Klapisch: Why fastball velocities keep rising
From Bob Klapisch at The National Pastime Museum on May 15, 2016:
It wasn’t long ago that I saw an ad for the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, which boasted a near-impossible 707 horsepower. My first and only thought about this car was—impossible. But I did my research and realized Dodge’s engineers had indeed made a breakthrough. They’d created the fastest production muscle car in American history, a four-wheel rocket ship.
Naturally I was so intrigued I drained my bank account to buy one. I decided I wanted to be part of the revolution of insanely fast cars, even though I knew, somehow, sooner or later, Chevy or Ford would eventually top Dodge. That’s how I feel about the otherworldly radar gun readings at the ballparks today.
Seems like every team has at least one pitcher who can top 100 mph. And while Aroldis Chapman is currently king of the hill at 105 mph, my gut says we haven’t reached the maximum yet.
Just how fast can a baseball be delivered? Seems like we were asking this same question in the ’90s, when the average four-seam fastball started to climb from 88–90 mph to 92–94 mph. Not long after, I had a conversation with former Major Leaguer Tom House, now a California-based pitching theorist.
I asked if there was indeed a limit on velocity. House flatly said no.
Read the full article here: http://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/why-fastball-velocities-keep-rising
Originally published: May 19, 2016. Last Updated: May 19, 2016.