Only 68MPH?

Pitching Mechanics
#1

Hi everyone. Im glad I found these forums. I have been pitching since I was 5 years old in little league.

I have always been a control pitcher and was always the number 1 pitcher on my team. What made me so good at it was my control, I never threw extremely hard but I always spotted my fastball and used my slider.

At 18 I went to florida to participate in the roberto clemente baseball camp which was changes to pinstripes. I did not throw for about 5 months before that so my arm and body was not prepared to be throwing. I had a soreness in my shoulder which I thought would go away but never did…MRI didnt reveal anything however now, 5 years later, I can throw pain free. I went to ESPN zone and threw some pitches and it said 68 on all of them. One of them said 78 but that was one that got away from me and went really high.

I remember being clocked at 68MPH at some fair when i was 17 then i was 5’11 165 pounds. now I am 23 6’ 200 pounds.

Even though I havnt thrown in so long I still feel like the ball is traveling much faster than the 68 MPH it reads. I mean im topping out at the same speed as El duque’s slow curve? I have always been complimented on my smoothe delivery and proper mechanics so I dont think thats a problem.

I would really appreciate any insight on this. Lets say I really do throw 68mph without any conditioning…what would be my velocity potential?

#2

hmm maybe post some mechanics to help a bit

im 15 5`8 135 and i throw 65 with good acruaccy so its odd someone so big would thorw less

#3

Post up some video so we can start by taking a look at your mechanics to identify any defficiencies.

#4

hey thanks for the replies guys!

I dont have any vids of myself.

The crazy thing is since elementary school i was always the kid who threw the hardest, i was always known as the kid who can throw hard.

I cant say im in the best of shape though but my mechanics have always been good.

#5

i went to ESPNZone in manhattan with a friend and i threw high 70s and low 80s-82ish… im 5’8 130 Lbs …18 years old… maybe its your mechanics

#6

I really dont think i throw 68. When I used to play HS ball, i led the entire PSAL in outfield assists for 3 years straight, I used to be able to throw the ball from my regular outfield depth to homeplate on the fly on a line, I used to catch and throw out base stealers at over a 70% mark.

One thing I did notice though, is I dont bring my arm all the way back when i pitch, i sort of throw short armed like a catcher. How much velocity could I gain by a full reach?

also, my entire life i been throwing 3 quarters, after my injury healed i got into throwing over the top.

thanks for the input guys, im about to buy a radar gun just to see which form generates the most velocity.

#7

You might want to go to a batting cage and ask them to gun you. Most batting cages have a gun to calibrate their pitching machines. That’s a lot cheaper than a radar gun. The cheap radar guns don’t work well at all. The other option if you have someone to catch for you is to buy a glove radar.

The reading you got at the booth would depend a lot on where the unit was located and what type of gun it was.

I’ve seen setups where a gun was located at a 45 degree angle to the direction of the pitch and that would result in a reading about 30% low. I’ve also seen Speedchek type units mounted up and to the right such that a high inside pitch would read a lot faster than a pitch toward the target and be more correct.

My guess would be that ESPNZone would do theirs fairly accurately, but you never know.