Slow Motion Video of Catchers Throwing

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Nov 30, 2018
27
3
Hi everyone,

I recently attended a bunch of D-1 softball games, too slow-motion footage, and put it together into a video breaking it down.

There's four D-1 softball catchers, one D-1 baseball catcher and two pro baseball catchers shown in the video.

It's a good way to check out what's actually happening at slow speed at high levels of play.

You can watch it here on YouTube:

Hope it helps! Dan
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
The transfers seem slow and segmented when viewed in slo mo. Thought there would be more of a flow. Kinda letting the velo of the ball take the glove hand rearward especially with no batter. Would you say the last catcher was the best?
 
Nov 30, 2018
27
3
Some transfers were definitely better than others, and the easiest transfers will be when the pitch is to the arm side. The best softball thrower - the girl in white/orange - got a pitch on the glove side on that throw that I recorded.

But in general, I think this talking point you mentioned is important in general - do catchers really flow through the throw as much as we thought? I think catching a high-speed pitch is task #1, and so there's always going to be some level of stiffness there in stopping a high-speed ball. So I don't think it's really realistic to let the velocity of the pitch take the glove backward - the pitch needs to be stopped, so there's always going to be some rigidity in doing that.

The best thrower in the group was the triple-A catcher, the second to last, in my opinion. He gained ground, was smooth and under control while being quick. I had an in-game throw of his but didn't include it because the batter blocked so much of him in the frame. The last catcher had some extra movement, counter-rotation that make it a little more of a grunt to get the throw on the way.

Good questions though - this is why slow-mo is so important; it brings a lot of "what actually happens" into view.
 

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