60 yard dash

We have an SEC commit on our team that has a very good bat and ran a 7.1 at PG Nats & AC.

You could play a corner OF position, but to play center you would most definitely have to run a sub-7.0 60.

Agree with that.

What I have never understood is why the 60 yard dash has become such a standard benchmark in baseball. There is no game situation that calls for a 60 yd dash in a straight line. Heck, a double has a right angle plunk in the middle.

By comparison, I can understand the relevance of the 40 yd dash in football for most positions in that sport.

I was once told by an old baseball guy (that's a parody, I love it when some posters say that) that the 60 tests who can get up to speed by 30 and have the athleticism to maintain it. Until I hear something better I'll continue to go with that.

Everyone says that it is, but I have seen plenty of occasions (and at high levels) where that is not the case. Each time, though, the player played faster than his 60 time for all sorts of reasons. I think the 60 is way overrated and does not necessarily have a direct correlation to what you see on the field.

I do agree that the 60 as an assessment tool in baseball is probably overrated. I've seen a lot of speedy outfielders that don't track the ball well or take the correct angle that are terrible defensive outfielders. But the fact remains, speed is one of those natural abilities that can't be taught or coached and is a weapon not only in the outfield but on the bases. My son was told by a Big 12 coach, after running a 6.7 at a showcase, that the average time of the Big 12 centerfielders was 6.5-6.6. I'm not really sure whether that is entirely accurate, but nevertheless that is what was said. I personally think that as much or more emphasis should be placed on a home to first time than the 60. However, the fact still remains that if you can't hit your speed really doesn't matter that much.

Speed always plays.  No doubt in my mind that 30 yards is a more important time.  We get h-1 times, but they can be misleading based on the type of swing or hitter. I do think the 60 is important for various reasons, but the 30 would be more revealing.

We used to time both the 60 and 30.  We plan to go back to that soon. I want to know who is faster in the 30. It is easier to work on maintaining speed than it is be the fastest at a short distance.  And even if we are talking about shortstops or center fielders do you want the fastest 30 or 60?  In the past we found the fastest 60 guys were not always the fastest in 30.

Then again Usain Bolt (sp?) would not be the worlds fastest man if they only ran 30 yards.

We went to a camp a couple of weeks ago.  They ran the 60 and recorded the times, but said it did not mean anything to them.  They then had them run 20's (what they equivalated to a good lead and a sprint before you slide (basically they called it baseball speed).  And as an FYI, fast guys are not always the quickest (see Usain Bolt).  Several  3rd basemen were middle of the pack 60 wise, but were top 10% in "baseball speed" which explains why they are pretty good baserunners.

Stealing is not just about speed. First u have to have confidence to try it. Also need to be good at watching pitcher and knowing what moves they can/cannot make. It all happens quickly and several factors play into it. Some kids r quick runners but need some sliding practice.

SPARQ scores are becoming an increasingly looked at indicator of overall athleticism.

There are four components of SPARQ:

30 yd dash

20 yd shuttle

Powerball throw

Vertical leap

Last I checked, of all the notable baseball athletes who have been SPARQ tested, Jacoby Ellsbury has achieved the highest score with something around 102

Green Light,

What is a good Sparq range or score for a 17 year old?

I mentioned this before in another post.  There is a company in PA (Nine Baseball www.ninebaseball.org) that measures the 4 events that Green Light mentioned plus your maximum arm velocity and ball exit velocity.  FYI, I have absolutely nothing to do with this company.  I did, however, have my son attend one of their "combines", where they measure and rank players by graduation year.

Check out their site and you can find additional information on the events and how they score them.  They do provide a breakdown of what level a player is (Elite, Very Good, Average) based on the score at a combine.  The site is free, so check it out at your convenience.

I'd say you would want to be at least at 60, or about the 80th percentile on the chart a few posts above. I think a player starts to get noticed for his SPARQ results when you get to the 90th percentile. 90th percentile and above would be considered a "plus" performance

As always there are caveats. A power hitting first baseman or a 90+ pitcher probably doesn't need high SPARQ scores to improve his standing

"For a prospective D1 player, is it absolutely imperative to be able to run a sub-7 60 yard dash as an outfielder?"

Absolutely imperative, no.  But the higher your time gets, the more special your bat will have to be.  And if what should be fly outs regularly drop in for doubles in your area, you might have to have a strong enough bat to win the 1B or DH spots eventually.

One thing to understand is that speed is not just what God gave you.  We regularly see players improve speeds remarkably with dedication to get solid instruction and to do the work.  And of course, you need to be in shape!  We can't all be Olympic caliber, but most of us are capable of doing better than we are doing right now.

Better to get all that done during the recruiting time line, and remove all doubts, than to leave people wondering if you can get the job done.

Green Light,

I am wondering if you know if a coach will look into individual components of the Sparqs scores.  I ask this because my son bombed the shuttle run at the Stanford Camp this year so it will affect his overall Sparq score.  He fell while on the shuttle run and asked to redo it.  He was told they did not have the time.  The rest of his scores were in the 65% 85% and 82%.  Just curious how much this affects the way that a coach views a player.  

My experience is not universal. But for what it is worth, here it is.

A few coaches have told me they don't care at all. One coach (JUCO) told me he looks at the composite just for pitchers!! Even he admitted that this is not typical.

In most cases I would say it might be a tie breaker among players who have comparable on-field skills. A higher score, to the extent it indicates greater athleticism, can lead to a conclusion that the player has higher projectability.

Ellsbury is a case in point. He really did not have off the chart baseball stats as a high schooler. But his SPARQ scores, literally, were off the charts. Oregon State took a flyer on him...........and the rest is history.

Midlo Dad,

     That is a great response.  My son is a 2015 and regularly runs between a 6.9 and 7.1.  On his own, he runs 80 yard sprints, hills, does band work, etc., but nothing more than that.  Where we live, I'm finding a hard time finding a speed trainer.  Only because you mentioned that you have seen individuals make significant gains in getting faster, what seems to be the regimen that most follow to get there? I know a lot of people mention weight training as being very important.  Wondering if gettick a track coach involved would help also.  Thanks.

NYDad2017... Mind if I ask what time of year/season Nine Baseball offers "combine" events?

They run a few between November and April.  In the past they have bounced around PA, both East and West, so most people in the area can find one closer to home.  

I've seen kids with fast 60's......

1. get short leads and late jumps - worked in youth ball but got them caught stealing in high school.

2. Run straight lines to the bases and not round, resulting in a loss of speed.

3. Stand on second and watch the ground ball up the middle go to the outfield before running. As a result, only made it to third.

4. Take off from third as soon as the ball catches air. Get called back and not be able to tag, or worse, get thrown out on a routine fly.

5. And most importantly, never make it to first base to begin with.

Slower kids who get on base, run the bases correctly, and read ground balls and fly balls correctly are much more valuable. Especially, if they can reach base to begin with...

I've seen plenty of kid run the 60, usually in pairs. And while one kid may really pull away in the final 30, there's usually little difference at the first set of cones.

I agree that there are a lot of other factors than just speed when evaluating a player...but the original question above still remains. The fact is, corner OF's can get away with not having sub-7.0 60's if they can hit (usually with some power). I haven't done the research, but I would wager that the majority of D1 CF's run a sub-7.0 60 and probably closer to 6.5 than 7.0.