Bushnell radar gun it w

Radar guns routinely show 7-10 miles per hour slower than actual speed.  Every dad knows that.

I have a friend who has this Bushnell gun. It reads slow compared to a calibrated Jugs and it also is less likely to pick up the ball from behind a fence.

Yeah you were probably throwing closer to 90 I'd guess.

BV West,

 

A wise coach once told me, "Numbers don't lie." 

 

This goes for bathroom scales and radar guns.  My son for years was convinced my radar gun was wrong, wrong, wrong.  He believed my backyard readings were 5-6mph low, always.  My radar gun readings ended many a backyard bullpen session prematurely with son walking off one way, and me walking off in another direction.  Since then, he has gotten bigger, stronger, and faster, and miraculously my radar gun has somehow, in my son's words, "Corrected itself."

 

But darned if now my bathroom weight scale seems inaccurate?  I swear it adds 10-15lbs every time I get on it?????  Strangely, son doesn't want to hear it.  Brushes me off and says, "Numbers don't lie Dad. Numbers don't lie."

Seriously, BV West, a pitcher's velo over the course of a year will ebb and flow.  It has valleys and peaks.  I have no idea how old you are or how much you've been throwing, what your summer schedule, looks like, if you are on a throwing program, etc.  But relax.  Focus on the process, not the outcome. 

 

As far as the MLB park readings I have no idea.  Could be the angle you were at, a screen in the way, IDK. 

 

It sounds like you are exploring the use of the gun and learning how to use it though and that's good.  Radar guns, like any gun, can do as much harm as they can good, depending on the user.  Be careful with your use of it.  Remember, PROCESS over OUTCOME. 

       
       
Here is the key thing to understand about radar guns.  You get what you pay for.  The cheaper the fun (and bushnell is about the cheapest) the closer you have to be and the more online you have to be.  So gunning any mlb bullpen or certainly live pitching is basically out of the question.  But if you gun your own bullpen from behind the catcher or maybe from the batters box or behind the backstop up to a reasonable distance it will be pretty close over a good sample size.  I have a pocket radar and it is just about in tune with our team's stalker.  Difference is I have to be in the exact right spot and it will still get no reads or misreads.  If I gun a selection of about 10 pitches I will know within an mph or so what the kid is throwing.  I would be hard pressed to imagine the gun is 8+ mph off on your pens.  Don't know your model but I suppose the settings could be set to get end speed.  That would actually about make sense.  Like stalkers can be set to get to p speed (obviously out of hand - which is the number commonly used) and low speed (obviously at the point it enters catchers mitt.  The more expensive models can then also get exit velocity if the ball gets turned around by the batter.  So that would be three different numbers.  Check your settings.  But.if it is a cheaper model then it should always take high or.out of hand speed.  And by the way what makes you so sure a guy throwing in the pen would be 88-89?  Some guys throw hard in the pen and some just work mechanics.  Also what makes you convinced you are in the 70's?   Have you been gunned there by a reliable source?

       
       
P.S.  your username has an '11' at.the end.  Are you 11 years old?  In which case two things, 1. We need to be courteous and 2. I have to tell you it is an addictive hobby for.me to walk around gunning pitchers of all ages.  I have gunned only one 11yo ever touching 70, thats touching 70!  Godad44 knows who that is.  If you are 11 and in the 70's you would be a phenom and possibly the best or one of the best pitchers in the country.  If you are 11 and touched 66 that's still pretty amazing so don't sweat it!

According to his profile, he is a 14 year old rising freshman. 

If you're 14 years old take the gun....walk out to the curb as the garbage truck drives by and throw it in     My son (now 18, D1 commit) was kind of obsessed with how "hard" he could throw....from 14 thru 16.  Last year, playing 17U, he finally realized (or listened) to his coach that told him "it's not all about the MPH".  Guess what.  He got an offer....and committed to a D1 when he had only hit 87.....while 2 or 3 guys on his summer team who had hit the "magical" 90mph number were sitting around waiting for their first offers. The day he got his offer, he struck out the only 3 kids he faced on 11 pitches...and was never over 86.  

 

He did get 90 this spring...and you know what....he didn't really seem to care one bit.  He finished this spring with a 1.39 ERA...55K's and 18BB's in 49 innings and won the last 3 games he pitched in his HS career....beating teams with records of 21-2, 18-4 and 19-4.  The "numbers" are nice...but at 14 they are absolutely meaningless

       
       
In fairness you say 'only' 87...  87 is bringing it as a senior.  Pretty much any kid throwing 87 with any kind of control and 2nd pitch can pitch D1 somewhere.  I would be happy for my kid to throw 87 as a senior.  And those kids throwing 90 are going somewhere too.  I am quite sure they had offers just hadn't decided yet.

       
       
yes I am bad about checking profiles.  Not sure it matters as not sure the OP is around anymore!

A couple of things about radar and use of that info.

 

First, the velo numbers you hear bandied about are peak velocity - the velocity of the ball out of the hand. The ball will slow down roughly 1 mph per 7 feet traveled. So if your reading mid 60s and KNOW you're throwing low 70s, you are most likely reading the velo when the ball reaches the catcher (assuming you're in line and close enough to get accurate readings).

 

Second, the guns calibration must be certain. Read the operations manual on how to do this.

 

i disagree that velo is not something to be aware of constantly.

 

First, velo is what gets you noticed.

 

Second, velo - once you get a baseline - can be a proxy for mechanics. If you sit at a certain speed and all of a sudden you are several mph below your baseline, chances are something with the mechanics have drifted. Also, velo is useful to determine if your secondary pitches are being thrown with the same arm speed as your FB. For example, if your FB is 90 and your change is 72, there is an issue with mechanics. 

 

Radar, like video, is a tool which, when used properly, is part and parcel of a range of things which can be used to reach full potential. 

Lol...I guess I should clarify a little bit.   My son played on one of the better 17U teams in the Midwest.  His team had 6 or 7 PO's...and 2 or 3 guys who were 2-way guys.  At the time of his offer, his team had a 6'5 lefty who was up to 93 already committed....and 3 or 4 guys who had hit 90 during the summer....yet none had been offered at that time (all have since committed).   In the league/tourneys that we were in, almost every team had multiple guys at 90 though keep in mind that his team had guys from all over the state of Ohio...it wasn't a "local" team with a bunch of kids from one HS. 

       
       
Now that makes sense.  As we had said on another thread a couple weeks ago 90 is still pretty special.  And a fair amount of college guys hitting 90 didn't do it til they got to college.

I own both a Bushnell Speedster III and a Stalker Sport. First, the Speedster III is far superior to earlier Bushnell models. I have used the Bushnell next to my Stalker and the Bushnell is consistently right on. However, that only applies when standing very close to either the pitcher or catcher. The effective range for the Bushnell is basically about 100 feet. What that means is that if you are 30 feet behind the catcher, you're generally only picking up the ball 20 feet after it's left the pitchers hand and after gravity has slowed it 4-7 mph. The Bushnell is a very cost-effective radar gun for bullpens where you can be close, but not much use from behind a backstop with any fould ground to speak of.

Even those numbers only mean something if you get in front of the right people. As I've mentioned before, my son's team had two senior stud pitchers this year. Pitcher #1 throws 83-85 tops (many games I only got him at 81-82) with decent. Pitcher #2 "sits" 87-89," occasionally hits 90, and has excellent control.

 

We play dh'ers, so both pitched to almost exactly the same teams. Stats:

 

Pitcher #1: 39.2 ip, 55 K's / 13 BB's 1.59 era

 

Pitcher #2: 46 ip, 92 K's / 8 BB's 0.60 era

 

Both are going to the local D1 JC. However, pitcher #1 was ranked Colorado's #21 2015 prospect and was named to the Rockie's Future Games as an all-state player, pitcher #2, while named Conference POY, got no other state-wide accolades.

Pitcher #1 had multiple offers from D1's while pitcher #2 had none. Pitcher #1 is only going to the JC because his dad is HC and he wants to play for him a year. Pitcher #2 only got an offer there because JCHC watches son's games.

 

Differences? Pitcher #1 is 6' 5" and, therefore, projectable, and played for the Rockies Scout team. Pitcher #2 did no showcases and played summers on a team that doesn't go to any noteable events. Oh, and he's only 5' 10". Meanwhile, I know of several guys throwing in the 85-87 range getting D1 offers and they are nowhere near the pitcher this kid is. Coincidently (or not) JCHC doesn't want him pitching this summer. Maybe becuase he wouldn't want some 4-yr school desperate to fill a roster spot seeing him?

Roothog66
I have a speedster 2. I imagine it far worse than the 3

I owned a Sppedster I years ago and it seemed you practically had to be over the catcher's shoulder.

Roothog66
Even then, like I said earlier its slow 8-10. Danny Duffy throws mid to high 90s and as a pitcher I warm up about 10 mph slower. And the gun was reading in the low to mid 70s when it was clearly not so

When throwing bullpens use Bushnell directly behind pitcher. Sons pitching coach has an older Bushnell & I have a Stalker Sport. When standing up close & directly behind pitcher Bushnell reads only 1-2 mph slower than Stalker. We've never compared behind the catcher so I couldn't say there. Think its the range issue and closer to release point you can be the more accurate the Bushnell.