Last Updated on March 25, 2021 by
In the game of volleyball, professionals majorly measure the speed of a pitched baseball with a radar gun. However, the speed of a baseball pitch can be measured with some equipment you may have at home. As the baseball travels from the pitcher’s mound to home plate, you can use this procedure to measure the average speed of the ball in feet per second.
For greater convenience, it is advised that you convert the “feet per second” value to “miles per hour”. Using a measuring tape, you will be able to measure the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate. For a major league baseball diamond, you should come up with a distance of about 60.5 feet. What you will do is time the baseball’s pitch from the time it was thrown from the pitcher’s hand till when it got to the catcher’s glove. Take, for example, let’s say the baseball has a travel time of 0.47 seconds. Get ready for little calculations! Now try to analyze the baseball’s average speed into feet per second, using the formula S = D / T.
“S” stands for the baseball’s average speed, “D” stands for the distance at which the baseball travels, and “T” stands for the time of the baseball’s travel. So, if the time is 0.47 seconds and the distance is 60.5 feet, then the baseball’s speed will be 60.5/0.47, or 129 feet per second. To convert the speed to miles per hour (MPH), you’ll need to multiply the baseball’s speed in feet per second by 0.682. Take, for example, a speed of 129 feet per second is equal to 129 x 0.682 = 88 mph. Now, try to calculate the baseball’s speed directly using its travel time in seconds. The equation S = (60.5/T) * .682 = 41.3/T will provide the baseball’s speed in miles per hour, where “T” is the time in seconds. Let’s assume that 60.5 feet are the distance, a travel time of 0.47 seconds indicates a speed of 41.3/0.47 = 88 mph.
The Table Below Contains The Abbreviation Of The Formula Of Calculating The Baseball Pitch Speed.
| Formula Terms | Meaning |
| S | Stands for the baseball’s average speed. |
| D | Stands for the distance at which the baseball travels |
| T | Stands for the time of the baseball’s travel. |
Tips
The truth is there’s always a fraction of a second taken by pitches to reach home plate. To ensure accurate calculation and timing, make sure you measure the speed of several pitches.
Warnings
If you’re calculating your pitching speed, make sure you’re properly warmed up to ensure you don’t sustain muscle pulls and strains.
If you’re a fastpitch softball fanatics or if you play baseball often, you’d have known the difficulty of hitting a well-thrown fastball. For a fastball to travel from the pitcher’s hand to the home plate, it’s only a matter of a second. Meaning you’ve got only that small time to react to the pitch. or fastpitch softball, you are all too familiar with the difficulty of hitting a well-thrown fastball. It takes less than a half-second for a fastball to travel from the pitcher’s hand to home plate. That is all the time you have to react to the pitch. The typical person’s response time is roughly 0.75 secs. This implies you have to put up the swing yours before the pitcher releases the ball and also alter after the ball has been thrown. Like we said before, you can make use of a baseball radar gun to measure the speed of a pitcher’s fastball
You need to be in line with the ball’s path to make an accurate measurement. It’s either the pitch is traveling away from you or coming directly at you.
Pointers
The distance from the pitching rubber to home plate is frequently under the main league standard of sixty feet six inches in the youth leagues. For instance, in Little League, the distance is forty-six feet. Consult the local league of yours for the appropriate distance in case you wish to compute fastball response time for just a player in these leagues.
Where Can I Test My Pitching Speed?
Training Area. You need to measure the distance in your training area from the pitcher to the catcher to get an accurate MPH reading of your throw.
What Is A Good Pitching Speed?
The average speed of good pitching of a typical high school fastball should be between 75-85 mph. However, you’d expect the top varsity pitcher to see the upper 80s and low 90 range.
Is There An App To Measure Pitching Speed?
Is the radar gun the only equipment used to measure pitching speed? No! Is there any other equipment that can measure the measuring pitching speed? Yes! Thanks to innovation and technology, there’s a new mobile app used it measure pitching speed. You can measure the speed of moving objects or people with your smartphone. Using the speed gun app on Android™ and speedclock on iOS. This app is useful for sporting events like track and field, football, or baseball.
How Fast Is A 70 Mph Fastball From 45 Feet?
You need to divide the longer distance by the shorter distance and then multiply the result by the MPH to compare the “ball travel time” of any two distances. Take, for example, if you divide 60’ by 46’ you’d get something around 1.30. You’ll then get 91 if you multiply 1.30 by 70 MPH. That’s what brings about the saying that 70 mph from 46 feet equals 91 mph from 60 feet.
Closing Thoughts – Wrapping It Up!
The bottom line is that the speed of a baseball pitch can be measured with some homemade equipment. You can use this procedure to measure the average speed of the ball in feet per second as the baseball travels from the pitcher’s mound to home plate. We’ve come to the end of this informative article. We hope you were able to find resources in your quest to know how to measure baseball’s pitch speed. Please do not hesitate to contact us for questions or comments. Thanks!
