Pitching speeds at the TCS Showcase

Queen of Damonds North. 56 top pitchers in the Midwest. None broke 57. The guns were mounted so all college coach's could see the monitors behind the catcher. It measured the speed of the ball across the plate not exit speed. The top pitcher in Ohio hit the 57, she is in 10'th grade. Her dad told us he gunned her at 63.

SBFAMILY said:

Queen of Damonds North. 56 top pitchers in the Midwest. None broke 57. The guns were mounted so all college coach's could see the monitors behind the catcher. It measured the speed of the ball across the plate not exit speed. The top pitcher in Ohio hit the 57, she is in 10'th grade. Her dad told us he gunned her at 63.

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Most guns today show speed at the mid-point. The speed at the plate is not a very fair indicator in my opinion, but coaches can adjust this in their heads. Her release speed was probably somewhere around 59-60. That doesn't make 63 too extremely far out of reach if she releases at 60, but there is a world of difference between the two speeds.

SBFAMILY said:

Queen of Damonds North. 56 top pitchers in the Midwest. None broke 57. The guns were mounted so all college coach's could see the monitors behind the catcher. It measured the speed of the ball across the plate not exit speed. The top pitcher in Ohio hit the 57, she is in 10'th grade. Her dad told us he gunned her at 63.

Click to expand...

Most guns today show speed at the mid-point. The speed at the plate is not a very fair indicator in my opinion, but coaches can adjust this in their heads. Her release speed was probably somewhere around 59-60. That doesn't make 63 too extremely far out of reach if she releases at 60, but there is a world of difference between the two speeds.

howellhandmade said:

Would you mind educating me a bit? I thought the xbox was just a game console. We have a Wii, wonder if it does something similar.

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If you get ESPN as part of whatever TV service you subscribe to (cable, satellite, whatever), then you also have access to ESPN.com as part of the fees you pay to the cable/satellite company. ESPN.com has several apps available for things like your computer, ipad/iphone, xbox, and some other set top boxes. I'm honestly not too familiar with what the Wii has to offer, but to my knowledge it isn't as capable due to the lack of hard drive. An xbox360 or playstationIII are basically computers and can do whatever they're programmed to do.

Anyway, even with just your computer you can go to ESPN.com and watch a bunch of different sports there. You can set up preferences, so if you set up softball you'll be given options to view most of the previously recorded softball games that were shown on ESPN from the last year.

-W

There is no such thing as a radar gun that reads at the plate or one that reads at release. How is the radar gun supposed to know where the ball is? Most guns read continuously once the trigger is depressed, some will show the highest recorded speed when the trigger is released, some will show the last recorded speed. If you want to measure the speed at the plate then you have to either pull the trigger (or release it) when the ball is over the plate, good luck with that. If you want to get real sophisticated then you could come with a mechanism that triggers the gun when the ball is over the plate.

I constantly see posts and threads from those that do not believe that young people today can achieve speeds greater than the early stars of softball. First of all the athletes of today are bigger, stronger, and quicker on average than the previous generation. Also, you have girls that are trained in modern or female specific mechanics that can produce greater potential speed and spin. Finally, there are some great athletes that are focusing on pitching that could be legitimate stars at the highest levels in basketball, volleyball, or track and field. It stands to reason that these speeds and faster will be achieved and are achieved earlier all the time. OTOH, hitters today are also so much more advanced in training, mechanics, and technologically superior bats (some even legal!) that it is imperative that the pitchers continue to get better with each generation. I have only seen one way to clock pitchers and all college coaches that I have seen do it the same way- behind the plate. Just because you haven't seen these young upstarts doesn't mean they do not exist. There is some great young talent in the midwest and southeast, and the ones I have seen do not always go to these combines or camps to get clocked. They are known to the people that matter-those recruiting them. No disrespect intended and I know there will always be inflated boasting about DD's speed. However there are some very legitimate young players coming like the player in GA, and there will be more. The old gold standard will get outdated at some point.

You can only get the ESPN app and ESPN 3 if you have one of a very small list of cable/net/sate providers. NO directv. NO dishnetwork. Actually the app only lists Brighthouse networks, time warner cable, and verizon high speed internet.

Screwball said:

Release speed is a bogus speed. The one at the plate is important. People just want it to be a better result, and fudge it like golf scores. Good grief.

The distance to bat contact. Or else why not just have the pitcher back at 70 feet in games....sarcasm.

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If the average reaction time is about .4 seconds, and the release speed is 65, and the speed at the plate is 59mph, then how does that 59 on the gun figure into reaction time and the batter's perception? The average speed determines the batter's reaction time and perception. This point goes right back into does a riseball rise? Not forever! The pitch slows down. At 70 feet it might be 51mph.

So my point is the average speed is what matters, or at about the midpoint to the plate. That shows the true reaction time, not the slowest speed.

A pitch that is 65 at release will cross the plate faster then the one that is 58 at release. Release speed matters.

But like I asked you before. What guns that you see coaches and recruiters use that measure at the plate?

Screwball said:

That is not what most people use speed for. They use it to brag. I don't like release speed in that you can throw it 20 feet or 100 feet and be the same speed.

A useful pitch has to maintain a certain height and be under control (as you call keep saying), so why average a pitch that will be over the catchers head or on the ground rolling in front? I could throw harder in that case too.

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Screwball, I don't understand some of you coaches here. You talk about "speed, speed, speed" when you discuss control and mechanics as opposing ideas, and then you lament "speed" when it suites you. That is called an illogical fallacy. Release speed will suggest an average speed of the pitch, and if a strike or invokes a swing, then the speed of that pitch is an issue. The average speed of that pitch, about half-way to the plate, can be determined, or the pitch speed at the plate can be used to determine the average speed or the release speed. As long as we know they aren't the same, and which is which, who cares where speed is recorded? But if mechanics and control are of lesser importance than speed before, why is your position now changed: "A useful pitch has to maintain a certain height and be under control (as you call keep saying), so why average a pitch that will be over the catchers head or on the ground rolling in front? I could throw harder in that case too." Why is control suddenly relevant?

I agree with Chinamigarden, that I only know of two guns. One averages the speed or at the midpoint, and the other is release speed. I will research it. But thanks for making my point about useful pitching and control!