@JETSR71 posted:...Arm velocity as a catcher is important but it's less than half of your pop time. Adding a few miles per hour will not "significantly" decrease your pop time.
Arm velocity can make you stand out and pass the eye test.
I have heard this sentiment shared elsewhere and I never understood it, most catchers fall into the 1.8-2.2 range for pop time, most catchers have a release time (first pop to release of ball from catcher) of 0.5 to 0.8. This means on average the ball flight is about 1.2 seconds. Theoretically a 7% (75/70=1.07) increase to your arm strength would reduce your pop time by 0.08 seconds, potentially more if it allowed you to get the ball there on a line rather than an arch. I have also noticed catchers with cannons can throw on tough pitches better, because the arm strength is easily repeatable whereas a quick transfer isn't always. I am not saying the transfer is not important, in fact I believe it is the most important part of the throw, however the ball is in the air for most of the pop time and arm strength is something that can be directly trained and improved while the transfer is more complex to train. Not to mention the eye test as you said.
Always wondered if people shared my point of view or not.