THE HARDEST THROWER IN THE MAJORS.

THE HARDEST THROWER IN THE MAJORS. A 95 mile an hour fastball is considered a dominating fastball. Few major leaguers can sustain that kind of velocity throughout a game. When Bobby Jenks or Joel Zumaya reaches 100 miles per hour on the radar gun these days, there is justifiable excitement. I remember watching J.R. Richard in the 1980 All Star Game dominating the American League All Stars with a fastball that was consistently 108 miles an hour and a slider that was 98 to 99 miles an hour. I consulted this wikipedia article to check which year this happened. It had to be 1980 because, despite a career ERA of 3.15 and his leading the league twice in strike outs (over 300 in 1979), !980 was the only year Richard made the All Star team. Richard was always underappreciated. When he complained of arm problems during 1980, his complaints were often dismissed, and he was criticized as being unable to deal with pain. Richard pitched only one game after that performance in the All Star game. He had a stroke less than a month later, and never pitched in the majors again. By 1994, he was destitute and living under a bridge in Houston. He came back from that. Today he is a valued member of the community.