Ask if they've ever heard of a softball pitcher named Cat Osterman.
I believe she topped out at 64.
What percentage of pitching speeds that we see/hear do you think are wrong
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Ask if they've ever heard of a softball pitcher named Cat Osterman.
I believe she topped out at 64.
I may be wrong, but as I recall, Cat can hit upper 60’s. She found that she could spin/move the ball better in the lower 60’s.
- Oct 14, 2019
- 903
- 93
Speed and spin are not mutually exclusive - more like complimentary.
That is very true. But I bet I can count on one hand the number of parents that have bragged about spin rates. One definitely gets a lot more attention than the other.
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- Oct 14, 2019
- 903
- 93
Parents brag about spin rate if their daughter doesn’t throw hard.
My daughter is 15 and throws 61-62 with consistency. That's the highest speed I have her tracked with a Pocket Radar. Has she thrown 63? Probably, but I will never say for certain because I cannot document it.
The Diamond Kinetics ball is always 3-5 MPH faster than the Pocket Radar. I use that to measure spin, not speed.
I have a close friend whose daughter pitches for a big name program down south. Every time my daughter hits a new speed record, his daughter miraculously does too. According to him, she's throwing 65 at 15. I love him, but he's a liar.
What bothers me is the trainers who always post their students speed records on a run through. Running as fast as you can and releasing the ball is not a true indicator of how hard you can throw in a game. Saying a 15 year-old is throwing 70 MPH is absurd. The trainers should know better.
The Diamond Kinetics ball is always 3-5 MPH faster than the Pocket Radar. I use that to measure spin, not speed.
I have a close friend whose daughter pitches for a big name program down south. Every time my daughter hits a new speed record, his daughter miraculously does too. According to him, she's throwing 65 at 15. I love him, but he's a liar.
What bothers me is the trainers who always post their students speed records on a run through. Running as fast as you can and releasing the ball is not a true indicator of how hard you can throw in a game. Saying a 15 year-old is throwing 70 MPH is absurd. The trainers should know better.
You may be right but she def cruises 61-63.
- Jan 22, 2011
- 1,634
- 113
About a week before my DD turned 13 I brought her to a pitching clinic given by @Ken B and @javasource . Java asked me at the start of the clinic how fast my DD threw. I told him 53. When he put the pocket radar on her he looked shocked and said, 'She really throws 53?!?' She was throwing 56 by the end of the clinic.
I thought this topic was only limited to baseball forums. 
Let's get this thread popping. [trigger warning]
So much envy and idiocy.
Dads that won't use a radar gun, yet are envious of others speed claims. Anyone not using radar ($299) for hitting and pitching nowadays, well...
Dads that are either 1. ignorant and don't know the difference between max/top speed and average/cruising speed, or 2. intentionally conflate the two. Recruiters are interested in max speed, get over it. Buy a radar gun, and work on max speed (or exit speed for hitting).
Dads/coaches that think they can tell the speed without a gun. I used a gun at tons of games/practices/showcases, and even I could not accurately guess speeds from pitch to pitch. Some gloves pop, some don't. The same glove will pop differently from pitch to pitch. Different pitchers have weird motions/releases. High pitches seem faster. Backdrops create illusions. etc.
Let's get this thread popping. [trigger warning]So much envy and idiocy.
Dads that won't use a radar gun, yet are envious of others speed claims. Anyone not using radar ($299) for hitting and pitching nowadays, well...
Dads that are either 1. ignorant and don't know the difference between max/top speed and average/cruising speed, or 2. intentionally conflate the two. Recruiters are interested in max speed, get over it. Buy a radar gun, and work on max speed (or exit speed for hitting).
Dads/coaches that think they can tell the speed without a gun. I used a gun at tons of games/practices/showcases, and even I could not accurately guess speeds from pitch to pitch. Some gloves pop, some don't. The same glove will pop differently from pitch to pitch. Different pitchers have weird motions/releases. High pitches seem faster. Backdrops create illusions. etc.
Last edited:
Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,881
- 113
Where are all of our pitching guys? It would be great to hear their thoughts. As I have mentioned before, there was a time here where everyone's dd pitched 60+ and many 65+. Were they fudging? I know that @riseball daughter could bring it and she proved it. This tread brought me back to the old days when Javasource, Pauley, and my good buddy BoardMember were frequent flyers.
As an fyi, my dd topped out at 63 at the xxx camp. I mentioned that here after the camp. Could she sustain that? Who knows? It was the only time I think that she was ever gunned. At this camp, they said that they wanted her bat. That pretty much ended her pitching career. She wanted to be a hitter more than a pitcher and most schools then were wanting one or the other. She did not pitch her senior year of HS and ended up with a career HS record of 29-1.
As an fyi, my dd topped out at 63 at the xxx camp. I mentioned that here after the camp. Could she sustain that? Who knows? It was the only time I think that she was ever gunned. At this camp, they said that they wanted her bat. That pretty much ended her pitching career. She wanted to be a hitter more than a pitcher and most schools then were wanting one or the other. She did not pitch her senior year of HS and ended up with a career HS record of 29-1.
