I have been watching a lot of games on ESPN+ and most of those pitchers are sub 60. So I think it all depends on the level of play. I realize that speed isn't everything but something tells me that these D2 coaches would be recruiting the flame throwers if they were available. I just think the supply of 60+ mph pitchers is getting smaller, but that is just a hunch based on what I have seen.
Fastest pitch you've seen in '21
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It's a small sample, but based on what I've experienced and observed, a lot of things have to come together to produce a girl that is consistently pitching 60+mph in games, let alone mid-60s+. Obviously, there are many girls who successfully cross the 60 mph barrier, but it is a barrier for a reason. For a bucket dad like me, someone consistently hitting 70+mph--not that there are many women capable of that--is almost unimaginable.
100%
Wasn't 74 the long-standing record, by Ueno?
I was very surprised to see Fouts recorded at 74, 75, 76 consistently over the weekend. She's very tall and throws hard, but a 5% gain over what she was throwing last year is hard to believe. Something seems off.
I'd have to go back and look again, but on the Sunday game where she relieved Kilfoyl, I thought I saw a 77 on ESPNs Fun Gun.
Hoo boy
Wouldn't want to be that batter.
Will be interesting to see what the SEC Network records her at this weekend.
- Aug 21, 2008
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While it's been pointed out already that ESPN's gun is typically on the + side, along with their announcers telling you how great everyone you see on TV is. But, last year, on one of these threads in this forum I predicted that you will see a steady increase in speeds by the majority of pitchers because of the rule change allowing only 1 foot to be on the rubber. For sure there are some that haven't taken full advantage of this rule change (yes, even D1 pitchers who didn't want to overhaul their pitching motion with only a season or 2 left to play in their careers). But, 70 will be the new 60. More and more pitchers will climb into the mid-upper 60's and 70 mph pitchers will no longer be unicorns that you see once in a while. They will be common place. Let this rule change take effect, it will happen and we're already seeing it occurring.
I watched their Sunday game against Auburn that I think you are talking about. When I saw the radar speeds I was shaking my head. Fouts was clearly bringing it but there is no way she was throwing mid to high 70's. Kilfoyl was consistently clocked cruising in the low 70s and so was Auburn's Pinta. Change-ups were being thrown with a decent arc that were clocked in the low to mid 60's. Now compare all this to games from the previous few weeks where Kilfoyl maxed at 68 but cruised at 65 and Fouts got it up to 71 but was typically 68-69. How much of this is intentional, I have no idea but maybe it's an issue of where they are placing the radar guns?
Yes, that's what I'm saying! This particular game felt different. As sb4fun said, even the changes ups were, according to the bug on the screen being thrown in the low 60s! Again, there is no doubt that speeds are increasing over time due to rule changes, training advances and better coaching/mechanics. Sure Bill, you predicted some of that with the foot behind the rubber change and I think it was Sluggers that said something about speeds increasing across the board almost 10 years ago.
- Apr 23, 2020
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In the Baylor/Stephen F Austin game last night, Baylor's starting pitcher was shown in the 67-68 range, the second pitcher was in the 70-73 range, and the third pitcher, Holman-Mansell , was consistently showing speeds of 76-78 on the screen.
I think the supply of 60mph+ pitchers is getting much larger in terms of numbers, however the demand has continued to increase beyond the supply and change of dynamics.
In college, there are just SO many more teams than in the past and there is a trend to more of a pitching staff so where you once wanted to have 1 workhouse and a couple of supporters, you now want 4-5 serviceable pitchers. On top of that, there are more schools taking softball seriously - so the top talent is more spread out with more choice.
