubt that any women can up to the necessary velocity. At a lower speed the ball has to pose other challenges and all these challenges are related to arm, wrist and finger strength and accuracy. > Can a woman get the necessary rpm on a spinning ball? probably not, > Can they be as accurate at a high enough speed as a mid-paced “seam” bowler? probably not. For baseball, I don’t see this being a problem. The trick with the knuckleball is pitching it so there is as little spin on it as possible, so it tumbles unpredictably through the air. It doesn’t seem to me that men would have an inherent advantage here, other than perhaps pitching at slightly higher (maybe 5-10 mph) velocity. I certainly think that it’s possible that a female knuckleballer could make it in the majors. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/28 "2016-09-18T02:49:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For baseball, I don’t see this being a problem. The trick with the knuckleball is pitching it so there is as little spin on it as possible, so it tumbles unpredictably through the air. It doesn’t seem to me that men would have an inherent advantage here, other than perhaps pitching at slightly higher (maybe 5-10 mph) velocity. I certainly think that it’s possible that a female knuckleballer could make it in the majors. Particularly if the NL continues to reject the designated hitter, and the female knuckleballer happens to be able to get base hits. Since not much is expected in the way of hitting from pitchers, the bar is low, so a woman who could bat in a run reliably would have a sort of bonus over other pitchers. And no, men don’t have an inherent advantage over women in pitching knuckleballs. In fact, short women can pitch a weird sort of rising knuckleball that has to be seen to be believed. I’m not sure if it really rises, or if it’s an optical illusion from a short pitcher, but it’s amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/29 "2016-09-18T03:32:26Z")
> [@](#): > > In MLB, a pitcher who maxes out in the high 80s is VERY slow. I once attended a Tim Wakefield vs Paul Byrd match up in Cleveland. No pitch was over 85 until the bullpens got involved. When I was in high school I’d heard 85 might get you a look at an open tryout. These days, if you top out under 92 I don’t think you have a shot. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097/30 "2016-09-19T06:46:17Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > This sounds like a made-for-TV movie. > > Why would the owner want them to lose? That’s the natural plot in baseball movies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-69-mph-the-fastest-any-woman-has-ever-thrown-a-baseball/766097.md?page=1)