Could you hit today’s fastball with a 54 ounce bat?

[Exhibitman]

It is all in how you measure it. Today's numbers are generated from radar guns that measure velocity at 50 feet from the plate. Older measurements required the pitcher to throw through some contraption at a longer distance. Those older measures have to be recalculated to account for the differences in measurements. Nolan Ryan, for example was clocked at 100.6 in the tech of the time, which seems fast but not overpowering, BUT that translates into 108.5 in today's measurement standards, which makes him the ultimate gunslinger. Feller's recalculated velocity was 107.6. Johnson's was 93.8 based on a 1917 test from a Bridgeport, Connecticut, munitions laboratory, but that equipment was less accurate than the newer stuff, so it is harder to say what his velocity was.