Men's fastpitch

I come from an area where men's fastpitch is pretty popular, and I'm a pitcher myself. What I'm interested in is how pitching mechanics differ between guys and girls. Now don't get me wrong, I know that there are certain basics and fundamentals which stay the same, but the main difference lies in the fact that guys are allowed to leap off and lose contact with the plate rather that dragging. With that said, are there any different procedures between the two motions? Would be of great help. Cheers

I wish the men's fastpitch game would have a comeback. I would love to see the game if it's as fast paced as the girl's game is.

drc9805 said:

I wish the men's fastpitch game would have a comeback. I would love to see the game if it's as fast paced as the girl's game is.

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It's faster....

In general terms, the men have larger hands and pitch from 46 feet....good pitchers can make the ball dance all over the place.
The bases are still at 60 feet, so picture bigger, stronger players playing the game in the same dimensions as the women.

Men's FP is fun to watch.

Ajaywill said:

In general terms, the men have larger hands and pitch from 46 feet....good pitchers can make the ball dance all over the place.
The bases are still at 60 feet, so picture bigger, stronger players playing the game in the same dimensions as the women.

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I coach with a guy whose knuckleball is practically uncatchable.

Ametuerpitcher said:

The main difference lies in the fact that guys are allowed to leap off and lose contact with the plate rather that dragging.

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I wish they would change this. No reason the women shouldn't be able to leap if they want to.

Strange thing about where I live. Men's fast pitch is dying out, but there is a new 55+ league that is thriving. So many of the guys from when the game was popular want to play each other, without having to compete with the young whippersnappers.

Good pitchers are getting very hard to find around here. DD's PC came out of retirement to pitch against the young guys, and he wins games against players who are decades younger than he is.

PC says most of the guys he knows are in the 55+ league, though. From what I have heard, most of the best pitchers in town are in the 55+ league.

BobInMadison said:

Strange thing about where I live. Men's fast pitch is dying out, but there is a new 55+ league that is thriving. So many of the guys from when the game was popular want to play each other, without having to compete with the young whippersnappers.

Good pitchers are getting very hard to find around here. DD's PC came out of retirement to pitch against the young guys, and he wins games against players who are decades younger than he is.

PC says most of the guys he knows are in the 55+ league, though. From what I have heard, most of the best pitchers in town are in the 55+ league.

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This is one of the reasons Men's FP is slowly dying out.....very few young pitchers.

With the advent of travel baseball, HS and college age baseball players are able to play year 'round.
When Men's FP was in it's heyday (60's and 70's), several teams had HS and college age players that played baseball in the spring, then FP in the summer. Helped them to learn and use a shorter, more compact swing, make contact and put the ball in play more, and build quicker defensive reflexes.

There is just no upside to learning to be a FP pitcher for young males.

Ajaywill said:

This is one of the reasons Men's FP is slowly dying out.....very few young pitchers.

With the advent of travel baseball, HS and college age baseball players are able to play year 'round.
When Men's FP was in it's heyday (60's and 70's), several teams had HS and college age players that played baseball in the spring, then FP in the summer. Helped them to learn and use a shorter, more compact swing, make contact and put the ball in play more, and build quicker defensive reflexes.

There is just no upside to learning to be a FP pitcher for young males.

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I ran across a picture from long ago of a men's FP team in the Cincy area. The team manager was "Dud" Zimmer, the shortstop was Eddie Banks, Sr., and they had a semi-pro football player, Harry "Big Pete" Rose on the team.

Their sons were the bat boys, and would play with the team when they got older. Three of the bat boys/ part-time players, Don Zimmer, Eddie Banks, Jr. and Pete Rose, had long careers in the Majors.

So, I believe you when you say FP helped the young baseball players develop. Pete Rose played OF for this adult FP team when he was 12.


BTW, Tommy John HATES year-round baseball. He says it completely destroys the pitchers' arms. How many MLB pitchers needed "Tommy John" surgery so far this season? I think almost 20.

Ajaywill said:

This is one of the reasons Men's FP is slowly dying out.....very few young pitchers.

With the advent of travel baseball, HS and college age baseball players are able to play year 'round.
When Men's FP was in it's heyday (60's and 70's), several teams had HS and college age players that played baseball in the spring, then FP in the summer. Helped them to learn and use a shorter, more compact swing, make contact and put the ball in play more, and build quicker defensive reflexes.

There is just no upside to learning to be a FP pitcher for young males.

Click to expand...

I ran across a picture from long ago of a men's FP team in the Cincy area. The team manager was "Dud" Zimmer, the shortstop was Eddie Banks, Sr., and they had a semi-pro football player, Harry "Big Pete" Rose on the team.

Their sons were the bat boys, and would play with the team when they got older. Three of the bat boys/ part-time players, Don Zimmer, Eddie Banks, Jr. and Pete Rose, had long careers in the Majors.

So, I believe you when you say FP helped the young baseball players develop. Pete Rose played OF for this adult FP team when he was 12.


BTW, Tommy John HATES year-round baseball. He says it completely destroys the pitchers' arms. How many MLB pitchers needed "Tommy John" surgery so far this season? I think almost 20.

Cowdogz said:

I wish they would change this. No reason the women shouldn't be able to leap if they want to.

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Women CAN (and often do) leap in almost every other country except USA, it's allowed under ISF rules and is probably the way of the future.