Hello all,
I’m need to this forum, and glad to be here.
I would like to know how I can measure my speed? I go to the park with my friend regularly and lots of times people comment that I throw really hard, you can just hear the ball fizzz and pop!
I would guess I’m throwing somewhere in the low 90’s, but how can I find out? I live in Chicago and I study at DePaul university.
Thanks!
Easiest way is to use a radar gun. Otherwise, if you can accurately time how long the ball travels through the air, you can use the old formula:
speed = distance / time
You’ll probably have from convert ft/sec to mph.
thanks for everyone’s reply so far, but I am looking for a way to measure the speed without trying to start and stop a stopwatch accurately
Do they have radar guns at batting cages?
Also, do any of those radar baseballs actually work or do they break the first time you it hits a glove?
Thanks a lot!
I just want to find out for myself, not really looking to play baseball competitively. I’m gonna try the radar baseball, seems like it would be worth it for $30. Now where can I find a real mound to throw from…
Dont get a radar ball-- I had one and it was horrible. Get a glove radar they cost a little more–50 or 60 dollars but it is well worth it. It is usually very accurate.
Make sure you use actual distance thrown rather than 60.5 ft.
[quote=“airflite40”]Hello all,
I’m need to this forum, and glad to be here.
I would like to know how I can measure my speed? I go to the park with my friend regularly and lots of times people comment that I throw really hard, you can just hear the ball fizzz and pop!
I would guess I’m throwing somewhere in the low 90’s, but how can I find out? I live in Chicago and I study at DePaul university.
Thanks![/quote]
low 90’s playing catch?
LOL
i don’t think so buddy.
Did you ever play absolute top level ball?
actullay, i’m fairly sure if you threw low 90’s you propably be drafted too
One way to use the formulas above is to take video of yourself, and upload it into a video editing program like Adobe Elements. Most of these programs, if not all, have a time measuring device built in so you can edit the film/digital image precisely. Take the time from release to mitt pop as your flight time, and apply the formula to it.
I have done this with my son and compared it to radar readings. The radar gun appears to time the pitch directly out of the pitcher’s hand rather than ball flight duration, so it generally shows a higher number since it doesn’t account for the ball slowing down over the course of the flight. In other words, the timing method averages the speed over its entire flight rather than just at one point. The ball may start out of your hand at 90 mph and reach the plate going 88 mph. The gun would show 90 and the timing method might show anywhere from 88.1 to 89.9, depending on how much the ball slows. BUT…it will give you a very good idea of your velo.
Good luck and have fun!
Hose
[quote=“3and0”][quote=“airflite40”]Hello all,
I’m need to this forum, and glad to be here.
I would like to know how I can measure my speed? I go to the park with my friend regularly and lots of times people comment that I throw really hard, you can just hear the ball fizzz and pop!
I would guess I’m throwing somewhere in the low 90’s, but how can I find out? I live in Chicago and I study at DePaul university.
Thanks![/quote]
low 90’s playing catch?
LOL
i don’t think so buddy.
Did you ever play absolute top level ball?
actullay, i’m fairly sure if you threw low 90’s you propably be drafted too[/quote]
wow did someone pee in your cornflakes today?
I never played baseball and I regret it, but I know I have a strong arm. If I’m wrong then I’m wrong so what.
I don’t appreciate ur negativity, everyone else has been really helpful so far.
If you want to get a general idea of how fast you can throw go out and play long toss. Throw the ball on a fairly high arc and see what the maximum distance you can throw the ball in the air is.
If you can throw the ball 80 mph then you should be able to long toss about 260’, if you can throw the ball 90 mph then you should be able to long toss about 310’. So every 5’ of distance beyond that is about 1 mph. Just find a football field so you can know exactly how far you are throwing the ball.
Let us know. No offense, but most people who haven’t been gunned, and many who have, overestimate their velocity by quite a bit.
One other thing to consider
If you are timing it…don’t use 60 foot 6 inches
It’s from release of the ball which will typically be about 4 feet closer to the plate I’d imagine
So that would be 57 feet to plug into the formula
That’s something easily missed
Best bet is a glove radar and long toss if you don’t have a gun
Add about 7 or 8 mph to the glove radar reading since you have to account for the loss in velocity due to friction air drag
Does a gun time the ball coming outta the pitcher’s hand or when it crosses the plate?