Japanese pitcher Otani throws 165-kph fastball

Japanese pitcher Otani throws 165-kph fastball. October. 18, 2016 07:27. by 이헌재 기자uni@donga.com. Nippon Ham Fighters' pitching monster Shohei Otani's record-braking 165 kph pitch mesmerized Japan. Otani has shown outstanding pitching and hitting performance during this regular season. He was listed at the third designated hitter of the Game 5 Climax Series Final Stage against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, which was held at Sapporo Dome, Japan on Sunday.

His first pitch against SoftBank batter Nobuhiro Matsuda clocked at 163 kph and the second first pitch against Yuki Yoshimura recorded 165 kph, breaking his own record set on Sept. 7 as well as the fastest pitch (164 kph) in the history of Japanese baseball.

That was not the end of the story. He threw two more fastballs at the speed of 165 kph, facing Yuichi Honda, the last batter of SoftBank. The eight fastballs he pitched on that day clocked a record of over 163 kph and the average speed was 164.1 km. The speed of fork ball was recorded at 151 km, faster than fastballs of other pitchers.

Otani contributed for his team to win the ticket to Japan Series with two strikeouts in an inning without losing a point and picked up his first save to become the first player who saves the game as a hitter and pitcher in the history of Japanese baseball.

Some worry about potential injuries to Otani. Fighters pitching coach Masato Yoshii said that speeding up the pitches could lead to overuse injuries and he needs to control the speed and avoid overuses from now on.

The Nippon Ham Fighters that defeated the Pacific League will meet Central League champion Hiroshima Carp at the Japan Series, starting from Oct. 22.