The average major-league four-seam fastball reached 94.8 mph in 2026, a record, according to Statcast figures reported by the Associated Press. In 2008, the average was 91.9 mph.
A gain of 2.9 mph is easy to read on a radar display. Its meaning for a hitter becomes clearer when we turn the speed into time.
About 12 milliseconds disappear
Imagine a pitch travelling 54 feet from release at a constant speed. At 91.9 mph, it would take about 401 milliseconds to cover that distance. At 94.8 mph, it would take about 388. Using the unrounded figures, the difference is roughly 12 milliseconds, or 3.1% of the slower pitch’s flight time.
At 100 mph, the same trip takes about 368 milliseconds.
This is a simple illustration, not a reconstruction of a real pitch. Baseballs slow down in flight, pitchers release them at different distances, and hitters must start their swings before the ball arrives. These figures describe modelled flight time, not a measured deadline for a hitter to react.
Even with those limits, the comparison helps explain why a few miles per hour matter. The entire pitch is already taking place inside a fraction of a second.
The release point changes the clock
Speed is not the only way to shorten the trip. MLB defines extension as how far a pitcher’s release point reaches toward home plate.
In this model, one foot less travel at 94.8 mph saves about 7.2 milliseconds. That is a substantial difference beside the 12 milliseconds in our speed comparison, which is why both pitches need the same assumed distance if we want to isolate velocity.
It is also why a radar reading alone cannot fully describe how quickly a real pitch gets on a hitter.
What the hitter sees still matters
A fastball at a familiar location after a predictable sequence presents a different challenge from one that follows a convincing breaking ball. Movement, location and anticipation all affect what the hitter has to work out in that short flight.
More velocity adds time pressure. It does not tell us whether the pitch was well placed or whether the hitter recognized it early enough to make a good swing.
That is part of what we examine in our breakdown of all 117 pitches in Cam Schlittler’s Game 1 start against Boston: how the pitches work together, beyond the fastest number on the screen.
The league average cannot show that every pitcher has become faster, or that velocity alone explains an offensive trend. It does show the environment hitters now face. Over the same distance, the average fastball is leaving them less time—and there was very little to begin with.
Same distance. Less time.
| 91.9 mph | 401 milliseconds |
|---|---|
| 94.8 mph | 388 milliseconds |
| 100 mph | 368 milliseconds |
TSP calculation: hypothetical 54-foot travel distance, constant velocity. Flight time is not a hitter’s measured reaction or decision time.
