WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao pitcher Giendry Ryan continues to attract attention in the United States following Pariba Little League’s world championship, with American sports media highlighting a fastball that reached approximately 77 miles per hour, or nearly 124 kilometers per hour.
The speed has generated considerable discussion on social media, where some posts have claimed that Ryan actually threw 101 mph, or more than 162 kilometers per hour. That is not what happened.
Ryan’s fastest pitches were around 77 mph. The 101 mph figure is an estimate of how his fastball would feel to a batter if adjusted for the shorter pitching distance used in Little League.
In Little League baseball, the pitcher delivers the ball from approximately 14 meters away from home plate, compared with more than 18 meters in Major League Baseball. As a result, a batter facing a 77 mph Little League fastball has significantly less reaction time than a batter facing the same velocity from a Major League mound.
When adjusted for that difference in distance and reaction time, Ryan’s fastball is roughly comparable to facing a pitch traveling around 101 mph in Major League Baseball.
But velocity was only part of Ryan’s remarkable tournament.
The Curaçao pitcher completed the Little League World Series with a 0.00 ERA, allowing no earned runs. He recorded 20 strikeouts in eight innings, the third-highest strikeout total among all players in the tournament.
Ryan demonstrated his ability early in the competition against Japan, combining with Jaymiëll Martina to throw a no-hitter. Ryan pitched the final 1⅓ innings and finished the game with a 75 mph fastball as Curaçao secured a 6-0 victory.
He was also instrumental against South Korea. Ryan and Juriënsly De Windt combined to keep the Korean team scoreless while recording 10 strikeouts. Curaçao won the tightly contested game 1-0.
Ryan was called upon again in the world championship game against the U.S. champions from Nevada.
Curaçao found itself trailing for the first time in the tournament after Nevada scored twice in the second inning. Ryan replaced De Windt on the mound and helped stop the American team’s momentum.
He pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings and struck out four batters before Little League pitch-count regulations forced him to leave the mound. Ryan then moved to centerfield while Steven Felix took over pitching duties.
That move placed Ryan in exactly the right position for the final play of Curaçao’s historic championship run.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Nevada sent the ball toward centerfield. Ryan made the catch for the final out, threw his glove into the air and was immediately surrounded by celebrating teammates.
Pariba defeated Nevada 11-2 to capture Curaçao’s second Little League World Series championship. The island’s first world title came in 2004.
Ryan’s combination of velocity, 20 strikeouts, eight scoreless innings and his championship-clinching catch has now made him one of the most talked-about players from Curaçao’s historic run in Williamsport.