Fastest pitches in World Series history: Jacob Misiorowski breaks record on first pitch of Game 1 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Brewers are a spectacle of their own after returning to the World Series for the first time in 44 years, but the player that made fans tune into Friday's Game 1 was Jacob Misiorowski.
The projected NL Cy Young Award winner was lethal in his first full season, posting a 1.80 ERA across 30 starts and blowing an otherworldly fastball by hitters from March to October.
To no surprise, the list of the fastest pitches thrown in 2026 was littered with Misiorowski's name. The young ace averaged 100.6 MPH on his four-seam fastball and threw more than a dozen pitches of 104 MPH or faster during the regular season.
On Friday, Misiorowski etched his name in World Series history. Here's what you need to know.
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Fastest pitch in World Series history
Misiorowski threw a 103.5 MPH pitch for his very first pitch Friday's Game 1 to Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz, breaking a record previously held by Aroldis Chapman.
The fastest pitch in World Series history before tonight was 101.1 MPH. Jacob Misiorowski’s very first pitch of the game tonight? 103.5 MPH 🤯 https://t.co/MgAEOCYb3W
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 24, 2026
Chapman threw a 103.2 MPH pitch for the Cubs during the 2016 World Series, setting a record that stood for a decade. With Misiorowski and the Brewers reaching the Fall Classic, the chances of that mark holding up for another year were always going to be slim.
While the record only traces back to the pitch-tracking era in 2008, it would be tough to imagine anyone in MLB history came particularly close to what Misiorowski or Chapman managed to throw.
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Fastest pitch by a starter in World Series history
Misiorowski had no problem shattering the previous record for fastest pitch by a starting pitcher in the World Series, which was Noah Syndergaard's 101.1 MPH pitch for the Mets in 2015.
Before Friday, Syndergaard's 101.1 MPH pitch against the Royals was the only pitch of at least 101 MPH by a starter in World Series history. Misiorowski threw several pitches of at least 101 MPH and three of at least 102 MPH in the first inning alone in Game 1 against the Rays.
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