How fast are your pitchers?

[nator1203]

QUOTE(davidlimbaugh @ Apr 18 2007 - 11:37 PM) 826440811[/snapback]Velocity is OVERRATED.

 

On old saying: "The only time Velocity pays you any money is your signing bonus. Every penny you ever make after that is location and change of speed."

 

excellent post in my opinion..look at greg maddux, i watched him pitch the other night and he wa throwing 83 to 85 MPH fastballs but they have incredible movement on them. most major league pitchers have curve balls that are faster than maddux's fastball, but all you have to look at to realize how successful Maddux is, is LOCATION LOCATION and change of speed.

[putboobieincoach]

i agree with the location thing. this comin from a pitcher who probably cant even throw 75. but i willl admit this velocity helps a whole lot. when you dont throw hard, it makes you have to be accurate at all times especially in the varsity level. if you make mistakes at the varsity level they usually dont get missed. so yes work on accurate but try to work on velocity still. make sure by the time he starts pitchin in varsity that he has pretty good command of at least 3 pitches. bands really help with arm stregnthening!!!

[trojan7000]

Fastballs are good but if he cant throw a fastball by now his is already in trouble. If he moves up to Varsity they will kill his fastball, he will get away throwing it for a couple of innings but the batters will have it timed by the 3rd or 4th. He needs a change up pitch, curve, slider or some other pitch to compliment his fastball. In most case's he want pitch many innings throwing just fastballs. If he plays in a weak High school division he will be fine, but up against the better teams or talent in Tenn. or the country he will need the other pitches everybody else is telling you. Work on the long toss to keep the fastball strong, but he has to have the other pitches to be competative. Get him some pitch instructions from a good souce, It will be a great assest for him. Good Luck

[Honestly]

QUOTE(nator1203 @ Apr 19 2007 - 09:18 AM) 826440953[/snapback]excellent post in my opinion..look at greg maddux, i watched him pitch the other night and he wa throwing 83 to 85 MPH fastballs but they have incredible movement on them. most major league pitchers have curve balls that are faster than maddux's fastball, but all you have to look at to realize how successful Maddux is, is LOCATION LOCATION and change of speed.

 

 

Location is the key to pitching, no doubt. But a located 87-88 MPH fastball is not the same as a located 75 mph fastball. Velocity is nothing without location, but nothing takes the place of velocity. And Maddux in his prime did throw 91-92, he just never was credited with having a good fastball because he was known for his control.

[trojan7000]

QUOTE(Honestly @ Apr 19 2007 - 09:54 AM) 826440989[/snapback]Location is the key to pitching, no doubt. But a located 87-88 MPH fastball is not the same as a located 75 mph fastball. Velocity is nothing without location, but nothing takes the place of velocity. And Maddux in his prime did throw 91-92, he just never was credited with having a good fastball because he was known for his control.

 

I agree with you, location and movement is the key on any pitch .You know if you throw 90 + straight down the middle it will get hit. But movement on a 90 + ball is different.

[seymourbsbll19]

QUOTE(braves4life @ Apr 18 2007 - 09:31 PM) 826440779[/snapback]curveballs don't hurt your arm as much as people think...it's when you start to try to snap it off hard that it becomes a problem...a good changeup is always nice to have...it can get you a ton of weak flyballs and grounders...and if his hands are big enough, let him try the splitter...it gets a little getting used to, but it is sick nasty if you can get the hang of it

 

 

I had three pitches in highschool....Fastball, Splitter, and a Changeup. I didnt throw one curveball after my freshman year. But I also throw sidearm so the splitter is very affective if you can get that pitch going. It is a good pitch to have, but it is probably worse on the arm than a curveball. I had tommy john surgery in january....but my elbow never bothered me until i started throwin the split alot.

[leeblair]

QUOTE(davidlimbaugh @ Apr 18 2007 - 11:37 PM) 826440811[/snapback]Velocity is OVERRATED.

 

On old saying: "The only time Velocity pays you any money is your signing bonus. Every penny you ever make after that is location and change of speed."

 

 

 

 

Being signed is why they play the game , though. You can have the best curve in the world, and not have a fastball, and you'll be doing what we're all doing- raising kids and hoping they make it.

 

Speed kills. If it weren't true, they'd make baseball 'slow pitch'. A curve, or a simple change- anything that throws the batters timing off, is all that is needed to compliment a good fastball.

 

Don't get me wrong- my son will have to throw the curve. But , in doing so, I do not want to hinder the development of his fastball.

 

Once you get to 85+/- , then you can afford to toy with some pitches.

 

Until then, the focus is on buiding speed. Weights, long toss, and a lot of patience.

 

But, there are some good points to the arguments.

[riverdaleman]

QUOTE(leeblair @ Apr 19 2007 - 01:07 PM) 826441209[/snapback]Being signed is why they play the game , though. You can have the best curve in the world, and not have a fastball, and you'll be doing what we're all doing- raising kids and hoping they make it.

 

Speed kills. If it weren't true, they'd make baseball 'slow pitch'. A curve, or a simple change- anything that throws the batters timing off, is all that is needed to compliment a good fastball.

 

Don't get me wrong- my son will have to throw the curve. But , in doing so, I do not want to hinder the development of his fastball.

 

Once you get to 85+/- , then you can afford to toy with some pitches.

 

Until then, the focus is on buiding speed. Weights, long toss, and a lot of patience.

 

But, there are some good points to the arguments.

 

My boys are not in it to get signed so you may have to go a different route than i my boys are in it because they love to play and they love their school...if they are in it to only get signed then you are in a lot of trouble...i dont know the percentages but they are so small it ridiculous...

speed doesnt kill...strikes kill!!!!speed is nice but it doesnt kill you get a good hitting team and they like a good hard fastball they will sit on it and hit it ask tullahoma and Morris...

[ksgovols]

/huh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":huh:" border="0" alt="huh.gif" /> I'm not getting how the curve ball hinders the fast ball. They're two different deliveries. An over the top fastball, 2 finger or 4 finger and a change up or palm ball from the same arm speed are all the same arm motions. A curveball has that C look just before you snap it off. Other than arm problems from just pitching, I don't think throwing a curve is going to take arm speed away from the fastball delivery. I agree the best way to build arm strength is with surgical tubing or rubber bands and long toss. Pitchers should run alot in the pre-season and between starts to keep their stamina up as well. The legs usually go before the arm does. I've never heard any pitching guru or coach recommend weighted balls. It seems to me that it would screw up your release point.

 

As far as out pitches go, if you've got a nasty breaking ball that the hitters have to respect and you can locate your fastball, it doesn't have to be that quick, especially if it's got a little movement. If you can't locate your fastball, you need to throw it in the 90's anyway and could probably use a good curve ball. I don't recommend it on the shorter bases, but once you've got the arm strength to pitch from 60'-6", it's time to learn how to throw a curve ball.

[Vultor]

QUOTE(nator1203 @ Apr 19 2007 - 09:18 AM) 826440953[/snapback]excellent post in my opinion..look at greg maddux, i watched him pitch the other night and he wa throwing 83 to 85 MPH fastballs but they have incredible movement on them. most major league pitchers have curve balls that are faster than maddux's fastball, but all you have to look at to realize how successful Maddux is, is LOCATION LOCATION and change of speed.

 

 

or someone alittle more close to home. Mikie Minor. Ace for the last years Forrest Rockets. Throws a low 90 mph fastball, but can knock a knat off your shoulder with it. He can throw any nasty stuff you want, but doesn't. His money pitch is his change up. And he now as a true freshman is the #4 starter for the #1 college team in the country Vanderbilt.

[davidlimbaugh]

QUOTE(Vultor @ Apr 19 2007 - 04:17 PM) 826441284[/snapback]or someone alittle more close to home. Mikie Minor. Ace for the last years Forrest Rockets. Throws a low 90 mph fastball, but can knock a knat off your shoulder with it. He can throw any nasty stuff you want, but doesn't. His money pitch is his change up. And he now as a true freshman is the #4 starter for the #1 college team in the country Vanderbilt.

 

 

Mikie was the Saturday (#2) starter for #1 Vanderbilt against Alabama and the Sunday (#3) starter against Kentucky last weekend.

 

And I still remember the game he pitched against Marshall County at the Warrior Spring Classic a few years ago

[melton]

QUOTE(leeblair @ Apr 18 2007 - 09:52 PM) 826440753[/snapback]In getting a feel for high school baseball, I was wondering what kind of speed is out there across the state?

 

My son is a freshman, and throws just over 70, probably around 73; how well should he expect to increase in speed over the next three years?

 

I'm not too thrilled about him throwing a curve for the 1st year because of the strain it can put on his arm when he switches from a curve back to a fastball.

 

 

A good thing to do for adding speed to his fastball is not only throwing longtoss, but doing core training. Having a strong back, stomach, thighs, etc. are some of the essentials in not only reaching top velocity on pitches, but also staying injury free. I would suggest doing medicine ball workouts combined with lifting and throwing. These things could add as much as 5 mph to his fastball in a few months if he stays at it.