Range is more important than velocity – Part 2

In Range is more important than velocity – Part 1, I talked about why “high range” pitchers are more difficult to hit.  I also mentioned how hard it is to teach a pitcher how to increase their range of velocity.  

I originally wanted to jump right into the How-to’s for Part 2 but reconsidered.  That will be Part 3. Part 2 and will bring up something I wrote about years ago called Perfect hitting speed.  Let’s take a look at the visual I created for that post.

At every level there exists a range of velocity that hitters consider “perfect hitting speed.  Basically, not too hard and not too soft.  At the high school level, for argument sake, let’s say it’s between 78-85mph.  If a pitcher throws 78mph and focuses all his attention on throwing harder, he may, in fact, be able to raise his velocity to maybe 83mph.  Unfortunately, 83mph is still within the perfect hitting speed range.  

Pitchers who fall in this category (most I would argue) are better off LOWERING their velocity to get out of that perfect hitting speed range.  It also takes less effort meaning less stress on their arm as well.  Instead of maxing out at 83, the pitcher focuses on being 68-78mph.  This gets him out of the perfect hitting speed range most of the time.  If he does need to reach back occasionally top 80mph, it will look like 93mph to the hitter if most of what he has seen has been in the 70’s.   

As I said in Part 1, there is nothing wrong with trying to throw harder.  However, it is in every pitcher’s interest to be very honest about where their velocity falls within the “perfect hitting speed” range.  If you can honestly say that you are at or near the top then by all means go upward to get out of that range.  But if you are closer to the bottom, it is to your advantage to back off and try to get under the range.

It all starts with setting your ego aside and answering the following question … “Is it more important for me to throw harder or to be a more effective pitcher?” Sometimes one automatically leads to the other but not for every pitcher.

Part 3 will finally get into the How-to’s!  Stay tuned!

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