Daniel Bard throws hard. Very hard, in fact. Both his four-seamer and sinker average just about 98 MPH (97.6 to be exact), and he can reach back for triple digits when he needs to do it. And on top of that, his spin on those pitches ranks in the 100th percentile, with his four-seamer getting a ridiculous 2742 RPM and the sinker not far behind at 2602. That spin hasn’t dropped after the substance ban, either: Bard had a recent outing in which he averaged over 2800 RPM on the heater. So, the results of the pitch should be awesome, right?
The mystery of Daniel Bard’s fastball
