The Dawn of Velocity Measurement
The first official pitch speed measurements in Japanese professional baseball date to the late 1970s. Radar guns developed in the United States were brought to Japan, and TV broadcasts began displaying pitch speeds around 1977. The dominant equipment at the time was manufactured by JUGS, with measurement accuracy estimated at roughly ±3 km/h. Before this era, the velocities attributed to pitchers like Tsuneo Horiuchi and Masaichi Kaneda were merely estimates derived from frame-by-frame film analysis, and Kaneda's legendary claim of exceeding 160 km/h lacked scientific verification. The introduction of speed guns was a groundbreaking development that brought a culture of evaluating pitchers by objective numbers to NPB. By the 1980s, velocity displays became a permanent fixture on stadium scoreboards, making pitch speed an integral part of the fan experience.
Find books about Speed Gun Evolution on Amazon
Generational Shifts in Measurement Technology
The 2000s saw the emergence of more sophisticated measurement systems beyond traditional Doppler radar guns. Trackman, introduced to multiple NPB stadiums around 2014, uses 3D Doppler radar to simultaneously capture not only velocity but also spin rate, spin axis, and movement. In the 2020s, the Hawk-Eye system arrived, employing 12 high-speed cameras for optical tracking of the ball's entire trajectory. This enables recording of release point height and pitch location with millimeter-level precision. Differences in measurement methods also affect the numbers. Traditional speed guns tended to measure initial velocity just after release, while Trackman calculates average speed from release point to home plate, which can produce differences of 2 to 3 km/h for the same pitch.
Speed Records and Impact on Pitcher Evaluation
NPB's official fastest pitch record is 165 km/h, set by Shohei Ohtani (then with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters) in 2016. The previous record was 161 km/h by Marc Kroon (Yokohama) in 2010, and before that, Hideki Irabu's (Lotte) 158 km/h in 1993 had long stood as the fastest by a Japanese pitcher. As measurement technology has advanced, pitchers exceeding 150 km/h have become commonplace; in the 2023 season, over 60 NPB pitchers recorded velocities above that threshold. However, the tendency to judge pitchers solely by velocity has drawn criticism. Many pitchers have dominated through non-velocity attributes, such as Shigeru Sugishita's forkball or Hideo Nomo's tornado delivery. Today, qualitative metrics like spin rate and movement are increasingly valued, and the understanding that velocity is just one component of pitcher evaluation is gaining ground.
Related books are also helpful
Future Outlook
Velocity measurement technology is poised for further evolution. In MLB, all 30 stadiums have been equipped with Hawk-Eye as standard since 2023, operating the Statcast system that publishes pitch data in real time. NPB is considering similar data-sharing infrastructure, which would significantly change the fan experience and media coverage. Wearable sensors measuring arm angular velocity and shoulder joint load during pitching are also entering practical use, with promising applications in injury prevention. What began as a single number representing pitch speed is evolving into a platform that visualizes the complete picture of a pitch. This transformation will influence scouting, player development, and in-game strategy alike.