. . . About the Speed of Pitches

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. . . after the huge amount of time and effort spent figuring out how to get batters out, players have been missing a key element of the job, according to one freelance pitching expert. Perry Husband says there's a important factor in throwing off batters' timing, and it comes down to a principle called effective velocity. The idea is that to hit pitches in different parts of the strike zone, the batter has to change the timing of his swing: For a pitch on the inside part of the plate (the part closest to him), he must be far along with his swing by the time the pitch gets to the plate, so that he can get the barrel (the thick part of the bat) on the ball. If he's a shade late with his swing, he might make contact, but it will be with the skinnier part of the bat, so he won't hit the ball as hard. For a pitch on the outside part of the plate, it's just the opposite: He needs to hit the ball earlier in the swing, to make sure the bat is in the right place. That means that for inside pitches, he needs to swing earlier, and for outside pitches, he should swing later. Because of the arc of the swing, batters also need to swing earlier for high pitches and later for low pitches.

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Pitching a batter inside or away is something new to the game? I think most pitchers learned that in their teens.

apparently batters are now attacking this strategy by trying to "pull" pitches on the inside corner and "go opposite field with" pitches on the outside corner, this is game changing stuff

I did not post this here because I believed anything radically new was being stated but because so many seem to be overly enamored by how hard pitcher can throw.

what he is saying is that it is more than a traditional approach to batting. It also conversely relates to pitching with command with velocity effectively either up in the zone or inside and high or low and away or both. Many pitchers may may be advanced with velocity but not many have command of one, two or even three pitches. His citing of the Husband article is an interesting and smart approach to pitching in my opinion

I agree it's correct, but the concept of the difference between a "a guy who can throw hard" and "a guy who knows how to pitch" isn't something that's ever been glossed over in the big leagues.

Greg Maddux didn't win a gazillion Cy Young's because he could throw as hard as Matt Anderson.

In my opinion Maddux is a perfect example of effective velocity. Not how hard you throw but how effective your velocity is with respect to the strike zone.

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I agree it's correct, but the concept of the difference between a "a guy who can throw hard" and "a guy who knows how to pitch" isn't something that's ever been glossed over in the big leagues.

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I agree, I very much doubt that on the MLB level that location of pitches is overlooked. I do think that scouts at times might trust the radar gun more than they should but then again there is a tremendous up side to fireballers.

My frustration is with fans who sees a pitcher that does not throw very hard yet dominates a line up in a particular game. Many assume that the fault is with the hitters more than the pitcher being able mix and locate his pitches effectively.

I was at a game at the Astrodome a long time ago and Billy Wagner threw 5 pitches that were about the same speed 97-98 and were basically right on top of each other. I say this because at the Astrodome they had a screen that showed where the pitch was. So I guess Wagner did not know this.

Wagner thought it was ok if he gave up a game winning homer as long as his velo was 99.

My father-in-law's favorite saying - I think taken from an ATL pitcher - is: The three most important things in pitching are location, location and location.

hard stuff in...soft stuff away.

that fits the philosophy of effective velocity

Hard stuff in or out, soft stuff away.