Passan: How velocity is ruling this postseason—and who is bringing the most heat in this World Series [$]

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Welcome to Major League Baseball, 2022 style, where if you don’t throw hard, you probably don’t throw much at all. Gone with few exceptions are the nibblers and soft-tossers, relics of a time when only the finest fastballs kissed 90 mph, replaced by live arms that reliably launch bolts. Back in 2008, the first year MLB tracked all pitch data, pitchers threw three fastballs of 100 mph or greater in the playoffs. This year, there have already been 164. And with Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park postponed because of rain in Philadelphia, the teams’ rested bullpens will only add to the list.

It’s not just the top-end arms or elite relievers. The average starter is throwing 94.9 mph this October. Relievers, even generally anonymous ones, are at 95.9 mph. It’s everyone. In 2008, the postseason’s hardest thrower was Bobby Jenks, whose fastball averaged 97.5 mph. This postseason alone, 17 pitchers have faster average heaters than Jenks’. Five years ago, 27 of the 100 playoff pitchers sat above 95 mph. This year, it’s 68 of 131—more than half.

Veloctober isn’t necessarily a new phenomenon. Every year, fastball velocity ticks up between the regular season and the postseason, though never has it been as pronounced as it is this year—a 1.7 mph jump from the regular-season average of 93.6. The takeaway is clear: If a team wants to contend in this age of baseball, it needs an army of hard throwers to compete with other teams working to amass the same.

“Bigger, stronger and faster—they figured out how to do it,” Robertson said. “They dissected the game so much and figured out how to do what only a few guys could do before.”