Biscuit,
Me thinks you may have missed my point.
We should all agree that the max distance is 43' - right?
Stipulating that the max is 43', then we should also agree that the shorter distances (35' & 40') are a not an issue - again right?
However, I think most forget or don't realize that the angle of insonation is key. If you want a true reading you must be at a zero degree angle of insonation for the entire pitch. That is practically impossible for two reasons. 1) No one (or at least most for sake of this discussion) ever achieves a zero degree angle for any part of the pitch not to mention the entire distance. You would have to take a reading from the catchers glove. 2) No pitch travels on the same plane for the entire distance from release to catch.
Since zero would be obtained from the catcher's glove and pitches all move some from release to catch there isn't a viable method to get a true reading. Radar guns have somewhat of a correction system built in simply because the nature of a beam is to lose it's focus once emitted unless there is a secondary refocus system employed such as ultrasound imaging. Radar guns do not have a secondary focusing system, so the beam gets wider and wider without control the farther the beam travels from it's source (the gun). The wider the beam becomes the less of it is available to bounce back and return to the source. That equals diminishing accuracy. Beam width varies between manufacturers and models, so different guns will have varying accuracy rates.
Now in the real world the distances we are working with are so small that you will likely see repeatable readings between guns and methods. My point is that the readings most record come from the last half or even the last third of the pitch because they don't have a good enough angle to get the entire pitch at a point where they have a viable reading. Therefore, the distance does matters since the pitch begins to slow the moment it is released from the hand.
There should be some sort of a standard for recording pitching speeds. If that were the case, then we would have a system where we could compare apples to apples. The error rate or accuracy wouldn't really matter. Until that happens, you really can't compare Dad A's DD to Dad B's DD with any certainty.
Me thinks you may have missed my point.
We should all agree that the max distance is 43' - right?
Stipulating that the max is 43', then we should also agree that the shorter distances (35' & 40') are a not an issue - again right?
However, I think most forget or don't realize that the angle of insonation is key. If you want a true reading you must be at a zero degree angle of insonation for the entire pitch. That is practically impossible for two reasons. 1) No one (or at least most for sake of this discussion) ever achieves a zero degree angle for any part of the pitch not to mention the entire distance. You would have to take a reading from the catchers glove. 2) No pitch travels on the same plane for the entire distance from release to catch.
Since zero would be obtained from the catcher's glove and pitches all move some from release to catch there isn't a viable method to get a true reading. Radar guns have somewhat of a correction system built in simply because the nature of a beam is to lose it's focus once emitted unless there is a secondary refocus system employed such as ultrasound imaging. Radar guns do not have a secondary focusing system, so the beam gets wider and wider without control the farther the beam travels from it's source (the gun). The wider the beam becomes the less of it is available to bounce back and return to the source. That equals diminishing accuracy. Beam width varies between manufacturers and models, so different guns will have varying accuracy rates.
Now in the real world the distances we are working with are so small that you will likely see repeatable readings between guns and methods. My point is that the readings most record come from the last half or even the last third of the pitch because they don't have a good enough angle to get the entire pitch at a point where they have a viable reading. Therefore, the distance does matters since the pitch begins to slow the moment it is released from the hand.
There should be some sort of a standard for recording pitching speeds. If that were the case, then we would have a system where we could compare apples to apples. The error rate or accuracy wouldn't really matter. Until that happens, you really can't compare Dad A's DD to Dad B's DD with any certainty.
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