Perceived velocity

#1

Any tips on making my fastball look faster then it really is? Here are a few that I’ve heard:

-Longer stride
-Release point
-High&tight fastballs, or just inside fastballs

  • Mix fastball with change up

Thoughts?

#2

Grip as loosely as you effectively can will help actual velocity.
Increased rotation rate makes a ball look faster.

#3

Definitely develop a good change up… Speed the bat up, slow it down. Speed it up, slow it down.

#4

Not to brag, but I’m a proud parent. My son finally gets it! You can perceive that he is messing with the hitter’s now rather than randomly trying to keep them guessing. He’s formulating a plan using in-out, up-down, fast-slow. He just turned 16 and is in a prep league for 16-19 year olds and he’s doing great. He’s throwing over 80 mph and has been a shut down reliever for them this summer. Compared to his off speed, his fastball looks like a bullet. He’s had one walk and five Ks giving up 2 hits in his last 4 innings. The only run to score was an inherited runner on second base. Counting spring and summer he’s got a 2.27 ERA. His pitch counts are way down because he’s not trying to strike people out.

#5

The term “perceived velocity” normally refers to actual velocity plus distance from release point to the plate (which affects batter reaction time). Any mechanical adjustments you make that creates a longer stride or moves the release point forward will increase your perceived velocity.

Add in the consideration of the effect of location on a batter’s timing and now you’re getting into the topic of “effective velocity”.

#6

Good description! So effective velocity is perceived velocity plus the additional variable of pitch location. I like that.

#7

Here is a primer on effective velocity.

#8

Steven, there’s a little more to effective velocity so it’s not quite that simple. But that’s a good start. Maybe the primer linked by Slewbacca gives more insights (I haven’t read it yet).

#9

Thanks, Roger. The SBNation article is quite good. Thanks to Slewbacca for posting it.