Ben Joyce, aptly nicknamed “The Volunteer Fireman” during his final year at Tennessee, reached an astonishing accomplishment on Tuesday night.
While pitching the 9th inning against the Dodgers on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Joyce recorded a strikeout fastball at 105.5 MPH, according to MLB on X.
Joyce’s strikeout pitch on Tuesday is “the fastest strikeout pitch in the pitch-tracking era (2008),” beating his own previous record to set the new record.
According to Sarah Langs on X, Joyce set the prior record at 104.7 MPH earlier this season, although it was tied by Aroldis Chapman later on. The former Tennessee Volunteer can now reclaim the record with a pitch that was almost one full MPH more than his previous record.
BEN JOYCE JUST THREW 105.5 MPH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3BNim2It0P
— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2024
Despite the tweet not being posted until 11:55 p.m. ET on Tuesday, it already has nearly a million views on X at the time of this publication just nine hours later.
“I don’t even know how this is humanly possible,” one Chicago White Sox fan on X replied.
“This guy is about to single-handedly break MLB The Show video game,” another fan chimed in online.
pitchers to throw 105.0+ mph pitches, pitch-tracking era (2008, incl PS):
Aroldis Chapman: 9
Jordan Hicks: 2
Ben Joyce: 1— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 4, 2024
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Joyce recorded a clean ninth inning on Tuesday, giving up no runs while striking out two to get his three outs. The Dodgers would take advantage of the Angels’ next pitcher in the 10th inning, though, putting up four runs in the top of the 10th inning to take the go-ahead lead.
The Knoxville native has been great for the Halos this season, with 31 appearances throughout the season and even two wins under his belt. Where Joyce had a 5.40 ERA in 12 games during his rookie season in 2023, the former Vol has bounced back to an outstanding 2.08 ERA in 31 games (34.2 innings) this season. Joyce has 33 strikeouts, 14 walks, has given up 26 hits and eight runs, and has four saves and eight holds.
Joyce’s OBA (opponent batting average) has also dropped from .243 to .210 in his first to second seasons.
While at Tennessee, Joyce recorded the fastest pitch in college baseball history at 105.5 MPH, which is full circle to his strikeout record on Tuesday night. Joyce recorded his pitch against Auburn on May 1, 2022, setting the baseball world on fire while doing so.
Absolute filth from Ben Joyce. According to our YakkerTrack data, Ben Joyce threw a pitch 105.5 mph in that inning. 🤯
📺 https://t.co/WMXSwVCK1W#GBO // #OTH // #BeatAuburn pic.twitter.com/AzBeGEbkB1
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 1, 2022
Ben Joyce was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels out of Tennessee. During his MLB debut in May 2023, Joyce showed off his huge arm with two 100+ MPH strikeouts in his first inning in the bigs.
Ben Joyce, the @Angels No. 9 prospect, was NASTY in his MLB debut. ⛽ pic.twitter.com/8T7xFNF1Ut
— MLB (@MLB) May 30, 2023
