PHOENIX — The fastest man in the major leagues sounded almost embarrassed. Yes, Garrett Mitchell, a rookie center fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, had a home-to-first sprint speed of 4.01 seconds last season. Yes, that was the fastest time of more than 500 players tracked by Major League Baseball’s Statcast system.
No, Mitchell was not impressed.
“To me, that wasn’t that fast,” Mitchell said while standing by his locker at the Brewers’ complex before a game last week. “My fastest time that I’ve ever had, home to first, was like 3.89 or 3.91. So when people say, ‘Hey, you have the fastest time,’ I’m like, ‘Well, that was kind of slow.