Pop Time

Can you throw out runners? Do you notice the runners right foot?

what is your transfer time from mitt to the throwing  hand?

Do you practice catching the practice throw on the heal of your mitt for quick transfer? What make of catcher's mitt do you use.

Bob

Founder of Area Code Baseball and Goodwill Series.

Could not see your video...check link.

The throw (to second) is comprised of these components; release, velocity and accuracy. Release is the hardest to adapt (a little less than half of POPTIME). Velocity is the hardest to attain if you do not naturally have it (a little more than half of POPTIME). Accuracy will be achieved through good mechanics and practice.

Watch this video demonstrating RAPID RELEASE techniques... it can shave 2/10ths a second off your PopTime!!

Here is th link to my video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3ZtrGeI0SA

And I will look at your video.

I throw out runners sometimes, depends on the circumstances (pitch, location, speed, pitcher's ability to hold runner on, etc.) I do not notice the runner's right foot, what should I notice about that? I do not know my transfer time from mitt to throwing hand. I do practice catching and transferring, but not on the heal of my mitt. My catchers mitt is a Mizuno. Not the best, but thats what I have.

Mizuno is good for catching with two hands. If the runners toe points right, he maybe stealing. Do you have a "pick off" signal with your 1st baseman with runners on 1b and 2b?

Have you read Jason Kendall book. He was one of our Goodwill Series players.

Bob

I do have a pick off move to first, but not to second, yet. I have not read Jason Kendall's book, I have read Catching 101,  Thanks for the help! Is this the book that you are talking about? http://www.amazon.com/Throwbac...ywords=jason+kendall

Okay, I found the book. Have you watched my video? Skip ahead to 1:40 to watch my throws the second.

Where is the nearest minor league pro team? You may desire to make an offer to catch BP.

Bob

The nearest that I can think of would be in Harrisburg, PA. I live near Gettysburg. I will look for closer teams, but that is a good idea. Thanks! You really do have a lot of knowledge and insight.

Your video look pretty good.  See if you can break down your movements per this article by Dave Weaver. 

http://www.hittingworld.com/Ev..._Release_p/art35.htm

Okay, thank you.  I will try to get my release time timed and try to work on my mechanics, I just don't know what is keeping me from getting to a 2.0 or better.

Well, if I had to guess from your video it would be your velocity.  Very difficult to see on the small video, but your ball seems to have an arch to it.  Throwing harder on a straight line would help. 

I understand where you are coming from. I was not doing so well that day. The day after my throws were on a line and there was no to little arc.

Wesley,

Keep in mind that a stopwatch is not an accurate way to time your release time. There are free apps for your phone  that very easily allow you to video your pop-to-release and then count frames in order to obtain a truly accurate reading on your times.

When Weaver's article (linked above) discusses pop-to-release times, he used a stopwatch, clicking when he perceived that the ball popped the mitt, and clicking again when he perceived that the throw struck a tarp 10 ft from the batter.  Two problems with this: 1. It uses a stopwatch,which is much less reliably accurate than video-with-frame-count. 2.  It's really "pop-to-release-plus-10ft-of-ballflight" times. It does not allow comparisons to normal pop-to-release time--that is,PTR times that don't include ballflight to a target that's 10 ft away.

Typical PTR for MLB catchers is ~ .66 seconds

(Btw, I'm a fan of the late Dave Weaver, and of his son, Jay Weaver.  I'm sure Jay would agree that video-timing is superior to stop-watch timing.  My guess is that the logistics of obtaining instant PTR times at camps and clinics dictated his dad's use of a stopwatch,tarp, etc.)

Let's say your current video-timed PTR is .85, and that you're able to eventually knock that down to .75 without losing any velo or accuracy.  That's an improvement of .1 seconds.  A typical HS baseball basestealer travels about 2 1/2 feet in .1 seconds.

My advice is to use video-timed PTR times as a yardstick (and motivator) to attempt to reduce your PTR....but, and this is very important, it could be that your current PTR is your current "sweet spot" that sits in between accuracy/velo on the one hand, and maximum release quickness on the other. IOW, it could be that you'll find out that at this current moment in time you should "leave well-enough alone."

Thanks for the advice. I do have the Hudl app and I have used it to post videos, but not to find my pop to release time. I will work on that.

A fairly simple way is to take into account your pop time and velocity. Our guys do it, I am not a math guy, but depending on your velocity the ball should reach 2B in X amount of time. The remainder of the pop time is the pop to release. Probably not as exact as frame by frame video, but fairly simple.

Also if your velocity is above average and your pop time is average or below, it should tell a catcher he needs to work on his release time.  If the catchers velocity is below average and his pop times are average or above, the catcher should work more on his arm.  Truth is no matter what catchers should work on both. 

I am working on both, I will try to time my release time. I got clocked at 75 MPH at Baseball Factory. So I will try to do the math and see what I can do.

Just thinking, you're probably wondering what average is.  Not sure what averag is in high school over all, but we know what the average is at our showce events.  

See the link below... Obviously this is a top guy, in fact, he was a Major League All Star this year.  But if you look at his profile, checkout his pop time and velocity.  At the bottom of each there is a blue bar.  Click on those bars and it will tell you what percentile the catcher was and also what the average in his class was.  Once again, this would be higher than normal high school catchers, because we tend to see most of the very best at those events.

http://www.perfectgame.org/Pla...rofile.aspx?ID=33319

Okay, I looked at the class of 2017. I looked at David Lamanna, he is a good catcher. The average poop time for the 2017 class is 2.07, so I am not far from that. Average MPH on throws to second was 72 MPH.

Remember, those averages are compiled from our showcase events.  So they would be higher than normal high school averages.  Also keep in mind that average high school players don't get a lot of attention from college recruiters.  

You appear to be above average for your class according to numbers you gave and by our scale.  Now you need to work hard to improve even more.  There are a lot of young men out there working hard to improve. Lots of competition! And don't forget about the bat.

Best of luck

I always work hard, but I will work harder and try to get even better. There is always room for improvement. I love the competition to be honest, lets me see what there is outside of my local small town. And trust me, I will not forget about hitting, it's my strength. Thank you for the help.