Angels Pitcher Ben Joyce Threw A Fastball 106 MPH Tonight. Yes, 106 MPH.
Technically 105.5 but blog-title best practices say round up to the nearest whole number hence the 106.
Nevertheless, 105.5 is some serious fucking cheddar from the former JUCO Tommy John survivor that struckout 53 in 31 innings his draft year at Tennessee. And I mean absolute fuckin ched sauce with a full slather like a good movie theater nacho and the guy behind the counter is hooking it up. So much cheddar from Ben Joyce.
Even so - the Angels are 23 games under .500 and Ben Joyce is miles away from the solution. Cool to see him throw super hard, etc. But the reality is the Angels are complete trash and that won't change any time soon. The more I talk about how much I hate them the more confusing this will get to an outsider. So let me just bluntly say that the Angels are a categorical disgrace to professional sports and should be disbanded/sold/relocated immediately.
Even so again - 106 is fuckin big time. I mean honestly when's the last time you heard of a guy throwing 10 mph harder than 96?
It's basically never happened. So despite the fact that the Angels are a shitshow, I'm inclined to celebrate this one single pitch in a meaningless game lost to yet another entirely miserable season.
In other news, this makes me think baseball should be adopting the long-drive competition mentality or maybe punt/pass/kick style. Something where you measure pure velocity off the mound and then exit velocity off the bat. Add the two numbers together in a competition to determine a winner with cash prizes. Steroids encouraged and unregulated, opening up another revenue stream on offseason content. Proudly Sponsored By Midwest Orthopedics At Rush Hospital. Just an idea for guys that can't hit a breaking ball so let me know if you got any feedback about participating. I think it's a decent working concept but honestly what do I know?
Ben Joyce. 106.
PS - He's got a twin brother. That might come up at your local trivia some day so just file that away in case.