Getting It Done

[ArmWhip]

I went to a local D3 game yesterday, partly to see a former student and partly to see this girl pitch.




She's listed at 5'5" and has a WHIP of .97. I noticed her stats when looking at the team pitching numbers and after seeing this video I was curious to see how she gets it done.

 

[ArmWhip]

I should add that with her small stature and unorthodox mechanics, (no noticeable IR) this girl topped out at 62 mph on my pocket radar. At first I thought there was something wrong with the radar but it measured accurately on the other pitchers. And I should add that she did it without a lot of noticeable effort using the same mechanics and tempo you see in the video. It's too bad they didn't post her speed somewhere.

 

[sluggers]

I should add that with her small stature and unorthodox mechanics, (no noticeable IR) this girl topped out at 62 mph on my pocket radar. At first I thought there was something wrong with the radar but it measured accurately on the other pitchers. And I should add that she did it without a lot of noticeable effort using the same mechanics and tempo you see in the video. It's too bad they didn't post her speed somewhere.

Her curve ball and drop are IR. I bet in games she is 90% IR.

 

[Gtrips07]

She leaps!

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[ArmWhip]

Her curve ball and drop are IR. I bet in games she is 90% IR.

I took video of her in the game, and went back for a detailed look: her curve is a rollover as is the drop, and her arm action is very close to what she has in the recruiting video, the ball faces second when she's at 12 o'clock, it does face third at nine but the arm is basically straight. Her hand is on top of the ball as she comes into release but as the upper arm collides with her ribs she whips her arm/hand through. So there is IR there but it's minimal because the arm is very straight, and there is an HE element mixed in. But hey, she goes to MIT so I guess she's figured out a way to get it done without classic mechanics.

 

[DNeeld]

Her hand is on top of the ball as she comes into release but as the upper arm collides with her ribs she whips her arm/hand through. So there is IR there but it's minimal because the arm is very straight, and there is an HE element mixed in.

Her mechanics in the video are a perfect illustration of an athlete figuring out a way to make it work despite having poor instruction. Natural athletes will often find a way to make something work. Its not impossible, just sub-optimal, especially when applied to the greater populace. Most won't experience the same results.

 

[El Oso]

I took video of her in the game, and went back for a detailed look: her curve is a rollover as is the drop, and her arm action is very close to what she has in the recruiting video, the ball faces second when she's at 12 o'clock, it does face third at nine but the arm is basically straight. Her hand is on top of the ball as she comes into release but as the upper arm collides with her ribs she whips her arm/hand through. So there is IR there but it's minimal because the arm is very straight, and there is an HE element mixed in. But hey, she goes to MIT so I guess she's figured out a way to get it done without classic mechanics.

The idea worshipped here that says if you don't throw with IR and whip you will top out at 55mph is a myth that has been spoken into existence as fact. (on this board).

But as you have now seen, it's not true at all.

 

[sluggers]

The idea worshipped here that says if you don't throw with IR and whip you will top out at 55mph is a myth that has been spoken into existence as fact. (on this board).

But as you have now seen, it's not true at all.

First, I'm sure Becca is a great kid. She is going to a world-class engineering school. She has to be an excellent student. I wish my DDs or GDDs could go to MIT.

However, this is a softball forum, not an engineering education forum.

Her 2021 video shows a kid who is a long, long way from a D1 pitcher--either in NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA. In the video, she is throwing 55MPH or less.

Again, it doesn't matter a whole lot for this kid. She has a lot more going for her than pitching.

 

[Hillhouse]

I haven't watched the video yet, I'm in transit coming home from Europe. But, the comments about unorthodox mechanics, myth busting, etc. I'd be very curious to know her history (if any) with injuries. A lot of times in the infamous debates about H/E mechanics and "I/R" mechanics, injury is (or should be) a key component of the discussion.

While there is a HUGE difference between someone being sore and someone being hurt, I've yet to have a new H/E student come to me (regardless of age) that doesn't admit when asked if they get sore. a 12 yr old girl should NOT be getting sore from pitching. I know I didn't get sore when I was 12. Soreness or injury should not be happening at these young ages. And the fact that isn't concern #1 for any parent who's kid gets sore is even more troublesome. But, because they take lessons from Sally Jones who pitched in college, many believe they're on the right track without doing any homework on what their kid is doing, what makes sense, etc. 99.99999% of the time, Sally Jones is regurgitating what she was taught as a young pitcher and, as we all know, another 99.99999% of the time Sally doesn't and didn't actually pitch that way in her games. So, because Sally did wrist flips in 1984, and did the H/E drills from her youth, that's what she knows and what she teaches. Very few Sally's of the world actually analyze if they pitch the way they were taught. "I pitched in college therefore it must be right!" is the overwhelming mindset.

And no matter what, that's an argument I can never compete with! I didn't play in college. If that U of Penn Swimmer Lia Thomas had only come along in my generation, maybe I could've been the Lia Thomas of softball!!!!!!!

 

[El Oso]

Her 2021 video shows a kid who is a long, long way from a D1 pitcher--either in NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA. In the video, she is throwing 55MPH or less.

The op clearly stated that she clocked her in the game yesterday at 62mph so I stand by my previous statement. It's a myth propagated here that HE pitchers top out at 55mph. Now there are tons of other aspects to the pros/cons of HE vs IR, but my statement is about the velo factor alone.