105.5 MPH?

[Minimalist]

Amusingly, in today's game Hicks was again in left field and this time a ball was hit up the line.  He ran over, picked it up and was unable to do anything other than throw it in to second where the runner foolishly was attempting to stretch the hit into a double.  Even without the 100+ mph throw, he was out by two feet.  Of course it is a much shorter throw to second.

[Tiberius]

The run up consumes time - time subtracted from the ball in flight. Since the speed in flight is so much greater than running speed, I would think the run up is a liability. It's a necessary one because of the need to plant and orient.

Erm...no, that's not how physics works. You don't subtract time from the ball in flight just because the guy takes some time running. The speed of the ball is measured relative to the ground, not to the runner.

It appears though, that there's no easy answer to whether running and throwing results in a faster ball speed compared to standing still and throwing. Physics says running and throwing should mean a faster ball, because the speed of the runner is added to the speed of the ball, however the throwing technique is different between the two methods.

Multiple kudos to anyone who can find a paper which actually addresses the problem, or who can do an experiment to find out.

[TheRealJoeFish]

[Minimalist]

[TheRealJoeFish]

That's insane. Not, like, insane to keep them in there... just... insane, like... amazing.

I do recall reading a source I deemed legitimate that put the max pitch speed around 112 or 113 due to the tendons and such

[Minimalist]

Spahn and Marichal were both about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds.  They were normal size for the times.  Today, if you aren't 6"6"and 220 pounds the scouts don't want to look at you.

I've often wondered if the emphasis on strength training and weight lifting is not part of the problem with the elbow ligament injuries.

[Minimalist]

[Minimalist]