Dropball videos

shaker1 · Aug 11, 2018

Found what looks to be couple of dropballs this WCWS. What I like about these 2 in particular is that the spin is visible, so the number of revs can be seen between the release and mitt. From whats being discussed in other threads, spin axis and revs are 2 contributing factors when it comes to the effectiveness of the drop. Anywhere from 20 to 30 rps seem to be the goal of a high level pitcher. I've been trying to figure the rps out with info provided, distance, 39' hand to glove(close guess), mph, revs. Maybe this can get someone close to a figure on rps? The Washington pitcher was clocked at 65 on this pitch, Oregon girl is usually in that range. With those figures, I get both of these pitchers under the 20rps mark, around 18. Thoughts? Any known dropball pitchers in this WCWS who would have much higher rates?

sluggers · Aug 11, 2018

In order to calculate the RPS from this video, you have to count the revolutions and how long it took the ball go from the hand to the glove. To count the revs, you need the original source video.

(On the one I did, I had the original source video and the frame rate for the video. So, it was much easier to calculate.)

It is a little easier to use 40 feet from hand to glove. 60MPH is 88 feet per second. 65MPH is 95 feet per second. It takes the ball .45 seconds to go 40 feet at 60MPH. It takes .42 seconds for a 65MPH pitch.

But, if you got a good source video and good eyes, you can calculate the RPS as follows:

For 60MPH:

9 revs = 20 RPS
10 revs = 22 RPS
11 revs = 24 RPS
12 revs = 26.5 RPS
13 revs = 28 RPS
14 revs = 31 RPS

For 65MPH:

11 revs = 26 RPS
12 revs = 28 RPS
13 revs = 31 RPS
14 revs = 33 RPS

shaker1 · Aug 11, 2018

sluggers said:
In order to calculate the RPS from this video, you have to count the revolutions and how long it took the ball go from the hand to the glove. To count the revs, you need the original source video.

(On the one I did, I had the original source video and the frame rate for the video. So, it was much easier to calculate.)

It is a little easier to use 40 feet from hand to glove. 60MPH is 88 feet per second. 65MPH is 95 feet per second. It takes the ball .45 seconds to go 40 feet at 60MPH. It takes .42 seconds for a 65MPH pitch.

But, if you got a good source video and good eyes, you can calculate the RPS as follows:

For 60MPH:

9 revs = 20 RPS
10 revs = 22 RPS
11 revs = 24 RPS
12 revs = 26.5 RPS
13 revs = 28 RPS
14 revs = 31 RPS

For 65MPH:

11 revs = 26 RPS
12 revs = 28 RPS
13 revs = 31 RPS
14 revs = 33 RPS

That's the numbers I was coming up with, both under 20, and among the top pitchers in college

sluggers · Aug 11, 2018

shaker1 said:
That's the numbers I was coming up with, both under 20, and among the top pitchers in college

The Washington pitcher is not throwing a drop. The rotation is not 12-6.

The other one could just be throwing a low fastball. Her arm motion seems wrong for a drop.

I've attached a chart from the 2010 RevFire measurements of RPS. These are a bunch of HS kids. The top 10% are throwing greater than 22RPS. I doubt college pitchers are throwing a breaking pitch with less spin than a bunch of 15 and 16 YOA kids.

The effectiveness of a pitch depends upon how the pitch is used with other pitches.

shaker1 · Aug 12, 2018

sluggers said:
The Washington pitcher is not throwing a drop. The rotation is not 12-6.

The other one could just be throwing a low fastball. Her arm motion seems wrong for a drop.

I've attached a chart from the 2010 RevFire measurements of RPS. These are a bunch of HS kids. The top 10% are throwing greater than 22RPS. I doubt college pitchers are throwing a breaking pitch with less spin than a bunch of 15 and 16 YOA kids.

The effectiveness of a pitch depends upon how the pitch is used with other pitches.

I added some contrast to the pitch in the 1st post, the rotation is clearly 12/6, I'll throw in a different view if the same pitch, imo, a drop. I agree with the effectiveness of the pitch being used with other pitches, and both these girls throw a good rise, so maybe their drops are average. I'm not familiar with rev fire, numbers look good, does it track axis along with spin? Maybe other posters here have went as far as to verify what rev fire shows with their own video? That's what I'm looking for, something that tracks with rev fire's data in video that can be seen.

shaker1 · Aug 12, 2018

Here's another chart from Rev Fire, that I think aligns with the videos. Typical drop revs for a college pitcher, 17-26.

MattM · Aug 12, 2018

Here is Osterman and I count 8 revolutions, and 7 revolutions for the other two pitchers. Maybe RevFire over estimates revs/sec.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfCbmkM47qg

Hillhouse · Aug 13, 2018

sluggers said:
In order to calculate the RPS from this video, you have to count the revolutions and how long it took the ball go from the hand to the glove. To count the revs, you need the original source video.

(On the one I did, I had the original source video and the frame rate for the video. So, it was much easier to calculate.)

It is a little easier to use 40 feet from hand to glove. 60MPH is 88 feet per second. 65MPH is 95 feet per second. It takes the ball .45 seconds to go 40 feet at 60MPH. It takes .42 seconds for a 65MPH pitch.

But, if you got a good source video and good eyes, you can calculate the RPS as follows:

For 60MPH:

9 revs = 20 RPS
10 revs = 22 RPS
11 revs = 24 RPS
12 revs = 26.5 RPS
13 revs = 28 RPS
14 revs = 31 RPS

For 65MPH:

11 revs = 26 RPS
12 revs = 28 RPS
13 revs = 31 RPS
14 revs = 33 RPS

Holy crap, who are you? Rainman??

Bill

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