How difficult is it to throw a baseball 90+ mph?
Joe S asked:
I’ve always been able to throw a baseball real hard because of 12+ years on travel baseball teams/high school/college teams, but have never actually been gunned to see how hard I threw. Is 90+ mph really THAT elusive to the average human? How many here can throw 90+ mph, and of those, how many of you are avid players? I have a relative who plays Major League baseball, and it’s his claim that it’s not that terribly hard to throw that fast, but VERY hard to control it to throw strikes, and that’s what separates the average baseball player from a pro pitcher. Your thoughts?
I’ve always been able to throw a baseball real hard because of 12+ years on travel baseball teams/high school/college teams, but have never actually been gunned to see how hard I threw. Is 90+ mph really THAT elusive to the average human? How many here can throw 90+ mph, and of those, how many of you are avid players? I have a relative who plays Major League baseball, and it’s his claim that it’s not that terribly hard to throw that fast, but VERY hard to control it to throw strikes, and that’s what separates the average baseball player from a pro pitcher. Your thoughts?
August 20th, 2008 in
Baseball | tags: Baseball Player, Control, Major League Baseball, Travel Baseball Teams
hey if u can throw 90 plus then the coaches will teach you how to controll it, like the mechanics and everything, and if u can throw 90 pple will work with u. so yeah i can’t throw 90 but yeah i’m sure it takes alot of training
Throwing 90mph takes a lot o time and practise, not evry1 can do it.
How hard you throw is only part of equation.
I actually knew high scholl baseball players that could get up close to 90 when they threw with all their force.
BUT, they could not do it with consistent accuracy or good movement. Thats where major leauge pitchers seperate themselves from the rest… Speed, control, movement. Need to have all 3. unless you are Knucleball pitcher or Tom Glavine.
It takes conditioning, mechanics, and stamina. Someone from my high school team, during the preseason game sims was hitting 93 regularly, the average major league fastball regardless of all those that can hit 90 is 88 mph. Once we got into the season he would come to close, and he had not been working on pitching, and arm strength well into the season he lost at least 9 mph on his fastball in the mid 80’s now. He was incredibly talented, but you must remain conditioned to what you do. He is in the pirates system now. Maddux another example. used to throw in the 90s now he is low 80’s and still manages to get guys out, that shows speed isn’t everything, but it helps. a lot of it comes down to given ability, not everyone is meant to be a power hitter, not everyone is meant to have a 90 mph fastball.
with practice, pretty much any average sized male should be able to hit 90’s if they had the right mechanics and the practice. sure, it would take years, but it is truly possible for almost anyone to do. I just started pitching around a year and a half ago but i’ve been playing for about 10 years now and i’m around average size, maybe a little lacking in muscle, and i can pump the ball from mid to high 80s.