Catchers and pitchers

[MarkJMillsap]

You must have forgot, Texas has Dani!

[Gameday]

Gameday

you freakin tool the op was about 14u not specifically 97s
here we go again
7 14u teams with pitchers throwing 60 and i suppose all 7 teams have those mythical catchers that will
turn your lights off whatever that means
if i had a dollar for every parent that said their kid threw 60 id be t boone pickens and youd still be a freakin tool
the only time most of these kids see 60 is in pappys pickemup on freeway

Wow! Okay, if name calling makes you feel better, go for it. If you follow the thread from the OP (Original Poster) you will note that two threads down from the original post, the person asks specifically about 97's. Sorry that ticked you off. And had you read my post you would have seen that I said their pitchers were right at 60 or flirting with it. You make it sound like I said they were all Olympic material. The truth is, these gifted young athletes are getting better, faster and stronger at an exponential rate. With the amount of off season work, batting/pitching/fielding/catching lessons they go through, and starting at a much younger age, why is it so hard to believe that maybe we are seeing leap forward in this sport? And when I said "will turn your lights off" it was a metaphor for throwing a base runner out trying to steal. Sorry you couldn't comprehend that because that one seemed to tick you off as well.

You shouldn't be so bitter about the rising level of play our young athletes are striving for, it just comes from good old fashioned hard work. However, if it makes you that mad, maybe you should just ignore the thread.

And I would send you $1 for the 60 mph claim but you'd probably spend it on Busch Light or Zima instead of the grammar and reading comprehension classes you probably skipped in high school.

[Battle]

Gameday

you freakin tool the op was about 14u not specifically 97s
here we go again
7 14u teams with pitchers throwing 60 and i suppose all 7 teams have those mythical catchers that will
turn your lights off whatever that means
if i had a dollar for every parent that said their kid threw 60 id be t boone pickens and youd still be a freakin tool
the only time most of these kids see 60 is in pappys pickemup on freeway

Are you saying that there is not 7 96s and 97s in Texas that is at or flirting with 60mph? Just wondering how much you really get out.

[slaphitter]

Gameday

you freakin tool the op was about 14u not specifically 97s
here we go again
7 14u teams with pitchers throwing 60 and i suppose all 7 teams have those mythical catchers that will
turn your lights off whatever that means
if i had a dollar for every parent that said their kid threw 60 id be t boone pickens and youd still be a freakin tool
the only time most of these kids see 60 is in pappys pickemup on freeway

Hey cool down alittle. 60 is not that hard to believe when we have some 12's throwing in the mid to high 50's.That does not mean they are great pitchers. They just throw hard. Most of your good pitching coaches incourage alot of spin and few fast balls, so I am not really sure if 60 is that important in the overall scheme of pitching, it sometimes helps set up your other pitches.

Yes there are also catchers beginning in 12u that teams will not run against.
They are beginning to learn the position and the fast release of the ball.
That is 1 of the reasons slapping and bunting becomes more and more important

So chill out, relax and take your speed gun with you to the ball park and check out the speed for youself on these pitchers. I have.

[balllife]

I might be wrong but at that age I don't thinks pitching 60 is that important I would rather have a girl with lots of movement in the 50s'. Because when they hit it and they will I would rather have 3 pitches 3 outs. (popouts grounders ect..) than it flying over the fence. Be serious Cat O fastball was only 63 and you never saw it. All about movement. Just my opinion. From 12u and up strike outs are limited to just a few a weekend considering if all the teams are at a high level select teams

[svandergriff]

my daughter is a 97 and has and does hit 60 to 61 from time to time but not everytime she throws the ball she can do it but it normally happens at pitching practice or warm up occasionally in a game not often though and she throws mainly fast balls and change ups and screw ball sometimes and most of her outs come from strike outs so i do not think the fast ball is a bad pitch that these girls should stay away from they just need to learn where to throw it and when

BTW my daughter is the pitcher for Batbusters spuria 97 team and before anyone goes overboard about this post i did say she hits it occasionally and you are more than welcome to come and radar her if you would like most fast balls are upper 50's at this stage

[DP3816]

Who cares how fast any of them throw. If they don't hit their spots it doesn't mean a thing. I don't care if you throw 60. 70 or 80 if you groove a pitch over the the plate some little bitty girl with her 300 dollar composite bat will put it in the parking lot for you. Accuracy not Speed is the key to pitching. JMHO

[joemcq51]

I agree that a pitcher absolutely needs movement to be dominent. If I were coaching, I would much rather have a pitcher throwing 60 mph with movement over a pitcher throwing 55 with movement. There is a reason Stephen Straussberg gets $20 million a year and Jamie Moyer doesn't. IMHO, the difference between D1 pitching and D2 pitching is the 60 MPH + pitchers in D1 also have the movement. I know there are exceptions, but looked to me like every pitcher in the WCWS last year was over 60 and could move the ball. You need both to be considered "elite" caliber. Again, this is IMHO.