Bryce Harper unleashes a near-100 mph laser to nail runner at the plate
The only thing Baltimore Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph did wrong was hit the ball a bit too hard, to the wrong guy. The play unfolded in the bottom of the 11th inning on Tuesday night after O's shortstop J.J. Hardy hit a two-out double. Joseph followed with a sharply hit ball to Harper in right field when the Nats star did this:
https://twitter.com/statcast/status/862141316519481344
That's basically a perfect throw by Harper, who beat Hardy by about 10 feet on what would have been the game-winning run. The O's went on to win 5-4 in the next frame but still, heck of an assist.
According to MLB's Statcast (which began in 2015), that's the hardest throw ever recorded for Harper and the hardest-thrown outfield assist of the season. However, that's still well off the Statcast record for hardest throw -- outfield assist, pitch or otherwise. That record belongs to the Yankees' Aaron Hicks, who launched a 105.5-mph rocket to nail Danny Valencia at the plate in April 2016.
