Ok I got this data from a PBR article. They say more IVB is better. So how is it that HS is greater than NCAA/MLB???
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Throw harder....less time to move? I think it is definitely related to the average fb speed in each category.
I think it probably has to do with the seams of the balls, I remember there being a dramatic difference in seam height for me going from HS to College (College much lower). Freshman year I would have paid good money to get the high seam ball back.
Can you post the article?
A 4 seam FB rides better along a straight-line flight path from release to target due to magnus force produced from backspin that fights gravity. The better the raw spin rate along with spin axis that creates spin efficiency the LESS “induced vertical break” there is. Therefore, the less a 4 seamer drops the better the pitch.
or maybe my old school brain Is completely wrong with all this new school terminology, if so sorry for the confusion
Induced Vertical Break = Distance between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate height-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate height-wise if it had traveled in a perfectly straight line from release, but affected by gravity. Note: If this number is positive, the ball broke “upwards”, or in reality dropped less than it would have due to gravity alone – it does not necessarily mean that the ball actually rose.
The term is actually a bit of a misnomer. It’s a measure of a pitch’s resistance to gravity or resistance to downward break. As noted above, magnus effect causes the ball to drop less creating “ride” on the four seam fastball. Higher velocity accounts for the lower numbers as you move up into higher levels of play. A ball traveling 90 MPH over 50 feet has less gravity induced drop than a ball traveling 70 MPH over the same distance thus spin has more gravity induced break to mitigate in the slower pitch.
Son has good ride on FB, I’ll have to ask him if he knows his IVB number.
Average FB for MLB last year was 93.3, I don't know the average for HS but I am guessing 78-82ish? I would say you compare your numbers more to where you fall on average velocity than on age for this.
Ok so I have FB velo of 93.5 and IVB FB of 19.8. Pls explain. and HS Senior.
is that top FB velo or average? You have elite spin. Elite even for mlb. If you have control...you’re in a good spot.
Is that your son or hypocritical?
It is my guy:
FB VELO 93.5 2262 SPIN IVB 19.8 HM 9.4 BAUER 26
CB VELO 84 2635 SPIN IVB -13.1 HM -15.9 BAUER 33
CU VELO 86.5 1909 SPIN IVB 11.2 HM 19.1 BAUER 26
SS TO 1ST 93
EXIT VELO 102
60 7.2
THEY LOOK GOOD TO ME BUT TRYING TO GET MY HEAD AROUND PITCHING NUMBERS STILL.
Our sons are very similar in stats on FB.. I’ll pm you. They did a breakdown of all his numbers.
@Good Knight posted:
Ok so I have FB velo of 93.5 and IVB FB of 19.8. Pls explain. and HS Senior.
It means that your son’s fastball hits the mitt almost 20 inches higher than it would without any magnus effect produced by the spin of the ball. This theoretical point of impact is used as a baseline to compare pitchers. The average pitcher may get 15” of “ride” (point of impact above the theoretical baseline) from the spin they impart on the ball. Your son’s pitch will come in at 20“ above the baseline because he has higher than average spin. The amount of “ride” he gets on the ball puts him in the top 20% roughly of current college pitchers that have data available.
When it comes to numbers like this, you want to be an outlier to “fool a hitter’s eye”. Hitters are programmed for average in that their brain calculates the drop of the pitch from the point the eye last sees the ball and the point of bat to ball contact. Many people think the batter “sees the ball hit the bat” but that is not correct. The brain stops getting reliable data from the eyes while the ball is well out in front of the plate and has to calculate where the ball will be in space at the point of bat/ball collision.
This is where the value of spin and IVB lies. If a pitcher’s fastball, due to higher average spin rate, arrives higher than the brain is accustomed to the batter will swing under the ball.
Please keep in mind that not everyone in baseball understands these numbers or embraces them. Some coaches may care, many will not.
They may not see past 93.5
Of course you are correct 2022NYC but I think his CB and CU are his best pitches.
But what do I know.
I think most coaches appreciate a nasty pitch whether they know (or care) that it is about IVB/IHB is another thing. The PBR and Trackman guys have said it basically just explains what your eyes see or why a pitch is so successful.
Life up in the zone can save your fanny in high-leverage situations.