Anyone else catch Ben McDonald discussing this over weekend on xm? Ive never been sold on "everyone throws 100 now" and he confirmed my suspicions. Basically todays guns pick up ball right out of Ps hand. In Bens era the guns picked up ball about half way. And in Nolan Ryans era it was when ball crossed plate. Per science/Ben, ball will lose 9-10 mph from time released until time it crosses plate. He mentioned Ryan still has highest mph on ball as it crossed plate at 101. And he would basically be sitting at 110-111 on todays guns..lol So if wanting to compare guys today to ones before them subtract 5-10 mph, pending which era youre comparing. This also explains why the same pitcher can throw 5-7 mph harder depending the venue.. I guess some still use the older model guns.
I’ve had this same conversation with Alan and he agrees with Ben McDonald’s explanation of how the different guns measure differently.
He mentioned the new guns are called the 'Stalker'. Im wondering/guessing if they arent in conjuction w/ all the new stat tracker technology now. Picks up ball as soon as leaves hand/bats..?? The tv boys are facisnated w/ saying the mph every pitch, even though its also on screen every pitch. .. I guess Big Ben wsant buying it. You should here Jim Palmers opinion/discrediting of stat tracker numbers during Os games..lol He refuses to buy todays guys better than his era.. and I tend to agree
Even though he’s an LSU homer, I’d still prefer to have Big Ben doing the color commentary for our games. IMO, he’s the best out there and actually calls the game fairly both ways, probably even more so to counter act anyone saying he’s biased. Either way he calls it as he sees it.
I agree 100%, he’s country and so am so I’m sure his approach and descriptions match up well to me. If you’ve never heard him do an Orioles game it’s worthwhile to say the least. About 16 to 20 ago Kyle Peterson used to be good in the TV booth. However IMHO the people that he’s been paired with over the last 15 years have really drug him down. Laziness is contagious.
Big Ben was tutored in the booth by Lynn Rollins(one of the best imo). Where he picked up a lot of his sayings/descriptions. aka country-isms...lol
MLB or College I think Ben gives the best baseball insight and also tells great stories. Obviously the timing isn’t the best right now to say this but, Lyn Rollins and Big Ben sure make a game entertaining to listen to.
Rollins was doing a lot of AU home games on app this year before he was sidelined.. and still was doing LSU as well.. Not sure the dynamics there, but not complaining. Guess hes more of a 'free agent' now..?? One of funniest in game discusions Ive ever heard,, was when Jim Palmer mentioned hes never eaten a chicken wing, and Bens questioning of this.
4-5 from 5-10 years ago yeah(half way to plate).. In 70s early 80s.. closer to the 10..per what he was saying. it either loses 10 mph or it doesnt.. I assume he verified the science before advertising it..lol
This is the best thread I've read on GC in a long time, maybe ever. Really smart takes, i.e. opinions, with debatable facts to back them up. Well done!
I've read that they lose about 7mph, but a lot of that is going to depend on atmospheric conditions, altitude, etc. The Stalker is a doppler radar and supposed to be much more accurate than the old guns. Even modern JUGS guns are said to measure 3mph or so higher than a Stalker. It'd be interesting to compare a Stalker to an 80s era gun. It could very well be that the 80s guns were showing 7mph faster than a current Stalker. Definitely would be a fun experiment to see done. All the new advanced stats in sports is interesting and I think certainly helps with viewer engagement, but I take a lot of it with a grain of salt.
Good thing is - all of these are on video. All you would need to do it time the ball leaving his hand into the catcher's mitt and compare generations. I'm pretty confident that now, as with every sport on the planet, that pitchers are faster than they were 40 years ago (most are stronger, faster, more skilled with every generation, for a variety of reasons). Thinking Nolan Ryan would throw 110 mph now is very wishful thinking, at best. Pitchers just pitch faster now. That's one of the reasons why batting averages in MLB are down for example.
He did also mention there are 2 types of stalker guns now, but never said the difference. I agree would like to see it all for myself, but if im going to trust anyone on it hes near the top. And yeah a lot of these stats now dont fly w/ me. This is just my theory on pitchers v-lo.. but ive noticed these guys also dont seem to be losing much v-lo after 100 pitches in either.. Im wondering if that has something to do w/ how the mph is tracked now also. Would the ball come out of hand at same speed when tired, but not have the same vlo halfway there as when not tired?? I know todays guy bigger stronger, etc, but also know what throwing 100 pitches over 2 hours makes your arm feel like...lol
More of them now.. but hardest throwers now not harder than hardest throwers 40 years ago IMO. Im confident Ryan hit 101 on a gun that tracked as crossed plate(only gunjs they had).. What that registers on todays gun, I can only take what I heard.. and if anyone other than McDonald said it I wouldnt of given it much credence. Did Ben make up the science of ball losing 9-10 mph before it gets to plate? no idea but doubtful. That alone w/ explanation of when each gun picks up ball makes the numbers add up IMO. half way there 5 mph slower. all the way there 10 mph slower.
But I do agree Nolan wasnt throwing 111. he was throwing 101..lol Why I dont buy every other guy today hitting 100,,bc in reality they aint.
like i said, all anyone would need to do it time the pitch from hand to mitt. Ryan's would have to be 10% faster, which is incredibly significant. wonder if anyone has done that, since the videos are obviously all available
No idea.. but Im sure there are older guns still around they could use on todays guys that give same answer. Lets see if anyone is maintaining 100 mph at plate I have no problem accepting that Ryan was a freak of nature though. Maybe even more so than the science of it all..lol JR Richard, Gibson, Feller all up there too from the way back eras.
I havent read through all of this yet, but some interesting stuff. Appears Ryan has thrown fastest pitch ever regardless of gun used. Fastest Pitchers Ever Recorded in the Major Leagues - 2014 post-season UPDATES thru 10/27 (efastball.com) From the article.. Consider this. As the balls crossed the plate, Chapman's was traveling 96.5 mph, Bob Feller's was at 98.6 mph, and Nolan Ryan's was still moving at an astonishing 99.1 mph.
