Calculating Speed of pitches

Sorry about 2-3 yaers ago I was throwing 60.

In the old days they used precisely measured elapsed time vs. distance to do the math. But you won't be able to measure it accurately enough on your own ...

... unless you buy one of those RADAR balls, which surprisingly enough are reasonably accurate. I wouldn't go bragging about the number you get to anyone, but if you use it properly, you can get a number that will at least give you some idea of where you stack up.

You can usually buy one in the $25-35 range, maybe less on Ebay.

The key thing is to stand at the proper distance when using it. If you get the distance wrong, your MPH readout will be wrong. Too close = MPH readout too high, too far = MPH readout too low.

Another way is to find someone who has genuine experience in seeing pitchers at various speeds and gunning them. This person may well be able to compare your speed to someone for whom he knows the actual gun readings and give you a ballpark estimate of your actual speed. Again, I wouldn't take the number you get to the bank, but if you're just looking to see how you measure up, not a bad way to get a rough estimate.

Ok, this is a very complicated procedure. You will need a stop watch. Let's start with the first variable.

1)Distance- distance will be the X variable. 60 feet 6 inches.

2)Time. Time will be the T variable. You will need to measure the time it takes your ball to reach the plate.

3)To find velocity, take X/T. This will give you how fast the ball was going when released from your hand.

4)If you want to know how fast the ball is traveling when it hits the mit, use the following equation. We are assuming that the ball is traveling in a straight line. If this is correct, the acceleration will be 0. Then you can use this equation. Vf=Vi+AT which stands for:
Velocity final=Velocity initial + Acceleration times Time.

5)You should end up getting the answer you had for Vi, or how fast the ball was traveling from your hand. It's a complicated procedure, but it does work.

quote:

... unless you buy one of those RADAR balls, which surprisingly enough are reasonably accurate.

I've never heard ONE good thing about radar balls. Do they still make them? Many early ones didn't even work...once.

Yeah, Im thinking of getting one of ebay for $12 but not sure how good it will be. The descripton says its just as good as a radar gun.....

I don't recommend spending one red cent on a radar ball. I have never seen one that worked.

And don't bother using a stop watch to determine pitch speed. Too many variables involved and the calculation is too sensitive to them.

You'll just have to get in front of a radar gun somehow.

Radar balls were hot sellers when introduced around 1998. I'm pretty sure they're not made anymore, at least by Rawlings the company that developed them.

SpeedCheks were pretty good for about $150, but some people here had problems with the SpeedChek II models that came out about two years ago.

Radar balls have been discussed many times here, almost always negatively. Use the "find" box to read what has been said over the years about them.

We had a Radar Ball many years ago. It wasn't bad for an estimate of speed. In our case it was only off by 1 to 3. But at 10, what's 3 mph.

Go play long toss and work out to your maximum distance with a crow hop throwing on an arc. Here are some rough numbers:

210' = 70mph
260' = 80mph
305' = 90mph

Just do the math to figure out your estimated speed if your distance is between these numbers. This will give you a pretty good idea how hard you are capable of throwing although it won't tranfer 1:1 from long toss to the mound for everyone. You'll probably throw a few mph less than that during a game.

For example while my son has been rehabbing his arm we haven't let him go past 235' for long toss yet and he hasn't thrown over 75mph in the pen. We do plan to see if he can go out to 240 or 245' tomorrow. The goal is to get him over 260' by May.

Another option is the glove radar which goes for about $80. It measures speed near the plate so you have to add 5 or 6 mph to get the speed reading you'd get from a gun.

OK get ready to throw while a friend is in his car traveling at a speed of....I'M ONLY KIDDING...do not attempt this at home.

knowing your velocity is fun to know but don't let that be your focus...not that it is.

I was bored one day and did the math for converting FPS to MPH and created a spread sheet for this so feel free to download it from this site.

http://eteamz.active.com/RoughStock/handouts/index.cfm?...6194&subsite=3177404

Feel free to check my math if you like.

MPH*22/15=fps

60MPH=88fps

You can get an estimate of velocity by using a video camera. Videotape your pitch, then play it back frame by frame. Count the number of frames it takes for the ball to travel from your hand to the catcher's glove.

Here is the conversion: (This is based on a total 55 foot travel, since the release point is in front of the rubber. It also adjusts for the fact the ball slows down 1 MPH for each ten feet it travels, so this is an estimate of initial velocity, not average velocity.)

12 frames = 96.5 mph
13 frames = 89.5 mph
14 frames = 82.5 mph
15 frames = 78 mph
16 frames = 73.75 mph
17 frames = 68.75 mph
18 frames = 65.25 mph
19 frames = 62 mph
20 frames = 59 mph

(I've corrected these from my original post because I made the adjustment for initial velocity incorrectly at first.)

It's not a very fine measure, but it would give you some idea of where you are. And most people have a video camera, while Stalkers are less common!

quote:

210' = 70mph
260' = 80mph
305' = 90mph

So much simpler. Surprisingly, the release angle isn't that critical. Not much difference in distance between a throw released at 30 degrees and one at 55 degrees. You'll get a few more few feet in Denver, a few less in Death Valley. Wind won't matter much if it's under 5 mph. Ball will go slightly farther in extremely hot weather.

Beauty is that adding 1 mph adds a huge 4-5 feet to the throw.

The problem w/ the "radar balls" (my son had a working model several years ago) that I could never figure out was that the release point is, as noted by Rob K., above, generally well short of 60'6". If the ball is "set-up" for that distance and, yet, ultimately released at 55', it would seem to corrupt the MPH calculation. Also, it's not JUST the release point, but where the catcher's mitt is when it receives the ball...is it right ON the front edge of home plate, the back edge, or a few feet behind? Too many variables IMO.

For an accurate reading, I'd recommend you check out some of the better indoor practice facilities that seem to be proliferating. Many have their own radar guns and/or employ individuals serving as pitching coaches who have them. At worst, for the price of a 1/2 hour lesson/cage time (<$35), you could probably get some of your fastballs "clocked."

CA Dad's computation is VERY interesting...we may have to check that out!

Kb2610:
Those factors also make using a camcorder worthless for measuring high speed pitches. The ball is a long dull blur when viewed frame by frame. Looks more like a comet.

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Want to determine how far a ball will go when thrown/hit at various speeds? This calculator has that info and a lot more:

http://faculty.tcc.fl.edu/scma/carrj/Java/baseball4.html

Go play long toss and work out to your maximum distance with a crow hop throwing on an arc. Here are some rough numbers:

210' = 70mph
260' = 80mph
305' = 90mph

CA dad are you sure about that because I've thrown over 305 feet and I'm not yet throwing 90. but close.

My son and I also played around with a radar ball - and found it to be basically useless. Another way the results get distorted is how you catch the ball - soft hands, giving with the pitch, reduce the mph whereas hard hands, essentially driving towards the pitch would increase the result.

I also tried the stop watch approach and came to the conclusion I could not push the button accurately enough. My daughter's science project this year was about improving running speeds - and the way we measured speed was by having the runner sprint past two cones 10 meters apart. We video taped the runners and also hand timed them as a back up in case the video didn't work out (new camera). We found that the hand timing was off by as much as 4/10ths of a second - which was a lot when times were 1.0-1.8 seconds.

Just my two cents,

08

Allstarshortstop,
Which way was the wind blowing? The numbers are only approximate. Everybody is different. Some people just can't throw as hard off a mound. Some people take to a crow hop quite well. One never knows.

Go through showcase profiles sometime and you'll see some players throw harder from the outfield than while pitching and others throw harder while pitching than from the outfield.

BTW, looking at your post in another forum you need to get to a qualified sports doctor right away. Don't worry about missing a game or two. If you don't get the proper care you could miss a season or two. The fact that you are a hard thrower at a young age means you are at risk for a serious injury when you are feeling pain while throwing.

you would think there has to be a rough formula or rule of thumb. like using a stop watch from release to pop certain time is mph. without doing all the gozintas. not exact but would give you mid 80's or close.

Rough formulas for HS? Actually this is pretty precise from my experience, and much easier than a stopwatch:

93+ mph: When kid warms up at a tourney or showcase, everyone within 500 feet is drawn by the SOUND of pitch exploding into the catcher's mitt (it REALLY happens) Scouts: Never less than 5 around the kid. Sometimes 20!

90 mph: When kid begins warmup, players on other team turn heads simultaneously while uttering "Oh S---!" Scouts: 2 or 3, at many events.

85 or less: When kid warms up, no one but Mom and Dad notice. Scouts: none usually.

quote:

rough formula or rule of thumb

Ask Dad, subtract 2-5 mph in college, 5-10 mph in HS and even more for younger kids.

Had this verified again yesterday. Was sitting behind gun at college game where relief pitcher touched 81 a few times. Later I mentioned to his dad that his kid looked pretty good. His reply: "Yeah he sits on mid 80s, but I wish he could get up to 90."

micdsguy,
Was sitting behind gun (and holding it) at JV game the other day when son was pitching. He was 80-81 with a couple at 79. I figure my JUGS gun might have been reading 2 or 3 mph fast based on the readings I got for the other pitchers and so on a STALKER he'd have been at 76-77. How much more do I have to subtract for being a dad?

If you saw 80-81 several times on a Jugs, then that should be right.

I've witnessed Jugs and Stalkers running side by side and there's not any detectable difference over a sampling of many pitches. OTOH, individual readings often vary quite a bit even with two guns of the same brand. I don't believe in the popular view that modern Jugs read high. Perhaps they did years ago.

Having done a lot of gunning and often witnessed others clock pitches, I think that top out readings are generally very accurate. Oddball low readings, which are far more common, are errors. But that may be the Baseball-Dad in me thinking wishfully.

Over the years, I've only seen two or three clearly erroneous high readings-- ie. a high school pitcher once lit up my gun to 107 mph)

I checked with the tuning fork later and got 63 a couple times before it started reading 61 like it is supposed to. I don't know if it makes any difference where you hold the fork.

I've heard that fork position makes some minor difference-- on end or flat, for example.

Got my Stalker Sport out. It comes with a fork marked 65.3 mph. I set my gun to the "automobile mode" which has a 1/10 mph readout. (for some reason they don't recommend that mode for baseballs). Twanging the tuning fork caused a reading that bounced around from 65 to 66 mph but mostly centered right on 65.3 . Stalkers also have a self-test button that should display 80 mph which mine always has. They say to return the gun to the factory if either reading is off; no user calibration is possible.

Sound can certainly trigger a reading....not only a tuning fork, but a piano--I know-- and probably all sorts of background noise at a game. Audio noise might account for that 107 mph reading I once got.