HS Pitching Mounds

The one at Jr.s high school needs a step ladder behind it. They had a lot of pitching and used the mound to their advantage I guess, but everyone pitches off the same mound.

Tall mounds do add to speed compared with level ground. But I've never noticed that many were more than 10". Remember that 10" height is above the plate and not above the ground that surrounds the mound.

Showcase readings may be low because 90% of pitchers (and dads) overestimate their pitching speed. And most pitchers probably need a lot of warming up to reach full speed. I've seen events where kids only get 15 warmup throws.

I don't know, I can't ever make up to the top of a couple of mounds around here. I've asked for them to supply O2 but they don't have any extra canisters other than what they need for their staff. One team in particular can only play on cloudless days. Otherwise, ...

Bighit and Dad04,

Do like we do in Gawga. Find the best fire ant mound that fits your specifications, poison the mound and build your baseball field around it.

Our HS mound looks about 6" - I asked the groundkeeper to raise it [not the least reason being b/c Junior likes 'em steep] - his answer: it's already regulation - 15 inches"!! WRONG ON BOTH COUNTS, BUB!!

However - I have a question: I realize that the higher, steeper mound creates a delivery plane more advantageous to the pitcher [which is why the mound has been lowered over the years]. What I have a hard time understanding is how it adds speed to the pitch [notwithstanding the miniscule difference in the effect of gravity on a ball reelased at 15 inches instead of 10.] The pitcher uses his arm/legs/trunk to generate the force required to throw a baseball - how does standing 4-5 inches higher add speed? Again, ignoring the effects of gravity, this says that if I threw a ball from the top row of the stadium, I could probably throw 125-150mph. Not trying to start another snippy, back and forth post here - I just don't understand the principle [and I'm an engineer!!]. Is it merely that the higher plane allows for a longer sustained velocity, or are you [that's a collective 'you'] saying it really adds mph. Hopefully someone can explain this to me.

THANKS!!

Check the one a WHS, it looks like its 10 foot tall. But the bullpen mounds are almost flat.

I would put height of mound at my sons hs up against any in the nation. It is staggering, laughable, and at least 2 feet higher than any other mound I've ever seen.
At conclusion of last season we saw work was being done around it and assumed it would be lowered. Checked it a few weeks later and it was raised dramatically - not just on the core mound where pitchers work but raised up around 5 feet in front of mound and new grass planted.
This is not done to gain any competitive advantage as the school doesn't care that much about baseball but it has just gotten out of control over the years somehow.
Regarding the velocities, I have gunned 2-3 pitchers consistently on this and many other mounds and noticed no difference in velocity.

My son loved a tall mound. I don't know if there was a velocity difference but it seems the angle from the release point to the plate would have more slope.

In the 60's when the MLB mound was cut down was the reasoning to reduce velocity or angle?

First I believe that the most important effect of mound height is the angle and not the velocity.

There may be a slight velocity advantage for some pitchers. Velocity is all about transferring the momentum of the windup/stretch into arm/hand speed. You can build more momentum the more you are going down hill, due to gravity pulling down on your body, and if you can effectively transfer that momentum to the ball you'll throw faster.

Most pitchers probably aren't able to take advantage of the added momentum and so the results noted by denisr400.

Mound height especially affect the curve. A curve initially thrown upwards will break much less than a curve initially thrown level or slightly downward.