NEW YORK (AP) — Flamethrowers ruled the mound in the major leagues this year, with the average four-seam fastball among right-handed pitchers reaching 95 mph for the first time.
Average velocity has increased for seven straight seasons, ticking up 0.3 mph this year for right-handers, according to MLB Statcast. Among right-handed relievers, the average four-seamer was 95.6 mph.
For all pitchers, four-seamers averaged 94.5 mph, an increase of 0.2 mph in 2024 and up from 91.9 mph when tracking started in 2008.
“You see electric arms all the time,” New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said. “The thing now is there's more guys throwing 100.”
Reliever Mason Miller, traded from Oakland to San Diego in July, reached 100 mph with a big league-high 422 pitches, 43.4% of the 972 he threw. He let loose the seven fastest pitches of the season, topping at a 104.2 mph offering to Arizona's Tyler Locklear that sailed high and outside on Aug. 5.
Cincinnati's Hunter Greene, a starter, had the second-most three-digit flamers at 296. There were 3,700 triple-digit pitches, up from 3,321 last year and second to a record 3,880 in 2023.
A max-effort culture dominates pitching development. A study released by MLB last December concluded rising velocities, pitch shaping and emphasis on maximum effort are likely causes of the vast increase in pitcher injuries. MLB recently restricted offseason scouting of amateur players to discourage year-round training.
“In some cases without the velocity a player truly isn’t going to take that next step, but with adding the velocity there comes risk,” Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said ahead of the season.
Starters averaged 15.56 outs and 85 pitches this year, according the Elias Sports Bureau, down slightly from 15.65 and 85.5 in 2024. The figures have remained within the same narrow band since outs fell below 16 and pitches under 88 for the first time in 2019.
Average spin rate on four-seamers was a record 2,322 revolutions per minute, up from 2,297 last year and 2,239 when first measured in 2015.
Baseball's batting average was .245, up from .243 last year but remaining close to the low of .237 in 1968. There were just seven qualified hitters at .300 or higher, matching last year as the second-fewest above only the six in 1968. There were 55 in 1999.
Philadelphia’s Trea Turner won the National League batting title with a record-low .304 average. Tony Gwynn's .313 for San Diego in 1988 had been the previous nadir.
Home runs rose to 1.16 per game from 1.12, down from a record high of 1.39 in 2019.
Stolen bases dropped to 3,440 in the third year of larger bases from 3,617 last year and 3,503 in 2023. There were 2,486 in 2022, the last season before rule changes limited pickoff attempts and enlarged bases to 18-inch squares from 15.
Strikeouts per team per game dropped to 8.36, its lowest since 2017, while walks increased slightly to 3.16.
There were a record-low 13 shutouts, down from 16 last year and 21 in 2023, but there were 29 complete games, one more than the low set last season.
Home teams won 54.3% of games as 1,319-1,111, their highest winning percentage since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season at .557 and the highest over a full season to .559 in 2010, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Roster churn increased, with Atlanta using a record 71 players, one more than Baltimore and Miami.
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