Researcher extraordinaire Dick Thompson posted two very interesting articles on the SABR-L mailing list yesterday, and I thought I'd mention them as they are of considerable interest.
Incidentally, SABR-L is one of the 1,000 good reasons to join SABR, as I am quickly finding out. Did you know that SABR has a massive lending library of books and other baseball research materials that you can borrow? I didn't, but now that I'm a member I plan to take advantage of it. The mailing list is a treasure trove of research findings and discussion.
Anyway, Dick posted two articles that were extremely interesting, both from 1939, on June 6 and June 7.
Here's the June 6 article:
"The new meter, which gives an immediate reading which engineers said
compared with standard laboratory meter accuracy, is built in a trailer. You
throw into a hole two feet square. Just inside is a set of photo-electric
tubes, and five feet back is another set. The device measures the ball's
speed between the two points and flashes it on a scale facing the pitcher."
"Sponsors recall that back in 1917, in Bridgeport (Conn.) arms laboratory,
Walter Johnson recorded 134 feet per second, Christy Mathewson 127 and 'Smoky
Joe' Wood 124. They used a gravity drop interval recorder."
And the June 7 article:
"Three Boston Red Sox threw a baseball 122 feet a second into a new
photo-electric pitching meter yesterday. Three Cleveland Indians could only
do 119 feet.
"Pitchers were not included in yesterday's test but 'unofficially,' Bob
Feller of Cleveland threw three balls into the meter from a distance of 20
feet. The best mark he recorded was 119 feet. His less-touted teammate,
pitcher Johnny Humphreys, recorded 127 feet. There will be a contest for
pitchers later.
"Jimmy Foxx, Jim Tabor and Roger Cramer made it a clean sweep with a
first-place tie in yesterday's fielder's contest.
"The best the Indians could do was a tie at 119 feet by Ben Chapman,
Julius Solters and Jim Shilling.
"Cleveland men who developed the speed meter said the only comparable
scientific marks were made in 1917. Walter Johnson threw the ball 134 feet a
second, Christy Mathewson 127 and 'Smoky Joe' Wood 124. Their speeds were
shown by a gravity drop interval recorder."
Anyway, thanks to Dick for this.
What do these equate to in MPH?
134 feet per second = 91mph
127 feet per second = 87mph
124 feet per second = 85mph
122 feet per second = 83mph
119 feet per second = 81mph
OK, I know you're all saying, yeah right, Bob Feller only threw 81 miles per hour, pull the other one. I guess first we should discount these later tests somewhat, but the 1917 speeds are very interesting, and extremely plausible.
First, remember that modern radar guns as used in baseball are massively inflated. Apparently - I don't remember where I heard this - the "gun speed" you see most on TV or at the ballpark is actually about 5mph faster than the actual speed, as it would be measured by devices such as we are talking about here. The JUGS gun, the most popular kid, consistently gives readings several mph higher than other devices. And radar guns aren't very well calibrated; when you sit with a group of scouts, having readings be 4-6mph apart isn't uncommon.
If we bump the speeds above up by five miles per hour, especially the early ones, they start to make a lot of sense. Walter throwing 96? I can believe that. Matty 92? Sure. Joe Wood 90? I'd be surprised if it wasn't a bit higher, but it seems reasonable.
Anyway, the fact that Walter could throw about 4mph faster than Big Six is interesting in itself. And the thing is, the speeds that regular players were clocking in the later test definitely have a ring of truth about them... if you took a player out of the field and put him on the mound, an 80mph fastball would be about right.
Incidentally, SABR-L is one of the 1,000 good reasons to join SABR, as I am quickly finding out. Did you know that SABR has a massive lending library of books and other baseball research materials that you can borrow? I didn't, but now that I'm a member I plan to take advantage of it. The mailing list is a treasure trove of research findings and discussion.
Anyway, Dick posted two articles that were extremely interesting, both from 1939, on June 6 and June 7.
Here's the June 6 article:
"The new meter, which gives an immediate reading which engineers said
compared with standard laboratory meter accuracy, is built in a trailer. You
throw into a hole two feet square. Just inside is a set of photo-electric
tubes, and five feet back is another set. The device measures the ball's
speed between the two points and flashes it on a scale facing the pitcher."
"Sponsors recall that back in 1917, in Bridgeport (Conn.) arms laboratory,
Walter Johnson recorded 134 feet per second, Christy Mathewson 127 and 'Smoky
Joe' Wood 124. They used a gravity drop interval recorder."
And the June 7 article:
"Three Boston Red Sox threw a baseball 122 feet a second into a new
photo-electric pitching meter yesterday. Three Cleveland Indians could only
do 119 feet.
"Pitchers were not included in yesterday's test but 'unofficially,' Bob
Feller of Cleveland threw three balls into the meter from a distance of 20
feet. The best mark he recorded was 119 feet. His less-touted teammate,
pitcher Johnny Humphreys, recorded 127 feet. There will be a contest for
pitchers later.
"Jimmy Foxx, Jim Tabor and Roger Cramer made it a clean sweep with a
first-place tie in yesterday's fielder's contest.
"The best the Indians could do was a tie at 119 feet by Ben Chapman,
Julius Solters and Jim Shilling.
"Cleveland men who developed the speed meter said the only comparable
scientific marks were made in 1917. Walter Johnson threw the ball 134 feet a
second, Christy Mathewson 127 and 'Smoky Joe' Wood 124. Their speeds were
shown by a gravity drop interval recorder."
Anyway, thanks to Dick for this.
What do these equate to in MPH?
134 feet per second = 91mph
127 feet per second = 87mph
124 feet per second = 85mph
122 feet per second = 83mph
119 feet per second = 81mph
OK, I know you're all saying, yeah right, Bob Feller only threw 81 miles per hour, pull the other one. I guess first we should discount these later tests somewhat, but the 1917 speeds are very interesting, and extremely plausible.
First, remember that modern radar guns as used in baseball are massively inflated. Apparently - I don't remember where I heard this - the "gun speed" you see most on TV or at the ballpark is actually about 5mph faster than the actual speed, as it would be measured by devices such as we are talking about here. The JUGS gun, the most popular kid, consistently gives readings several mph higher than other devices. And radar guns aren't very well calibrated; when you sit with a group of scouts, having readings be 4-6mph apart isn't uncommon.
If we bump the speeds above up by five miles per hour, especially the early ones, they start to make a lot of sense. Walter throwing 96? I can believe that. Matty 92? Sure. Joe Wood 90? I'd be surprised if it wasn't a bit higher, but it seems reasonable.
Anyway, the fact that Walter could throw about 4mph faster than Big Six is interesting in itself. And the thing is, the speeds that regular players were clocking in the later test definitely have a ring of truth about them... if you took a player out of the field and put him on the mound, an 80mph fastball would be about right.
