College coaches take pitchers that can throw 60+ and can pitch regardless of height. That said, height, long arms, fingers, etc may help girls throw harder thus givine a perception that coaches only look at taller girls if the roster is full of taller girls who throw hard.
Ideal height for pitchers?
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College coaches take pitchers that can throw 60+ and can pitch regardless of height. That said, height, long arms, fingers, etc may help girls throw harder thus givine a perception that coaches only look at taller girls if the roster is full of taller girls who throw hard.
- Oct 19, 2009
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I think as long as they are tall enough for their feet to reach ground they should be fine.
My daughter attended a pitching camp at Alabama and this young lady (see below) was at the camp, the coach if remember correct advised she was 5 Ft 4 in. There was a comment reference her height and not having to be 6 plus to be an effective pitcher.
Softball Adds Pitcher Leslie Jury to Signing Class - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE - University of Alabama Official Athletic Site
My daughter attended a pitching camp at Alabama and this young lady (see below) was at the camp, the coach if remember correct advised she was 5 Ft 4 in. There was a comment reference her height and not having to be 6 plus to be an effective pitcher.
Softball Adds Pitcher Leslie Jury to Signing Class - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE - University of Alabama Official Athletic Site
Peppers - you give me hope. I think my daughter is going to top out around 5'5" at most. But she is strong, very strong and very committed. This post had me fearing at first that maybe we should give it all up, but I think it's clear that there's more to pitching well than being tall. Thanks for the shared article!
Originally you said coaches rarely look at players under 5'9. Height may be on the sheet but if a 5'4 girl throws 60 plus and can pitch, she's going to get looked at. It's just rare to see girls 5'4 throwing 60 plus. Jumping an extra 6 inches or a foot is not that big an andvantage to the pitcher. An extra foot only changes reaction time by 2.5 % and makes a 60 MPH pitch seem like 61.5 MPH.
For what it's worth, my DD pitches and she's 5'7 and probaly going to be 5'8 or so. I'm happy about that but I know of more tha one girl throwing DI and DII at 5'5.
Because I enjoy living on the edge, here are some facts:
I took the heights of all rostered pitchers from the top 20 teams (final poll at end of the 2010 softball season).
(1) The mean height (average) was 5'7".
(2) The median (half above, and half below) height was 5'7".
(3) The mode (the most common height) was 5'10".
(4) The standard deviation was 3.12 inches.
(5) The average deviation was 2 inches.
This was for all rostered pitchers. So, there were some pitchers who played other positions.
There were 63 pitchers ranging in height from 6'1" to 5'3". The 5'3" player was the only pitcher who did not exceed the average height for a US woman. She was listed as a DP/pitcher, I have a feeling she is primarily a DP.
Attached is a diagram of the pitcher heights.
I took the heights of all rostered pitchers from the top 20 teams (final poll at end of the 2010 softball season).
(1) The mean height (average) was 5'7".
(2) The median (half above, and half below) height was 5'7".
(3) The mode (the most common height) was 5'10".
(4) The standard deviation was 3.12 inches.
(5) The average deviation was 2 inches.
This was for all rostered pitchers. So, there were some pitchers who played other positions.
There were 63 pitchers ranging in height from 6'1" to 5'3". The 5'3" player was the only pitcher who did not exceed the average height for a US woman. She was listed as a DP/pitcher, I have a feeling she is primarily a DP.
Attached is a diagram of the pitcher heights.
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Nice job sluggers
I think # 2 dispells the notion that there are no short pitchers if half of them are below 5'7 inches. And, for what it's worth, thsi was the top 20 teams. Now if we start looking at the rest of DI and all of DII I would guess the mean and median would drop. Just my guess.
- Nov 29, 2009
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Ray,
You have too much time on your hands.
My DD is 5'10" and thick.
One of the other things that you'll notice that most of the top level pitchers have is common is body type. The biggest majority of them tend to be thicker. They all have plenty of muscle on them. You rarely see a rail-thin top level pitcher no matter what her height is. Personally I think that has more to do with it than height.
I have two young girls I'm working with right now. Both are about the same height, tall, but one is very thin and the other out weighs her by 30 pounds. She is not fat. Both have good control. The bigger girl has at least 10 mph with better movement and can go for a much longer time without running out of gas.
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Maybe that "too small to play" schtick was what motivated Dustin Pedroia, Wes Welker, Doug Flutie, Spud Webb and a slew of others to be able to play at the professional level of their chosen sport.
In my BB C career, I caught 5 Ps that ended up playing professionally, one had a cup of coffee in the majors. At 5' 9" he wasn't the biggest or most physically gifted of the bunch, but he was the smartest, hardest working, and most determined.
It's what you do with the tools that you have that determines what you make of yourself.
In my BB C career, I caught 5 Ps that ended up playing professionally, one had a cup of coffee in the majors. At 5' 9" he wasn't the biggest or most physically gifted of the bunch, but he was the smartest, hardest working, and most determined.
It's what you do with the tools that you have that determines what you make of yourself.
- Jun 21, 2010
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Thanks to everyone for the feedback. This is an interesting discussion.
To be clear, I was not trying to suggest or imply that shorter pitchers should give up pitching just based on their height. I would encourage any kid to give it their best shot regardless of height or weight or whatever.
I was just thinking along the lines of mad scientist and building a softball pitcher from scratch. If you could do that, how tall would she be?
To be clear, I was not trying to suggest or imply that shorter pitchers should give up pitching just based on their height. I would encourage any kid to give it their best shot regardless of height or weight or whatever.
I was just thinking along the lines of mad scientist and building a softball pitcher from scratch. If you could do that, how tall would she be?
