Angels' Ben Joyce is the Clubhouse Leader in Fooling Teammates

Jeremy Hanna | Aug 10, 2024

Jun 19, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Ben Joyce (44) walk on the field prior to the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

To say that the Los Angeles Angels' 2024 season has been disappointing is an understatement.

Not only are the Angels completely out of the playoffs, but Mike Trout is out with a season-ending injury and their future looks disappointing as well.

That being said, there have been a few standout players, including catcher Logan O'Hoppe, shortstop Zach Neto, and pitcher Ben Joyce.

Drafted in the third round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, Joyce has truly come into his own. Across 21 appearances, he boasts a 1.82 ERA and 21 strikeouts, per MLB.com.

On top of this, Joyce recently fired a 104.7 mph fastball to strike out J.D. Martinez and help the Angels win a close 5-4 game against the New York Mets. This not only marked his first save in MLB, but it was the fastest pitch thrown by a major league this season.

Second place also belongs to Joyce, who threw a 104.5 mph heater against the Seattle Mariners on July 12. He is the only pitcher to reach 104 mph this year.

“It was awesome, man,” Joyce said, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “It started with [Zach] Neto’s homer. Like you just feel the energy in there, and I just tried to keep it up when I was out there. I felt pretty calm, even though there was definitely a different level of adrenaline. I couldn’t hear the PitchCom because it got too loud, and so it was a different level there. It was an 0-2 pitch, so I just tried to let it eat and it ended up getting a good result.”

“I've never seen a fastball like that," Martinez said. "For me, personally, that was the fastest fastball I've ever faced. He threw it and I laughed after he struck me out, I was kind of smiling like, ‘Woah.' I had to look up at the radar, I was like, ‘That was different.’ Kudos to him, man, he throws hard and goes right at you.”

Recently, the talented young hurler participated in the Hardballs rapid-fire question segment on the MLB Network. After revealing that the most famous contact in his phone is Johnny Knoxville and he's never been to Disneyland, Joyce revealed how he hopes his twin brother Zack thinks of him.

"Hopefully hardworking," Joyce said. "He might say annoying, though. Depends on the day."

The hardest throwing pitcher in baseball is... 👀@benjoyce08 stopped by the MLB Network studio ahead of today's doubleheader! pic.twitter.com/nwnyykcibg

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 7, 2024

However, this was nothing compared to learning that he and his brother, who is also part of the Angels organization, recently swapped places.

"This year in spring training, actually," Joyce confirmed. "It worked. No one knew the difference. I would go by Zack or Ben depending on who I was talking to."

This obviously leads to one question: which brother was participating in the interview? We'll likely never know.

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