Throwing Balls
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- May 13, 2023
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And curve in sb.
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The problem here is they're referencing Lawrie with a 70 MPH fastball, which is pretty rare in softball. Despite what ESPN guns say, there aren't many girls throwing that hard. A 90 MPH fastball is what 9th and 10th grade boys throw. The MCWS finals had pitchers for both teams throwing in the mid to upper 90s with regularity.
Now take it up a notch to MLB. It's not uncommon to see 99+ in every game from at least one pitcher. The fastest pitch I ever faced in HS was probably 80-85, and it made me look foolish. I think when you take the averages into account, that reaction time is lower for baseball. I could be wrong, but I'd have to ask my engineering professor friend to do the math, but he's banned now...
- Aug 21, 2008
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my mistake, apparently we have our wires crossed. Although I'm surprised that what I said needs further clarification. In baseball the ball can only move one direction vertically. There is no riseball in baseball. I thought that's what we were discussing. Baseball curveballs do curve and move sideways, but they also go downward. The closest thing to a rise is a high FB that the pitcher keeps up in the zone. Because he's on a hill when throwing, it can make it seem like it's going up but it's just level.
- May 27, 2013
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Yeah, my ds’ HS conference had a few kids hitting 90+ pretty regularly. Ninety in baseball is to me what 60 is in softball now a days.
- Aug 21, 2008
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I'd say it WAS rare, now it's becoming more and more common. 70 is the new 60 mph. Remember the the pitching rule changed in 2019 allowing 1 foot on the rubber. When that occurred, more pitchers than ever were hitting 60. Now, not only is there 1 foot on the rubber but there's no restrictions on what the back foot does. These days, 70 is achievable and more and more are doing it. And if you go by the radar guns of ESPN, every pitcher on TV is doing it. LOL. When these ladies figure out how to use their bodies without the restrictions they're used to (back foot on the ground), it won't be long until we see the first 75 mph pitch in the women's game.
- May 27, 2013
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I'm confused, I thought we talking about movement, which to me is defined as deviation from the initial pitch direction or trajectory. Where the pitch is released and where it ends up don't tell you much about the pitch's movement. A change up can have a low release point and finish high in strike zone. A 4 seam fastball 'moves' vertically above it's initial trajectory, that's what important, that's also how we define the riseball. And the vertical movement on a 4 seam fastball is not trivial.
- May 13, 2023
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Don't see it as a problem see it as a point of reference
70 mph is Not as rare as it used to be and definitely a lot more pitchers throwing high 60s.
it would be difficult to use Major League Baseball as a comparison because there isn't a pro comparison with the same amount of resources in fastpitch. aka- money developing longer term/age players.
( truly makes me chuckle when I see people wanting to compare MLB )
Surely Comparing college baseball to college Fastpitch would be more equivalent. Age equivalent.
Why does that get overlooked so many times when people are comparing
?!
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- May 27, 2013
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I’d say at the D3 level the mid-80’s are what is most common. They typically have 1-2 pitchers hitting 90. D1 baseball is probably upper 80s - low 90’s as very typical. Mid-90s on the top teams. Also, you’ll see more leeway with speed in lefties.
Remember - freshmen and sophomore baseball kids in college are still growing and getting more dense. They probably aren’t close to hitting their peak until they are juniors/seniors or beyond. It seems like with baseball, college coaches are looking more at potential where in softball, they want the girls already hitting high speeds as freshmen, as most females are done growing by that point.
So taking that into consideration, I do feel it isn’t too crazy to compare top college SB pitchers to MLB pitchers. I’d say college SB pitchers are at their prime.
