Crawling to the Plate: Unpacking the Slowest Pitches and Archival Skyballs in Major League Baseball History

Texas Rangers position player Brock Holt holds the record for the slowest pitch ever measured for a called strike in Major League Baseball’s tracking era, lobbing a 31.1 mph float ball on August 7, 2021. Before radar technology captured every trajectory, legendary arms like Rip Sewell and Dave LaRoche baffled hitters with custom lobbed pitches that hovered under forty miles per hour. While modern baseball obsessively chases triple-digit heat, pitching slowly remains a legitimate tactical anomaly. Throwing at sub-highway speeds subverts a hitter's timing, transforming standard kinetic mechanics into an unpredictable game of gravity and patience.

Key numbers and data on the topic

In an era dominated by 100 mph four-seam fastballs, the numbers behind sub-40 mph pitches defy intuition. Pitch-tracking software, introduced in 2008, established precise velocity baselines across all thirty franchises. Brock Holt’s 31.1 mph looping strike against Oakland sits at the absolute bottom of modern recorded speeds, closely followed by Chicago Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart who tossed a 34 mph lob in 2023. Historically, Rip Sewell’s iconic "Eephus" pitch was estimated between 35 and 40 mph, traveling over twenty feet into the air before descending into the catcher's mitt. Dave LaRoche’s "LaLob" registered around 30 to 35 mph in the early 1980s, striking out power hitters like Gorman Thomas through sheer temporal disruption. Modern tracking data reveals that an average major league fastball takes roughly 400 milliseconds to reach home plate. In contrast, a 30 mph float ball requires nearly 1.4 seconds—an eternity for professional hitters trained on lightning-quick reactions. Statistically, position players pitching in blowouts account for over eighty percent of sub-40 mph deliveries since 2015, yet primary pitchers like Zack Greinke and Yu Darvish occasionally integrated 50 mph arcs to reset batter timing during high-stakes games.

Comparing the main options or approaches

Delivering a pitch at near-walking speed falls into two distinct categories: tactical specialist pitches and blowout position-player lobs. The tactical approach, made famous by Rip Sewell in the 1940s with the original Eephus, requires deliberate spin, high trajectory, and pinpoint accuracy. Pitchers like Bill "Spaceman" Lee with his "Leephus" or Dave LaRoche with the "LaLob" mastered high-arc releases designed to enter the strike zone at extreme downward angles. This method demands rigorous command; throw it too high and it becomes an automatic ball, throw it too low and it lands short of home plate. On the opposite end lies the casual position-player approach, commonly seen when infielder or catcher stand-ins pitch late in lopsided games. Players like Brock Holt or Willians Astudillo throw soft, slow-pitch softball-style lobs intended simply to force contact without expending physical effort. While specialist pitchers use slow velocity as a strategic illusion to set up faster pitches, position players use it purely as a protective or entertainment-driven mechanism. Zack Greinke famously bridged these two schools by pairing a 99 mph fastball with a 51 mph arcing curveball, using extreme velocity differential to completely destabilize batter mechanics. Selecting between a high-arcing moonball and a flat, ultra-slow changeup depends entirely on whether the pitcher intends to induce a swing-and-miss or merely save bullpen arms during an unsalvageable defeat.

A cautionary note — what can go wrong

Deploying an ultra-slow pitch carries enormous risks that can humiliate even seasoned major leaguers. When a ball moves at 35 mph, it carries zero effective velocity to beat the hitter; the batter has ample time to recognize the pitch, load their weight, and generate maximum bat speed. If an eephus or lob pitch misses its target and hangs over the heart of the plate, it essentially becomes batting practice. The most famous disaster occurred during the 1946 All-Star Game when Ted Williams clobbered Rip Sewell’s eephus for a towering home run after challenging Sewell to throw it. Similarly, in Game 7 of the 1975 World Series, Bill Lee attempted a moonball to Tony Pérez, resulting in a crucial two-run homer over Fenway Park’s Green Monster. Furthermore, throwers run the risk of disrupting their own pitching mechanics or inviting official scrutiny if the pitch fails to reach the catcher on a fly. Modern umpire rules and strike-zone tracking can also penalize steep vertical entry angles, turning what appeared to be a painted strike into an embarrassing ball. Executing this trick pitch requires total confidence—otherwise, it becomes an instant highlight for the opposing team's offense.

A little-known fact most people miss

When tracking the slowest pitch in MLB history, fans often fixate strictly on the velocity readout, overlooking the crucial context behind the throw. Modern pitch-tracking technology, such as Statcast, measures velocity at the exact moment the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. In contrast, historical records relied on radar guns aimed closer to home plate, where air resistance had already scrubbed off crucial miles per hour.

Because of this technological shift, early ceremonial or novelty tosses were recorded under entirely different baseline metrics than today's position players taking the mound. Furthermore, official league statistics generally require a pitch to be thrown during a standard, sanctioned regular-season or postseason game to count in the record books. This means legendary backyard-style throws during exhibition matches or spring training games remain forever excluded from official leaderboards, despite technically being slower.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who holds the official record for the slowest MLB pitch?

Brock Holt, playing for the Texas Rangers in 2021, threw a pitch recorded at 31.1 mph against the Oakland Athletics, making it the slowest pitch caught on modern Statcast for an out.

Do position players throw these super-slow pitches?

Yes, position players brought in to pitch during blowout games almost exclusively account for these ultra-slow, lobbed pitches to save bullpen arms.

Is there a lower limit on MLB pitch speed?

No, Major League Baseball rules do not specify a minimum velocity requirement for a legal pitch, provided the throw reaches the catcher's box.

Can a pitcher get a strikeout with a 30-mph pitch?

While rare, batters occasionally swing early due to the drastic off-speed timing, resulting in foul balls, weak contact, or even strikes.

The Verdict: Eephus Pitches Belong in the Game

The 30-mph slow pitch is often dismissed as a gimmick, but it represents one of the most entertaining aspects of modern baseball strategy. Fans should embrace these extreme off-speed moments because they showcase the sheer psychological game played between pitcher and hitter. Next time a position player steps onto the mound in a blowout, do not turn off the broadcast—watch closely to see if history gets rewritten one ultra-slow lob at a time.