The vast majority of sports fans, especially diehard MLB fans, have at least some idea of how difficult it is to hit a baseball. But every now and then, a big league pitcher delivers a pitch that's so filthy and unhittable that it serves as a good reminder of just how hard it is to be a MLB hitter.
Monday's game between the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox, a 5-1 win for the Mariners, featured one such moment. Mariners ace Luis Castillo was on the mound facing White Sox outfielder Austin Slater in the bottom of the second inning with the game scoreless. After pumping four straight four-seam fastballs in the zone, two of which were called strikes and one called a ball, Castillo decided to show Slater something a little different.
He unleashed a pitch that resembled a two-seam fastball or a sinker, which sharply broke inward on the right-handed hitting Slater's hands. The White Sox outfielder swung and missed at the filthy pitch for strike three.
Luis Castillo, Crazy 97mph Two Seamer. 😲
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 20, 2025
22 Inches of Run.
He definitely seemed impressed with himself. pic.twitter.com/GL6i1XD36U
What even was that? As the broadcast noted, Castillo even seemed impressed with himself. MLB fans were even more so.
“Hitting a baseball is easy” lol
— Colt Connolly Zieler (@ColtConnolly6) May 20, 2025
Holy frisbee 😵💫😵💫
— MLB Digest (@TheMLBDigest) May 20, 2025
At 97MPH too. Yikes!
— Mark Patient (@MarkPatient) May 20, 2025
That’s some wind run
— Brady Wilson (@BradyWilson23) May 20, 2025
This is for the people who say they can hit a mlb baseball
— I love Andy Dirks (@waym0x) May 20, 2025
Some fans even wondered how some of the game's greatest hitters of all time would have reacted to seeing such a pitch, which had 22 inches of horizontal break.
I’d do anything to see Rogers Hornsby’s reaction in the batters box to just one of these pitches https://t.co/DHGtLqThSS
— AT (@YankeeWRLD) May 20, 2025
Imagine Babe Ruth trying to hit that, he’d be thinking it’s witchcraft
— It’s Miami (@itsm1am1) May 20, 2025
Castillo, a three-time All-Star, tossed seven shutout innings with five strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season. He's sporting a 3.20 ERA through 10 starts this season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luis Castillo's Ridiculous Pitch Left MLB Fans Wondering How Anyone Hits a Baseball.
