95 mph fastball vs. 91 mph fastball

[W1GUH]

Just heard an announcer state that there's a BIG difference hitting a 95 mph fastball vs a 91 mph fastball. I did the calculation & the times to the pate are 434 msec and 452 msec, respectively. Wow. That's only an 18 msec difference. Any hitters out there to comment on this?

[TESLA]

It's not the arrival time, it's the F=MA

[W3WN]

Stop paying attention to the color announcers. Most of them talk at length ad infinitum ad nauseum to fill the "dead" air, instead of letting us actually LISTEN to the game.

[NQ6U]

No difference as far as I'm concerned—I couldn't hit either of them on the best day I ever had.

[K7SGJ]

No difference as far as I'm concerned—I couldn't hit either of them on the best day I ever had.

Me too. They might as well an RPG over the plate.

[WA4TM]

No difference as far as I'm concerned—I couldn't hit either of them on the best day I ever had.


I know what you mean, I couldn't hit the broad side of a ball with a barn!!!:mrgreen:

[NY3V]

Usain Bolt's are pretty damn fast balls! :lol:

[ab1ga]

Just heard an announcer state that there's a BIG difference hitting a 95 mph fastball vs a 91 mph fastball. I did the calculation & the times to the pate are 434 msec and 452 msec, respectively. Wow. That's only an 18 msec difference. Any hitters out there to comment on this?

At the professional level it may well make a difference, because it means hitters will have to start their swing that much sooner or be that much stronger to get the head of the bat around in time. The time difference is about a three to four percent difference, which may tip a balance.

73,

[W1GUH]

It's not the arrival time, it's the F=MA

Not to mention E = 1/2 MV(squared).

[W1GUH]

Me too. They might as well an RPG over the plate.

It's probably a good thing that I never passed a batting cage when I could've tried it. I was a damn good slow-pitch softball hitter back in the day...but that was then. Now, I'd probably get hurt or at least make a damn fool of myself!

Still...the urge to try keeps popping up!

[ad4mg]

It's probably a good thing that I never passed a batting cage when I could've tried it. I was a damn good slow-pitch softball hitter back in the day...but that was then. Now, I'd probably get hurt or at least make a damn fool of myself!

Still...the urge to try keeps popping up!

I made a fool of myself in a batting cage with a machine that dialed up to 80 MPH. Best I could do was foul the ball off behind me. Just wasn't quick enough with the bat. 95 MPH? I'd just as soon ride the pine.

Do you know a baseball traveling at that speed makes considerable wind noise? It's a warning to get the hell outta the way!

Also, I used to pitch BP to my 16-18 year olds, they loved it because I had good control and threw lots of strikes. On a good day, our radar gun said I could muster a fastball in the low 80's. Those kids would crush most of them. I was humbled.

[W1GUH]

I have very few childhood disappointments, but one I did have was that I never got the chance to learn to hit real pitching -- never got a chance to play Little League ball. I "went out" for the Boy's Club baseball program in the 5th and 6th grade and I only played in one real game. I struck out every at bat, but did make contact on a few fouls. Ouch! I can still feel the sting of what that felt like.

The next year when the coach was pitching batting practice I was hitting him a mile. He pointed out, and I knew anyway, that he wasn't "really pitching." Ever since, I've wondered what would have happened had I gotten the chance to get the kind of practice that would have taught me to hit real pitching.

But...both years I'd go away to camp or on vacation & then wonder why I was cut from the team after missing two weeks of practice. THAT was one of the best lessons I ever learned.

[W1GUH]

'mg:


I'd just as soon ride the pine.

Apologies for that thoughts that expression conjured up before I realized you were talking about a bench (right side up.)

AFAIK bats are made of hardwood (hickory?) so I was obviously in the gutter, as usual. Still, the imagery of riding a bat....

[WØTKX]

Played little league for quite a while. I was smaller and not as strong as most kids my age. Got stuck in right field for like, forever.

I really wanted to be a pitcher, but never had the speed. But all the work payed off, as I eventually got to play second base. Coach said I had a good head for the game, and my throws were very accurate, good for defense. Also, I threw sidearm better than overhand. Especially for accuracy.

Later, I got damn good at throwing a Frisbee, and that is still far more fascinating to me than throwing a ball.

[K7SGJ]

Played little league for quite a while. I was smaller and not as strong as most kids my age. Got stuck in right field for like, forever.

I really wanted to be a pitcher, but never had the speed. But all the work payed off, as I eventually got to play second base. Coach said I had a good head for the game, and my throws were very accurate, good for defense. Also, I threw sidearm better than overhand. Especially for accuracy.

Later, I got damn good at throwing a Frisbee, and that is still far more fascinating to me than throwing a ball.

And the dogs will love you for it.

[W1GUH]

Never really went whole hog for frisbee -- even tho' I never played organized baseball, I'd throw a baseball around for hours with a couple of my nephews who were playing high school ball. We made sport out of how bad we could make the other guy's hand hurt.

My favorite position was catcher. I got bored in the outfield & noticed that if I was catching I'd be involved in every pitch. AND didn't have to deal with ground balls. The playgrounds and vacant lots we played on were very irregular and every ground ball towards me took that bad bounce and hit me in the face (fuckin' OUCH), even in the outfield. Catchers had to deal with pitches in the dirt, but they wear a mask so that wasn't a worry.

I totally admire and respect infielders for the way the CAN field ground balls.

[WN9HJW]

Deleted

[WØTKX]

I found fast ground balls to be very entertaining.

[ad4mg]

I have very few childhood disappointments, but one I did have was that I never got the chance to learn to hit real pitching -- never got a chance to play Little League ball. I "went out" for the Boy's Club baseball program in the 5th and 6th grade and I only played in one real game. I struck out every at bat, but did make contact on a few fouls. Ouch! I can still feel the sting of what that felt like.

The next year when the coach was pitching batting practice I was hitting him a mile. He pointed out, and I knew anyway, that he wasn't "really pitching." Ever since, I've wondered what would have happened had I gotten the chance to get the kind of practice that would have taught me to hit real pitching.

But...both years I'd go away to camp or on vacation & then wonder why I was cut from the team after missing two weeks of practice. THAT was one of the best lessons I ever learned.

A pity that your coach took the one step approach to hitting. I pitched BP as a reward to the team for working hard. All the kids want to hit, so I pitched to our weaker batters so they could, and pitched to the better players to challenge them.

At the beginning of the season, I made the team hit off a batting tee for the first few practices. Only when they mastered the basics did we go to live pitching. Most of the time, I would rotate our pitchers on the mound during practices, paying careful attention to pitch count. For the 16-18 year olds, 30 pitches during BP was the cutoff, as they had usually accumulated at least that many in the bullpen.

My coaching philosophy was that every team had their 'aces'. You work with them enough to keep their skills sharp. They key to being competitive was to invest extra time with the less talented players and make them better. Usually caught the competition off guard.

I sure enjoyed coaching baseball. It's been almost 10 years since I stopped coaching. There's nothing like being in the local grocery store and having one of your former players yell out, "Hey, coach!" with a huge grin on their face! And, they're no longer the young, impressionable kids I used to refer to by their nicknames, they are all young men now, most with kids of their own.

Watch the Little League World Series. I do to critique the coaching, as much as watch the incredible talent of those kids. The good coaches are easy to spot, they're the ones encouraging the kid that just flubbed an easy grounder that gave up 3 runs.

[WØTKX]

My coach(es) were like that till I got a little older and better. Started with TeeBall. Due to my size, and lack of strength, I got good at bunting and short place hits. If I faced a tough pitcher, coach would signal me to squat. Pissed off the pitchers with that tiny strike zone, and I walked a lot. Then, I acted distracted on base, and the couch would signal me to steal.

I wasn't fast, but sneaky. Worked with what I had to give, and damn right, it surprised the heck out of the other teams. I learned to not be "an easy out". Got beaned a few times for my efforts. I read a lot of stories about Ty Cobb, but I just couldn't be that mean. But sneaky, hell yea! :lol:

[W1GUH]

'mg:


A pity that your coach took the one step approach to hitting.

Don't think he was. It was pretty much my bad for going away on vacation soon's school let out. I'm sure that had I been able to stick around there was a lot more good stuff to come. The Boy's Club was known around town to have the best baseball program. The club itself was cool, too. That's where I learned to play pool and jump on a trampoline. Loved going there in the evening.

[ab1ga]

'mg:



Don't think he was. It was pretty much my bad for going away on vacation soon's school let out. I'm sure that had I been able to stick around there was a lot more good stuff to come. The Boy's Club was known around town to have the best baseball program. The club itself was cool, too. That's where I learned to play pool and jump on a trampoline. Loved going there in the evening.

The Boy's Club is where I learned to swim and play pool. Dude, that brought back memories!

73,

[W1GUH]

Hope they were pleasant.

[K7SGJ]

I loved to play ball when I was a kid, too. I played the regular school stuff, but did Little League, as well. I was a catcher, and really liked the position because it was never boring, and taught a young man the value of wearing a cup. One year, I even made it to the all-stars. What a hoot. My biggest regret in several years of playing Little League baseball, was that my parents never made it to a single game to watch me play. Pisser.

[W1GUH]

I loved to play ball when I was a kid, too. I played the regular school stuff, but did Little League, as well. I was a catcher, and really liked the position because it was never boring, and taught a young man the value of wearing a cup. One year, I even made it to the all-stars. What a hoot. My biggest regret in several years of playing Little League baseball, was that my parents never made it to a single game to watch me play. Pisser.

Maybe that was a good thing considering the stories I hear about parents at little league games lately.

We always had a better time on a ballfield (er....vacant lot) with no grown-ups. If there were enough of us for a game we'd play a game. If not, we'd play 500 or any one of a number of games designed for practice. We couldn't get enough of that.