Last summer, in the East-West event, Iivari Vihanto threw the hardest measured throw in baseball history, 161.5 kilometers per hour, and became known to a large audience.
shows the men’s Superpesis top match Vimpelin Veto–Sotkamon Jymy. Broadcast on TV2 and Areena on Sunday 14.7. from 4 p.m.
The hitting and throwing power of baseball players has interested and talked about throughout history. In 2020 Konsta Kurikka threw 159 kilometers per hour on the radar and made history.
20 years old Iivari Vihanto set new records last summer when he was 19 years old.
– Yes, all the closest teammates knew that. Maybe then the general public became aware that the ball is going out of hand, Vihanto grins.
The vegetable throwing hand is also a hard currency internationally.
In baseball’s top league, MLB, average pitchers’ pitches go at a speed of about 150 kilometers per hour, and the hardest throws are in the same category as Vihanno’s. Sure, the ball is a little different.
The pitching power of baseball players has been of interest to MLB talent scouts over the years. Finnish champion Konsta Kurikka left at the end of the 2020 season to chase his MLB dream.
Could Iivari Vihanto do the same in the future?
– That’s a great idea. But I myself am so pessimistically realistic that the road there seems too long and uncertain. And I probably don’t dare to challenge it. I really hope that he (Kurikka) will reach his goal, Vihanto thinks about the MLB possibility.
In addition to baseball, Vihanno has had a strong study throughout his sports career. Currently, he is studying economics at the University of Oulu.
– My own family has emphasized studying and helped me understand that baseball is a semi-professional sport. A career-ending injury can happen any day, and studying brings security when life isn’t about baseball.
This season, Sotkamon’s Jymy is a strong candidate for the medal games. Especially when playing against Jymy’s outfield, the opponents have to be careful when the balls from Vihanno’s hand leave from further away.
– It calms down playing. There is no such rush to complete.
Self-confidence can be seen and heard in the young man’s playing at the moment. In Koppar’s role, the throwing distances are long, and a strong throwing hand brings additional help to the game.
– It creates certainty when you can perform in peace and in your own comfort zone and there will be fewer mistakes.
Vihanto, representing his breeding club Sotkamo Jymy, celebrated the Finnish championship at the end of last season in Sotkamo.
In the outfield, the young man has been able to show off his strong throwing arm in the role of pitcher this season as well. But the playing has also progressed holistically, as in the indoor game the responsibility has become even more as a substitute.
– Yes, self-confidence remains high, but the team’s success is the one that measures how the summer has gone, Vihanto concludes.
shows the men’s Superpesis top match Vimpelin Veto–Sotkamon Jymy. Broadcast on TV2 and Areena on Sunday 14.7. from 4 p.m.