18/08/2020
Baseball vs Softball
REACTION TIME IS EVERYTHING: A numerical comparison between the fastest male baseball pitcher and the fastest male fastball pitcher.
-By Lori Cook Baird
Let’s talk baseball first. The MLB baseball pitcher is throwing from 60 ft 6 inches. Arnoldis Chapman’s fastball averages around 99-100 , mph, travels 146.7 feet per second, and will reach the batter in approximately 0.412 seconds. That is less than 1/2 of a second!
However, most MLB pitchers release the ball at about 55 feet (hovering around 87.5 % of their height). So let’s begin by using that release point even thought Chapman is known for having a release point that hovers around 7 feet (120 % of his height). That shaves reaction time off of the pitch from the batter’s perspective. So, let’s look at the ACTUAL REACTION TIME in seconds that batters have when facing Chapman’s 100 mph fastball.
First, lets convert miles per hour to feet per second. For the math nerds like myself, I showed the conversion factors because I know how much you LOVE watching units cancel out! 🤓
100 mi/h (5280 feet/mi times 1 hr/3600 s) = 146.7 feet per second. So 6’4” Chapman’s 100 mph fastball is traveling 146.7 FPS!
Well, if Chapman’s release point is 55 feet from the batter, then divide that distance by the velocity of the ball (146.7 feet per second) and you will get the batter’s reaction time in seconds!
... (drum roll)
0.374 seconds to see and react to a 100 mph Chapman baseball pitch! Holy smokes! 😳
Now although 99-100 mph is average for Chapman, he is known for having thrown a 105 mph fastball. So let’s have a little fun and look at that pitch too!
105(5280/3600) = 154 feet per second!
55 feet/154 feet per second = 0.357 for the fastest baseball pitch ever thrown to reach home plate! 😱😱😱
Well, since he’s a physical phenomenon and typically strides 120 % of his height, let’s take into account his 7 foot stride and calculate the reaction time from a distance of 52.5 feet.
52.5 feet / 154 feet/second = 0.341 seconds!
Mind blowing!
When you read the research of the top nueroscientists in the field it is nothing short of amazing how these athletes are able to process the pitch in their brains, decide whether or not to swing, and then HIT the ball! Add to the mix that it takes 150 milliseconds for the average MLB batter to swing his bat, the fact that the pitcher is mixing up speeds, and the varying spins and breaks on the ball, it’s mind blowing that these superb athletes are able to hit this round ball with a bat! Just amazing. 💪😳🙌
Okay friends, now let’s take this a step further and look at the game of MEN’S FASTPITCH SOFTBALL ! It’s actually referred to as FASTBALL by all that follow and play it.
Yes friends, this game is still “alive and well” and 9 different countries were represented at this year’s 2018 ISC World Fastball Tournament in Kitchener, Canada. I had the honor of being the first ever FEMALE coach in history of this 72 year tournament (yes it went to a vote 🤦🏼♀️) with the best in the world competing.
With 6’4” Adam Folkard (Australia) throwing 86-88 mph from 46 feet... let’s do the math.
He has an 8-10 foot stride length (depending on how big of a launch, leap and replant he gets). Legality is nonissue since the rules as written are not enforced. Let’s move on. With that being said, let’s be super conservative and say he is actually releasing the ball closer to 42 feet (where his core and back hip are when he lets go of the ball).
Now let’s look at the reaction time for a batter who is seeing the Folkard pitch released at 42 feet.
Lets convert mph to feet per second:
For the math nerds like me here’s the conversion: 86 mi/h (5280 ft/mi)(1 hr/3600 seconds) or in simpler terms 86 times the answer of (5280 divided 3600). 🤓
The speed of an 86 mph Folkard fastball is 126.1 FPS. To determine the reaction time in seconds, let’s divide the number of feet the ball is traveling by the velocity of the ball in feet/sec.
42 ft / 126.1 Fps would give the batter a reaction time of ... (Drum Roll)
0.333 seconds! What! No way you say? Yes way I say! I’ve seen it! 🤓🤓🤓
But since I’ve personally witnessed him get clocked at 88 mph I’m going to use the highest speed I’ve seen him throw: 88(5280/3600)=129.1 FPS.
This is where it gets mind boggling! 42 feet divided by 129 feet per second (feet units cancel out for math nerds) and the reaction time for an elite male fastball hitter is ..... (drum roll)
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
0.326 seconds!!!!! That is LESS than 1/3 of a second.
Okay, since we took into account Chapman’s unbelievable 7 foot stride length, let’s take into account Folkard’s 10 foot stride length. I’ve personally videoed him countless times releasing AT the edge of the 8 foot circle. That would give him a release point of 38 feet. This is actually the distance the women pitched from in the very first Olympics.
So, a Folkard pitch traveling 129.1 feet per second from 38 feet away from home plate will reach the batter in....
(BIG DRUM ROLL)
38/129.1 = 0.291 seconds!!! The mere blink of an eye!
And you wonder why us hard core mens’s fastball addicts can’t get enough of this lightning fast game!
Batters aren’t complaining. They are loving it! Why? They are elite athletes that are being pushed to their physical limits and are displaying their unbelievable athletic abilities! They are hitting pitches that are breaking up, down, left and right and coming in from different linear angles (the pitcher can replant and set up a different trajectory).
In other words, the fastball hitters are being challenged and are MEETING the challenge! They love it! They are the best hitters in the game! And who wouldn’t want get a major high off of doing the impossible according to studies regarding the brain’s ability to recognize and respond to a moving pitch!
Hats off to these top notch athletes! I respect them so highly I will never stop supporting what I consider to be the BEST game on earth! It belongs in the Olympics! Other countries have embraced this beautiful game and Americans have a select few that are continuing to carry the torch handed off to them by the players that came before them.
I challenge all of you to go to a World Tournament (2019 in Denmark, Wisconsin). See this game played at the highest level before passing judgement and deciding that this sport is only for females. Quite honestly, these male athletes don’t get very much support from the men who paved the way (simply because the game has changed and “it wasn’t played that way when we played”). Not do they get much support from men that have never
played nor watched a game (and think it’s a female game even though men played the game first). That baffles me. Watch a game before you pass judgement. Or lastly, the countless individuals who simply don’t know it exists because baseball is what little boys learn to play in America.
Guess what folks! Baseball, Women’s Softball, and Men’s Fastball can all coexist simultaneously! In fact, I’m certain that if you love speed and adrenalin (I’m a self professed Adrenalin ju**ie), then come to watch these young men play this beautiful game! You can even watch the ISC games on YouTube!
I guarantee you will be BLOWN away by the speed of this game and the level at which it is played at. It is awe inspiring and makes me feel so alive I lose track of time and space!
Fastpitch Softball is the most beautiful game on earth! The men’s game is beautifully different from the women’s game but the end result is the same! High caliber athletes doing the seemingly impossible and making it look easy! Let’s embrace BOTH! In my dream world MEN’S FASTBALL would be an Olympic Sport! Then the ENTIRE WORLD could see and fall in love with this highly entertaining, fast, and mind blowing game! 💪😱❤️😱💪
