Oakland A’s standout rookie pitcher Mason Miller has gained attention for his impressive fastball. Last Tuesday night, he threw a blistering fastball for the American League that broke the world record and created history.
Miller is just unbelievably talented, as this four-seam fastball is almost impossible for opposing batters to hit. Pitching for the American League team at the All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, Miller hit 103.6 mph on his first pitch to Trea Turner, breaking the record for fastest recorded pitch in All-Star history.
The MLB confirmed that this Miller pitch clocked in at 103.6 mph, making it the fastest pitch to ever be thrown at the All-Star Game in the pitch-tracking era that started in 2008. The player is a rookie, and in his first MLB season, he created history.
Aroldis Chapman had held the record for the fastest pitch thrown in an All-Star Game during the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) when he hit 103.4 on the radar gun in 2015 with the Reds. With this 0.2-second difference, our rookie has engraved his name in history.
In his ideal top portion of the fifth inning, Miller initiated a one-pitch flyout from the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte, struck out Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on four pitches, and got the Phillies’ Turner looking on an impeccably located slider.
Ohtani was at-bat against Boston’s Tanner Houck and hit a three-home run previously. “I wasn’t giving him one up, that’s for sure,” Miller told Tom Verducci of Fox Sports during an in-game interview. “I think I got the second strike, then I got one that might’ve been down a little bit, but I got to the back-foot slider.”
Miller’s flawless inning maintained the 3-3 tie. The American League took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran launched a two-run homer off the Reds’ Hunter Greene.
“It’s hard to not enjoy that, with this crowd and these players here,” Miller said. “It’s what you dream of.”
Mason Miller and his other achievements
Miller played for Bethel Park High School in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, while being homeschooled, and played college baseball at Waynesburg University for four years until he graduated. He then played for Gardner-Webb University for his fifth year as a graduate student. As a sophomore at Waynesburg, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Being a diabetic person, Mason Miller has also raised awareness about type 1 diabetes. In Houston, Miller met 8-year-old Shepherd, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 6. Miller signed a baseball for him and took a photo. He also chatted with Shepherd and his father before heading out for pregame warmups. Afterward, on his way back to the clubhouse, Miller brought several of his A’s teammates to meet Shepherd.
In Kansas City, 9-year-old Hudson Crutchfield from Oklahoma met his “hero” in Miller on the field at Kauffman Stadium. Miller signed a baseball for Crutchfield. Crutchfield gave Miller his own drawing of Miller firing off a 103-mph fastball.
