104mph! ........... for nothin`

Anyone see the Cubs vs. Tigers game on June 23rd? A buddy of mine that has the MLB Network just sent me a clip of the Tigers broadcast.

In the eighth inning with no one on and no one out, Joel Zumaya struck out Milton Bradley with a 104mph pitch!

A 104mph pitch! (see graphic).

Absolutely amazing, especially when you take into account that he has had two major surgeries since 2006. Zumaya in the past has apparently claimed that the surgeries have enabled him to beat Guitar Hero on expert level. Well, that's cute but this, ….. WOW. What did they do in those surgeries, put in a bionic arm type thing?

I know that there are fast radar guns and there are slow ones, but Joel Zumaya threw a pitch that was Sid Finch-like!

As Ron Allen the Detroit Tigers announcer said on the broadcast, “he brings the easy cheese.”

I’ve been poking around and it’s been reported by various outlets that this was the fastest documented pitch in any game, anywhere on any level. Some claim that Billy Koch threw one 106 at some point following his Tommy John surgery, but there isn’t anyone who claims to have documented it.

Here’s the problem with Joel Zumaya. If you continue to watch the game, two batters later, after striking out Milton Bradley on a 104mph fastball, he throws Micah Hoffpauir a change-up for go ahead two run blast.

I see in Chicago where Cubs announcer Bob Brenly said this about the home run Zumaya gave up to Hoffpauir. “That’s one of the stupidest pitches I’ve ever seen. How does a guy that throws a 104mph fastball with a snap curveball think it’s smart to throw a change in any situation?” Bob, you said it. Stupid is, stupid does.

Zumaya can throw as hard as he wants, but you won’t ever find him on my rotisserie team. It’s called pitching, not throwing. - Paul Leume

Paul Leume is a MLB columnist from Montreal, Canada. Paul, a one-time beat writer covering the Montreal Expos for the Montreal Gazette is a proud grandfather of 3 girls and now spends his time offering his thoughts and prospective on Major League Baseball on a variety of blogs and websites throughout Al Gore’s internet.