Probably stupid baseball hypothetical...

[MicroBob]

couple other things: I guess I never thought about the 90mph batting-cage thing. Kind of surprised me I guess that it is considered that reasonably routine by decent hitters.
Flat pitches right where you want them every time really does make a big difference I guess.
After that it's just a matter of getting the timing down.


I met and interviewed Bob Feller a couple times because he used to ALWAYS be touring around the minor-leagues.
I forget if it's divorces or what, but evidently he kind of needs the money.


Bob Feller story I heard about which I believe is true.
15 yrs or more ago when he still could throw you could pay to step in there and take your swings off Bob Feller.
He was still ultra-competitive though and really did try to strike people out.

Suzy Kolber of ESPN-fame was just a reporter on a station in West Palm Beach or Miami or somewhere.
But I think she played softball in college so could actually swing a bat.
She drilled Feller's first pitch right back up the middle.
Feller's 2nd pitch was a fastball at her ear and she barely got out of the way of it.

[MicroBob]

Also - does Sandy Koufax deserve consideration for his fastball.

My understanding is that he could throw insanely hard. Had similar control-problems almost Dalkowski-like though.

He actually didn't succeed as a major-leaguer until he stopped throwing as hard as he could on every pitch though.

[kyleb]

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couple other things: I guess I never thought about the 90mph batting-cage thing. Kind of surprised me I guess that it is considered that reasonably routine by decent hitters.

[/ QUOTE ]

People really do get caught up in the whole "holy [censored] his fastball is 98 mph" and think that is the most important thing a pitcher could have. If that were the case, Kyle Farnsworth wouldn't be some random relief pitcher in the big leagues, and a ton of kids in the minors would be up instead of people like Jamie Moyer and Tom Glavine.

The reason why hitting is difficult is because the pitcher changes the speed and location of every single pitch you see. Someone proposed a hypothetical question along the lines of "If you knew the location of every pitch before it was thrown, how big of an edge would you have?"

If I knew that, owners of MLB teams would let me write my own contract.

[MicroBob]

Also - Billy Koch was kind of famous/infamous when he was the Blue Jays 1st round pick (4th overall) in 96 out of Clemson for seriously requesting uniform #102 "because that's how hard I throw, Bitch!!" (okay, I added the last word there).

Ever since I heard of that I had always kind of rooted against him.

Weird about the under-skin bugs thing. Didn't know about that.

Reminds me of the former Cincy Red Nick Esasky who was forced to retire after getting vertigo from an ear-infection.
The guy was just felt too dizzy and off-balance to play anymore.

[rocketlaunch]

[ QUOTE ]
Also - does Sandy Koufax deserve consideration for his fastball.

My understanding is that he could throw insanely hard. Had similar control-problems almost Dalkowski-like though.

He actually didn't succeed as a major-leaguer until he stopped throwing as hard as he could on every pitch though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Koufax threw hard, but I don't think he threw hard enough to be considered one of the hardest throwers of all time. From what I've read, many people estimate his speed at mid-to-high 90s.

For the record, Koufax's best pitch was his curve ball.

[rocketlaunch]

[ QUOTE ]

People really do get caught up in the whole "holy [censored] his fastball is 98 mph" and think that is the most important thing a pitcher could have. If that were the case, Kyle Farnsworth wouldn't be some random relief pitcher in the big leagues, and a ton of kids in the minors would be up instead of people like Jamie Moyer and Tom Glavine.

The reason why hitting is difficult is because the pitcher changes the speed and location of every single pitch you see. Someone proposed a hypothetical question along the lines of "If you knew the location of every pitch before it was thrown, how big of an edge would you have?"

If I knew that, owners of MLB teams would let me write my own contract.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this, but would just like to point out that movement is a big issue, too. Otherwise a guy like Mariano Rivera wouldn't be nearly as successful. The vast majority of his pitches are cut-fastballs in the low-to-mid 90s, very often inside.

A fastball that's straight as an arrow will get demolished at the major league level, even if it's coming in at 98 and even if the pitcher changes locations. For example, I think that's Farnsworth's biggest issue--his fastball has very little movement.

[kyleb]

Yes - by location I meant to include movement in that particular department.

[IlliniLou]

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How hard would a fastball have to be to be more or less unhittable without movement and only average location (ie some pitches on the corners but some catch a lot of the plate).

[/ QUOTE ]
I actually did this for my 8th grade science project. I probably did it wrong but i remember that if someone wasn't geared up for a fastball early and didnt know the location yet, basically everything else being even, it be impossible for the human body to be able to hit a 109.7 mph pitch. Without regard to movement on it or anything

[kyleb]

Very interesting. Can you share some of the analysis and background that led you to this conclusion?

[mason55]

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why wouldn't it be possible?

I would think that with ever increasing strength training, we haven't come close to the peak pitcher velocity

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Probably not true. Their are alot of limits cause by the anatomy of the human arm. Throwing 120 would most likely cause serious injury.

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There are a lot of possible future advancements in medical science that may yet lift these barriers, too.

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Duh, haven't any of you seen Rookie of the Year?