Question about pitching machine speed from a shorter distance.

To break it down step-by-step:

1 mile= 5,280 feet

85 mph= 448,800 feet per hour

448,800 feet per hour= 7,480 feet per minute

7,480 feet per minute= 124.67 feet per second

124.67 feet per second= 2.06 seconds per 60 feet 6 inches

124.67 feet per second= 2.59 seconds per 48 feet


2.59 seconds per 48 feet is equivalent to 157.13 feet per second (with mathematical calculations equivalent to 60 feet 6 inches)

157.13 feet per second= 9,427.92 feet per minute

9,427.92 feet per minute= 565,675 feet per hour

565,675 feet per hour= 107.14 mph.


OR

A much simpler formula:


(Velo. x 60.5 ft)/48 ft.= 107.14

So the number you are looking for is 107.14 mph. Keep in mind that this is not the actual velocity, but the corresponding reaction time you get at the distance the machine was at.

Well, a much more reasonable distance for a live pitcher is about 55 feet to the plate, or perhaps 58 feet to the mitt.

At the cage, where is the 48 feet mesured to? Unless you measure it with a tape, you don't really know. Also, consider that a batting cage facility has an incentive to advertise a higher pitch speed than the machine actually delivers. So there could be quite a bit of uncertainty in any attempt to relate the batting cage pitches to live pitches.

Since your profile says that you are interested in being a bullpen catcher for a MLB team, I'd like to point out that a MLB pitcher's fastball has much more movement than a pitching machine and is much more difficult to catch.

I don't believe that the cage speed is exactly as advertised, in most automatic cages. I have hit in a few 85 mph cages and put more than half of them in play, and at 42 years old, if I could actually hit 85 mph pitches, I missed my calling.

To clear a few things up its a batting cage that I go to all the time and I know the owners and all the people who work there and we do whatever we want while there. This being said we set up the big unit machine which shows the speed on the back of it when I set it up with my friend. So unless that machine is lying to me then I know it was 85. And I know MLB pitchers have movement on the ball and this machine wasnt throwing straight strikes every time and it did have movement. For now im just trying to get used to the speed of 85-95. And for the for sure distance my buddy I was with used to work there so he knows its 48 feet measured out. So it really is prolly around 50 feet from behind the plate.

Ask Orel Herscheiser.

BPt, you are on the right track. There are many top catchers that do exactly what you are doing, off a machine. We set up three plates at 60'6, 50, 45 feet and work on receiving and framing.

Good luck, GED10DaD