bat speed

[2020 VISION]

It's funny you mention the two top scores must have sound mechanics because while my DD works what seems endlessly on her hitting and pitching mechanics, our other top speed score came from a girl who is big and strong, but her swing is more of an arm swing and wrist whip. We have only been working with her for about 2 months now trying to undo 8 years of "I've been pretty successful doing it this way". But my point is that while the bat speed number is a fun guage, it only is a good comparison if it is done with a correct/effective swing, because you can definitely get a high reading with a mechanically flawed swing. In fact, my DD recorded an 80 mph yesterday (and it was warmer here yesterday so I was actually in the garage to see it ). And although her mechanics were still solid, I could see she was pushing her limits of control and balance. I can't imagine she would actually be able to swing "that" hard when reading and reacting to pitches in a game situation. Unless she just guessed on a pitch and wailed away at a specific location, like the stationary ball on a tee that we were using to record those speeds.

So while I do like the Swing Speed Radar, I think of it like the Pitching Speed radar readings...there fun to have to guage and compare to others, but they would be much more useful as a comparison tool if recorded in game situations, on like pitches, in similar conditions, etc., etc. Maybe we could talk the plate umpires into holding the Bat Speed Radar during the games .

Also I reread about the foil. It says if using a composite bat and it isn't reading effectively, you are supposed to wrap the foil around the composite bat and it should pick it up better. I guess it reads metal bats better, I don't know? But I guess it would be different if you wrap it at the sweet spot as opposed to the end of the bat. I still think it picks up bat speed at the tip of the bat under normal non-foil situations because that is where the golf club is measured (the club head) if it's used for golf swings. It just sounds like that should be correct because radar picks up the fastest moving thing it its range and that is the speed it shows. That should be at the tip of the bat.

 

[midmosoftballdad]

From the manual:

Whether the Swing Speed Radar® is located rearward or forward, it will
measure the speed of the bat barrel in the hitting zone. When determining
the energy imparted to the ball, the maximum exit velocity results from the
ball being struck at or near the “sweet spot” of the bat, which can be about
4” to 6” (10-15 cm) from the bat tip. Therefore bat barrel velocity is more
relevant to ball exit velocity, and ball flight distance, than bat tip speed,
which will be about 15%-20% faster than the “sweet-spot” velocity.
Thus a 77 mph (124 km/h) average barrel velocity will correspond to a bat
tip speed of about 90 mph (145 km/h). However, a batter doesn’t
intentionally hit the ball with the bat tip—so measure bat barrel velocity
with the Swing Speed Radar®.

 

[2020 VISION]

It's obvious that the bat tip is moving faster than the barrel when you swing. Also obvious is that the "sweet spot" of the bat, even though it is moving slower, is going to give a better hitting result than hitting off the tip of the bat. So I agree with all the manuals comments on "exit velocity". But if you are doing dry swings with the Swing Speed Radar located rearward (or forward), how is it picking up the barrel speed of the bat and not the tip?

Maybe if you were actually hitting a ball, the Swing Speed Radar (set up rearward obviously) would still be able to pick up the ball's exit speed? But even if that worked, then it's not measuring the bat speed anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I still like the product. We've had some fun and learned some things about our hitters, and that's what any good training tool should accomplish. And comparing tip speed to tip speed is basically the same as comparing barrel speed to barrel speed, it's just the numbers are a little bit lower on the latter. I'm just trying to get some clarity on exactly what is being measured?