SI

Angels Closer Ben Joyce Earned J.D. Martinez's Respect With Absurdly Fast Final Pitch

"I had to look up at the radar. I was like, 'That was different.'"

Josh Wilson

J.D. Martinez of the New York Mets
J.D. Martinez of the New York Mets / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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Down by one run in the top of the ninth inning, New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez had a chance to keep the Mets alive against the Los Angeles Angels as he stepped up to the plate. Ben Joyce had other plans.

Joyce showed Martinez three pitches.

The first: a 103.7 MPH fastball down and away, in the zone for a strike. The second, relatively slower, a 103.2 MPH fastball over the middle of the plate that Martinez got a bat on for a foul ball.

Then, Joyce gave it all he had to end the game. A 104.7 MPH fastball that Martinez whiffed at with no chance. It was way too fast. You could almost see flames coming off this one:

"I laughed after he struck me out. I was kind of smiling, I was like, 'Woah.' I had to look up at the radar. I was like, 'That was different,'" Martinez said after the game. "Kudos to him, man, he throws hard and he goes right at you. Not sitting there, you know, flipping stuff. He's power, power. Let's go, you know? And I can put some respect on him because of that."

Joyce, in his sophomore season, has pitched 24.2 innings and logged one save, with an ERA of 1.82. He is the only relief pitcher in MLB to face at least 50 batters in medium- and high-leverage situations and not give up an earned run. If he can keep pitching like this, he should find himself a nice relief role in the league.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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