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Reply to "showcase poptimes: why not a standardized 80mph knee-high pitch?"

I appreciate you pointing out this problem, it's a pet peeve of mine.  At showcases, many (most?) kids jump up early and are literally striding across the plate when the ball hits their glove.  When I use video to time this sequence, the advantage of the early start is 0.2 - 0.3s, sometimes more.  They can still jump early on a knee high pitch, although the transition time will be a bit longer.  The pop time measurement as it's currently handled has to be the lamest "objective" measurement used in baseball.  It's like allowing some kids to get a running start on the 60.  Even PG will occasionally acknowledge this problem with a comment such as "1.78 pop in drills, 2.1 - 2.15 in-game pop".  I have to believe that college coaches roll their eyes when they see this stuff.  Perhaps putting a batter in box and taking the measure on a swing-and-miss (or in-game pop) could standardize the measurement.

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