Brock Holt, normally an infielder for the Rangers, took the mound in a blowout game and gave fans something they don’t usually see: a masterclass in absurdly slow pitching. He lobbed a 31 mph pitch that got called a strike, which is now the slowest called strike in MLB history since pitch tracking began in 2008. The crowd and players were loving it. Holt followed up with more slow-motion floaters that hovered around 30 to 33 mph, mixing in one 68 mph heater just to keep things unpredictable. Even Matt Chapman couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to track those slowballs, only to get thrown out at second after slapping one into left.
As Holt kept mixing speeds, the dugout and fans were totally locked in. One pitch landed at 83 mph, his fastest of the night, and it nearly went for a homer before a nice catch at the wall ended the inning. After walking off the mound, Holt jokingly asked the umpire to check his hat and glove for illegal substances. The ump shot back with a tired “no” and let the moment pass. In the dugout, teammates gathered around a screen to review and laugh at what they’d just witnessed, while Holt looked over it himself like he was breaking down real scouting footage. For a guy who doesn’t pitch, throwing slow strikes on command isn’t easy, and Holt made it work for a shutdown inning that won’t be forgotten soon.