Back to the Seattle Mariners Newsfeed

How Cristian Javier's fastball became the best pitch this postseason

PHILADELPHIA -- Late last week, before Cristian Javier etched his name into baseball history, his Houston Astros teammates attempted to describe his fastball. By velocity alone, it is a milquetoast effort, flung from his right arm at 94 mph. And yet one teammate called the pitch "obscene" and another said "it looks 100" and a third deemed it "invisible." On Wednesday night, after Javier started Game 4 of the World Series, one more teammate chimed in with the most apt descriptor of all.

"Clearly unhittable," Astros closer Ryan Pressly said.

Certain pitches in baseball are so good they anger hitters, aggravate and frustrate and confound.