Baseball fans have long been enamored with pitchers who have the ability to rear back and throw blazing fastballs by helpless hitters. Power pitchers who hit top-notch speeds often tally huge strikeout totals and are sought-after commodities to lead a rotation.
As a pitcher in Major League Baseball, it can be difficult to survive without an above-average fastball. Of course there are exceptions, such as plus-40-year-old hurlers Tim Wakefield and Jamie Moyer, but for most pitchers the fastball serves as the base for every repertoire.
However, these fireballers also come with considerable risk due to the wear and tear put on their arms. Just in the past few seasons we have seen players with 100 mph-plus velocity, like Joel Zumaya and Stephen Strasburg, feel the wrath of the injury bug.
To make this list a pitcher does not necessarily have to throw the fastest, but rather have the most effective fastball. Obviously pitchers from older eras were not able to dial up and hit triple digits like Aroldis Chapman. However, that does not mean that their fastballs were not among the greatest of all time.
In the end, it is all relative, and there is something to be said for any player who uses a fastball to dominate hitters during his playing days.
Without further delay, here is a list of the top 10 fastball pitchers in Major League Baseball history.
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