Has anyone else seen the movie Fastball...

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

Watching it now...Pretty AMAZING that a guy like Bob Feller could pitch about 100mph back in the 1930's(drug free)!!! One of the guests in the documentary(forgot who right now sorry, but I think a former MLB player)mentions that if Feller could pitch the ball at about 100mph in the 1930's(and based on how things progress), shouldn't SOMEONE be able to pitch the ball at about 120mph by now?...Especially when you consider the training/nutritional "advances" of today...Some real, some most definitely by "chemistry"....Interesting stuff

 

[The Derski]

I watched it a couple nights ago. Pretty good insight into the different eras of fastballs. I found it pretty interesting the crazy methods they tried to use while measuring a fastball before modern technology.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

They just said that a 100mph fastball reaches homeplate in 396 milliseconds...Think about that...WOW.

That's faster than a blink of an eye...

 

[The Derski]

They just said that a 100mph fastball reaches homeplate in 396 milliseconds...Think about that...WOW.

That's faster than a blink of an eye...

Hitting a major league pitch is the hardest thing to do in sports, regardless of what anyone tries to argue.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

Hitting a major league pitch is the hardest thing to do in sports, regardless of what anyone tries to argue.

When I was about 18-20(so about 20-22 years ago, Jeez KILLS me thinking about it like that lol)I remember being at batting cages with some friends. As a joke, we went into the fastest pitch cages(wasted a freakin buck lol)The damn balls went by so fast I couldn't even see them. I know they were over 90, but not sure about 100...

 

[DragonfromTO]

Watching it now...Pretty AMAZING that a guy like Bob Feller could pitch about 100mph back in the 1930's(drug free)!!! One of the guests in the documentary(forgot who right now sorry, but I think a former MLB player)mentions that if Feller could pitch the ball at about 100mph in the 1930's(and based on how things progress), shouldn't SOMEONE be able to pitch the ball at about 120mph by now?...Especially when you consider the training/nutritional "advances" of today...Some real, some most definitely by "chemistry"....Interesting stuff

Look at it this way though... in 1936 Jesse Owens ran the 100 meters in 10.2 seconds, setting a world record. Running 20% faster (the equivalent of what the guy in the doc said regarding fastballs) would mean going from an average speed of 9.8 m/s to 11.76 m/s, which would put the current world record around 8.5 seconds.

You basically get diminishing returns as you start to push up against the limits of what the body can possibly do.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

Look at it this way though... in 1936 Jesse Owens ran the 100 meters in 10.2 seconds, setting a world record. Running 20% faster (the equivalent of what the guy in the doc said regarding fastballs) would mean going from an average speed of 9.8 m/s to 11.76 m/s, which would put the current world record around 8.5 seconds.

You basically get diminishing returns as you start to push up against the limits of what the body can possibly do.

Sure is interesting to think about though, no?


As an aside...Does anyone else love those old radio broadcasters? They were so descripitive and entertaining compared to todays radio broadcasters

 

[broncosmitty]

When I was about 18-20(so about 20-22 years ago, Jeez KILLS me thinking about it like that lol)I remember being at batting cages with some friends. As a joke, we went into the fastest pitch cages(wasted a freakin buck lol)The damn balls went by so fast I couldn't even see them. I know they were over 90, but not sure about 100...

My freshman year in HS we were getting shutout by this kid that threw low 90's and got drafted by the Orioles(I think it was Baltimore. Idk. It's been 20some years)

So coach empties the bench and I got to pinch hit. Grounded out to first. Felt like I hit a homer in the World Series. Dude essentially told me to wipe the smile off my face as I bounced back to dugout. Lol

 

[Erie Warrior]

Sure is interesting to think about though, no?


As an aside...Does anyone else love those old radio broadcasters? They were so descripitive and entertaining compared to todays radio broadcasters

I agree. Sometimes, I feel the color person just takes away from the game. Their "insight" is just plain idiotic, at times.