Pound for pound, stepping up to the plate and slugging a big-league pitcher is just about the toughest task facing any athlete.

Armed with little more than a wooden wand and a few bits of flimsy protective equipment, Major League batters have just a fraction of a second to register what kind of pitch is heading toward them and where they are planning on hitting it.

These days, there is an absolute premium on pitchers throwing at peak velocity. The faster, it seems, the better. But while it is contemporary relief pitchers that throw the most heat, the likes of the โ€˜Big Train' and the โ€˜Ryan Express' used to wheel, deal and have batters whiffing right from the get-go.

Though big leaguers, both present and past, will all have different answers as to who dealt the fastest pitch they ever faced, the arrival โ€“ and acceptance โ€“ of Statcast has busted many myths, with many believing that pitches recorded before 2015 should come with an asterisk.

However, as we are not physicists, we'll leave others to argue semantics.

Due to the primitive technology used to record them, the record books do not recognise the opening pair of pitches on this list, yet we've opted to pitch these two curveballs in there for you.

Batter up!

1. Nolan Ryan โ€“ 108.1 mph/174 kph - 1974 โ€“ California Angels (laser radar)

2. Bob Feller โ€“ 107.6 mph/173.2 kph - 1946 โ€“ Cleveland Indians (chronograph)

3. Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.8 mph/170.3 kph โ€“ 2010 โ€“ Cincinnati Reds (Pitch F/X)

4. Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.7 mph/170.1 kph โ€“ 2016 โ€“ New York Yankees (Pitch F/X)

5. Ben Joyce โ€“ 105.5 mph/169.8 kph โ€“ 2022 โ€“ University of Tennessee (Pitch F/X)

6. Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.4 mph/169.6 kph โ€“ 2016 โ€“ New York Yankees (Pitch F/X)

7. Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.2 mph/169.3 kph - 2016 โ€“ New York Yankees (Pitch F/X)

8. Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.1 mph/169.1 kph - 2016 โ€“ Chicago Cubs (Pitch F/X)
ย ย ย  Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.1 mph/169.1 kph - 2016 โ€“ New York Yankees (Pitch F/X)
ย ย ย  Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.1 mph/169.1 kph - 2016 โ€“ New York Yankees (Pitch F/X)

9. Aroldis Chapman โ€“ 105.0 mph/169.0 kph - 2016 - New York Yankees (Pitch F/X)
ย  ย  Jordan Hicks โ€“ 105.0 mph/169.0 kph - 2018 - St Louis Cardinals (Pitch F/X)

10. Joel Zumaya โ€“ 104.8 mph/168.7 kph - 2006 - Detroit Tigers (Pitch F/X)