Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
San Diego Padres reliever Mason Miller threw was some baseball fans are calling, literally, the best pitch ever thrown. In the bottom of the seventh against Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly, Miller dotted the bottom outside corner with a laser beam 104 MPH fastball.
The 27-year-old Miller, who was named to his first MLB All-Star game last season, was traded to the San Diego Padres from the Athletics midseason and finished the 2025 season with a 2.63 ERA, 22 saves, and 104 strikeouts across 60 games between the Athletics and Padres, making him one of the game’s elite relievers.
Miller was selected by the Athletics out of Gardner-Webb University in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He then made his professional debut for the organization in 2023.
Game 1 against the Cubs on Tuesday, September 30 was Miller’s first-ever postseason outing and he struck out all three batters in the seventh inning. In the series-tying win on Wednesday, though, Miller heaved what’s being heralded by some as the greatest pitch ever thrown. According to MLB, his 104 MPH heater was the fastest-tracked pitch in playoff history.
Mason Miller’s 104 MPH fastball against Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly is being hailed as the greatest pitch EVER thrown
While dotting the corner is one thing, doing it at 104 MPH is a feat rarely seen in MLB, thus resulting in all of the praise Miller has been getting (the Padres also won the game to tie the series, for what it’s worth).
This is arguably the best pitch ever thrown by a human being https://t.co/InSzemtYHP
— Brett Anderson (@_BAnderson30_) October 1, 2025
Best pitch of all time? https://t.co/bltBMWGBAE
— Steve Palazzolo (@StevePalazzolo_) October 1, 2025
Nahhhh, Mason Miller might have just thrown the best pitch I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/5fdnjal5Nd
— Adam Samuels (@SamuelAdams_12) October 1, 2025
Is this the best pitch in MLB history https://t.co/sOnKl3hjxQ
— John (@Friar_Faithful) October 1, 2025
The deciding Game 3 of the National League Wild Card series between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs will be held at Wrigley Field on Thursday, October 2 at 5:08 p.m.