http://www.thoughtequity.com/video/clip/1617567_028.do
Rare shot of a windmill delivery.
98.6 mph, but speed is being measured at the plate. That would make the pitch about 104-105 at release!
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Wow..that was pretty cool. That guy could really throw!
Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the link.
Possibly as high as 106-107 mph.
And they say that the Train was faster. Of course Johnson always said that Smoky Joe was the fastest.
Thanks for the link.
And they say that the Train was faster. Of course Johnson always said that Smoky Joe was the fastest.
Thanks for the link.
Lots of controversy about how fast old timers threw. Virtually nothing is known about the earliest measuring techniques. Did they measure average speed (as a watch would do) or plate speed? Out of hand measurement wasn't possible until sports radar arrived a few decades ago.
Doubt many SABR types know about that 1946 newsreel which is extraordinary in that it shows the equipment used to measure Feller's speed.
Newsreel announcer calls the device a "lumiline chronograph." There are some references on the web to a lumiline screen being used to measure ballistic speed even fairly recently.
It's well known that the ball slows about 6-7 mph before reaching the plate. Feller's speed is being computed from the time it takes his pitch to pass thru the two frames resting on the batters box.
Note that Feller was gunned over a small number of pitches. For all we know, that may have been an off day for him
Any comments about his delivery which to me looks effortless?
Doubt many SABR types know about that 1946 newsreel which is extraordinary in that it shows the equipment used to measure Feller's speed.
Newsreel announcer calls the device a "lumiline chronograph." There are some references on the web to a lumiline screen being used to measure ballistic speed even fairly recently.
It's well known that the ball slows about 6-7 mph before reaching the plate. Feller's speed is being computed from the time it takes his pitch to pass thru the two frames resting on the batters box.
Note that Feller was gunned over a small number of pitches. For all we know, that may have been an off day for him
Any comments about his delivery which to me looks effortless?
Feller also came into the Tribe radio booth during a rain delay & talked about how he started throwing his CB at 8 yrs old
Hilarious:
"Aug 20, 1946 - In Washington‚ the attraction is not the teams‚ but the pre-game exhibition of Bob Feller pitching to an army clocking-device to time his fastball. An extra 20‚000 fans show up to see Feller‚ who had not been informed about it; he asks for and gets $700 from Griffith. Feller's fastball is clocked at 98.6 crossing the plate (107 mph leaving his hand) on 4 pitches; his 5th pitch shatters the wooden frame of the device. Taking the mound Feller then strikes out 7 in a losing cause‚ as the Indians commit 4 errors. Knuckleballer Mickey Haefner is the winner‚ 5-4."
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Bob_Feller_1918
"Aug 20, 1946 - In Washington‚ the attraction is not the teams‚ but the pre-game exhibition of Bob Feller pitching to an army clocking-device to time his fastball. An extra 20‚000 fans show up to see Feller‚ who had not been informed about it; he asks for and gets $700 from Griffith. Feller's fastball is clocked at 98.6 crossing the plate (107 mph leaving his hand) on 4 pitches; his 5th pitch shatters the wooden frame of the device. Taking the mound Feller then strikes out 7 in a losing cause‚ as the Indians commit 4 errors. Knuckleballer Mickey Haefner is the winner‚ 5-4."
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Bob_Feller_1918
