Maximum fastball velocity

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:27 pm

www.slate.com/id/2116402

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:31 pm

Interesting read. Thanks.

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:49 pm

Actually, I do liken pitching to sprinting. The article says sprinters are continuously improving their times, but look how long it takes. Jesse Owens ran a 10.2 in 1936. The current world record is what, 9.78 seconds? And before that it was 9.79 seconds (3 years earlier). A 4.3 percent difference in time in nearly 70 years. Not exactly setting trends ablaze. And the difference between 9.78 and 9.79 is one-tenth of one percent. That would be like a fastball going from 100 mph to 100.1 mph. I'd say most mere mortals are at their physical limits in several sports, with changes in form or training accounting for those 0.1% differences we see every now and then.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:02 pm

Don't they adjust for wind on the 100 meters?

Plus maybe the difference between what Jesse Owens wore and these skin-tight suits worn by sprinters today is worth a few one hundredths of a second.

Then of course, there is the issue of steroids.

For pitchers to improve their velocities, maybe they have to look at changing the ball. Smooth it out so that there's less drag. Or if cutting up the ball gives it more spin for certain types of movement, they can change the surface so that it won't spin in ways which slow it down.

Of course that won't happen because any changes to the ball will cause controversy. Pitchers were unhappy when they suspected MLB of introducing "rabbit balls" to pump up HR numbers. Higher pitch speeds on the radar gun just doesn't have the same marketing value as HRs.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:17 pm

wco81 wrote:Don't they adjust for wind on the 100 meters?

No world record can be set in the sprints when wind-aided. When the wind is faster than a certain velocity, can't remember the exact meters per second, no official record can be set. There is no adjustment to the finishing time ever, regardless of conditions.

Skinsuits have a negligible effect, I think. Maybe a few hundredths, as you said.

I think the biggest increases are due to better training and diet techniques, the incredible power of some of these sprinters compared to those of even 40 years ago, and yes, performance-enhancing drugs.

Everybody is making a big deal out of drugs and baseball, and rightfully so. But the drug problem in baseball is child's play compared to the drug plague in track and field and road cycling. In those two sports, it's not a question of who's on the juice, it's a question of who's <i>not</i> on it.

Take care,
PK

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 2:23 pm

pk500 wrote:
wco81 wrote:Don't they adjust for wind on the 100 meters?
No world record can be set in the sprints when wind-aided. When the wind is faster than a certain velocity, can't remember the exact meters per second, no official record can be set. There is no adjustment to the finishing time ever, regardless of conditions.

I don't know what the cut-off velocity is, but a little wind makes a tremendous amount of difference. At a world record pace of 10.21 m/s (22.85 mph average - holy smokes!), a 1 mph head/tail wind is critical. I can tell on the bike between calm conditions and even 1-2 mph winds. A "light" wind isn't so light. Say I was sprinting on my bike at 30 mph. A 1 mph head/tail wind would give me around +/- 0.65 mph, a solid 2% difference in speed. Seems like sprint records should set indoors only to minimize wind effects.