This has been bugging me for a long time. Put me at second base and i'll throw he ball to first at high 70s, but the second you put me at SS I now throw mid-60s and in the OF I can barely touch 70. Any idea why this would be? Any advice? Open to any and all opinions.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Are they measuring the throws at the different positions from relatively same distance?
hshuler posted:Are they measuring the throws at the different positions from relatively same distance?
Yes, but i dont think that's relevant. I know regardless of the radar gun that I'm throwing slower from SS and OF than at 2B.
It's really a lot of speculation when one can actually see what's happening. But we do know that throwing from 2nd base is very different than throwing from SS. The mechanics are just different because of the difference in the angles. So, maybe this difference means that your mechanics you use to throw from 2nd is more sound than when you throw from SS. Also, because the distance from 2nd is so much shorter than SS, 2nd basemen tend to feel they have a little more time to set themselves and make a good throw to 1st. And often from SS, a player may rush a throw in order to beat the runner, where the little more rush for the throw produces mechanics that don't produce the velocity one might expect. Anyway, this is some some thoughts/guesses I have based on some observations over the years.
What type of radar gun is used and where is it shot from? Could be cheap radar with limited range or angle (cosine effect).
Like I said before Billy, I really doubt the guns and angle are the issue, as I know for a fact i throw slower from ss and of than i do from second.
If that's the case sounds like an intent issue. If the same person is gunning all positions at the same spot there will be differing angles though.
NYCTBaseball posted:Like I said before Billy, I really doubt the guns and angle are the issue, as I know for a fact i throw slower from ss and of than i do from second.
How do you know for a fact?
There are, potentially, mechanical reasons why you might throw slower from one position than another, especially under game conditions, but I don't think they're especially common. Moreover, the typical OF game throw is, in my experience, harder than from most other positions because OF game throws tend to come in the context of getting forward momentum into the throw better than at any other position.
There are lots of physics related reasons you'd measure lower velocities from different positions, though. As velocity increases, so does drag-related deceleration, so if the throws are being measured from different distances (from the release point) different velocities will be recorded for the same actual throwing speed. Likewise, as mentioned above, cosine effect will come into play if different throws are being measured at a different offset from perpendicular to the line of travel, which would be easy to be the case if all the throws are being measured from an off-field location for the different positions (even if the gun is being moved to try to stay on line).
NYCTBaseball posted:This has been bugging me for a long time. Put me at second base and i'll throw he ball to first at high 70s, but the second you put me at SS I now throw mid-60s and in the OF I can barely touch 70. Any idea why this would be? Any advice? Open to any and all opinions.
Few possibilities: lacking the strength for a throw from SS or OF, lacking the confidence with throws from SS or OF because of lack of reps. But sounds to me like a lack of confidence in throwing the distance throws.
OF and SS have different opportunities to leverage into a throw; crow hop from OF, and then an extra step to launch into a ball from SS. If you've been playing 2nd for a long time, your confidence is high at your position, you know you'll hit your target, so you launch into the throw. You might be trying to steer the ball from SS, which increases friction, which reduces the velocity.
Guys that are accurate with reasonable velocity from any position have lots of reps from that position and the necessary strength to cover the distance. During game time they trust their abilities; they catch it and throw it confidently, just like you do at 2b.
Get stronger, throw long toss, get more reps from SS and OF.
