Posted by MikeT23 on 9/13/2016 2:03:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 9/13/2016 11:10:00 AM (view original):

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/13/2016 9:42:00 AM (view original):
And others are upper 70s/low 80s. So we're to believe BL, waking from a nice long nap, is on the same level as the worst MLB players?

I'm just saying a couple of people in here are defying the laws of nature. Physical peak is late 20s. Unless you're Barry Bonds, your physical abilities start to decline shortly after that. They decline faster with inactivity. Yet, in this thread, mid-30s BL just needs to throw once a week to have the equivalent arm strength of a low-level MLB player. Even better, dahs doesn't even need to throw once a week for 10 years to maintain the level 18 y/o dahs reached at his best.

I know/have played against former MLB pitchers and all have intimated that you have to throw to maintain arm strength. I met a DH and he said as soon as he stopped throwing with purpose, he couldn't throw a ball across the infield.

None of these claims of "I don't/didn't throw" makes sense.

Jeez man. You're acting like most major leaguers can only throw in the 70s. That's clearly not true. Gomes was lobbing it in at 75.

****, you said you threw "upper 80s" as a 15 year old. Are you saying that a not fully grown 15 year old could throw harder than actual major league pitchers?

I'm saying, at 15 years old, I threw virtually every ******* day. Not once a week or once every 10 years. Not after waking up, taking a dump and stretching. Almost every ******* day with purpose. And I couldn't hit a barn at 60 feet with any regularity. You and dahs, properly warmed up with training, would be BL pitchers if you tried. Why don't you try?

But you threw "high 80s" which is significantly harder and takes a lot more work than throwing 70s.

Like just about everything else in life, velocity is on a bell curve. Lots of people can throw in the 60s and 70s. Very few people can throw in the 90s. And moving from 64 to 73 is a relatively easy task. Moving from 89 to 91 is tremendously difficult.

There are physical limits. As I said, I threw practically every day. My guess is I reached my limit. But I worked at it.

You wake up, take a dump, grab a ball and crank out 75 MPH fastballs. As a 35 y/o, you throw once a week. Safe to assume you are no longer in your physical prime. Safe to assume you do NOT work at throwing hard. Yet, the unwarmed up you, in your mid-30s, just throw out 75 MPH fastballs.

Simply doesn't add up.

That said, it makes more sense than 28 y/o putting up his gear at 18 then, out of nowhere, finding a mound, a gun and then cranking out the same fastball he did 10 years prior. That makes as much sense as John Smoltz saying "Yeah, I could still close out games."

You two are superhumans, I guess.

What percentage, of adults on earth, do you think can throw 75 MPH?

Throwing 75 is not a task that requires a lot of work.

It's like if you told me you max benched 225 and I insisted it was bullshit because a lot of people in their athletic prime can't bench 405.

225 is relatively easy. 405 is not.

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/13/2016 2:51:00 PM (view original):
What percentage, of adults on earth, do you think can throw 75 MPH?

No idea. But I'd guess that the percentage of former college players who have stayed in relatively good shape and are in their 30s is pretty high.

Think about it. You're old and fat and haven't played baseball in decades and you still throw in the 60s. My 75 pound nine year old can throw 60.

Going from 60s to 70s is relatively easy.

What percentage, of adult males between 18-60, can throw 75 MPH?

I've also thrown for 10 months, at least, a year for 47 years.

You seem to think people can hop off the couch, pick up a baseball and crank out mid-70s without warm-up. I call bullshit.

I still play baseball 6 months a year.

Posted by bad_luck on 9/13/2016 1:32:00 PM (view original):
Look, lots of guys throwing 78-80 end up pitching JUCO or NAIA (or even D2). But no one is beating down their door. There are guys that throw low 80s that play D1. I'm not saying you can't do it if you don't have big velocity. But you have to have something else. Great command, good offspeed, or the athletic potential to throw harder.

There are plenty of kids throwing low 80s that don't have those other things, so they aren't effective pitchers and don't get looks from 4 year schools.

Most people have a very distorted view of velocity. If your throwing mid 80s you throw GAS. Not one of the best players in the world (MLB) but still GAS.

Contrary to popular belief, if you sit at 86-90 you have major league velocity and are considered a hard thrower at any level. This is a feat and not an "easy" thing to do. The gap between 70 and 80 is huge and 80 to 90 is astronomical.

And again, from someone who played D-1 baseball and has 3 former teammates who manage college teams at various levels, if you are a 17 year old high school pitcher sitting in the 84-86mph range you WILL get a scholarship offer (and much more than likely be drafted).... if you know someone who fits that bill and hasn't received such an offer please let me know because each of the 3 collegiate coaches I know would love to speak to him

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/13/2016 3:00:00 PM (view original):
I've also thrown for 10 months, at least, a year for 47 years.

You seem to think people can hop off the couch, pick up a baseball and crank out mid-70s without warm-up. I call bullshit.

Ya, this is the part they seem to be missing. MLB starting pitchers warm up for an hour or two, and throw a bullpen session before a start to get their arm where it needs to be. I can throw in the mid-70s warmed up, but I've never topped 70 when I just step up to a pitching station at a ballpark or carnival. Things need stretching and warming to work effectively.

Not if you're BL or dahs. BL doesn't need to warm-up at all. But dahs is better than that. He doesn't even have to throw for 10 years to hit 70s.

And I don't think 75 is all that easy. I don't think the "average" person gets anywhere near it. I don't think people who don't throw regularly get anywhere near it. I think people who hop off the couch and start throwing max rip things that don't need to be ripped.

I read somewhere once that less than 1% of the adult American male population can bench their bodyweight. Personally, I think adding 50 lbs to your bench is much easier than adding 5 MPH to your fastball. So I doubt 1% of adult males can throw 75.

Precisely. Throwing for years builds and forms muscles in your shoulder, and uses motions that aren't typical in everyday life. Otherwise, it wouldn't take long at all for an accomplished right-hander to learn how to throw gas with his left hand as well.

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/13/2016 3:53:00 PM (view original):
Not if you're BL or dahs. BL doesn't need to warm-up at all. But dahs is better than that. He doesn't even have to throw for 10 years to hit 70s.

And I don't think 75 is all that easy. I don't think the "average" person gets anywhere near it. I don't think people who don't throw regularly get anywhere near it. I think people who hop off the couch and start throwing max rip things that don't need to be ripped.

I read somewhere once that less than 1% of the adult American male population can bench their bodyweight. Personally, I think adding 50 lbs to your bench is much easier than adding 5 MPH to your fastball. So I doubt 1% of adult males can throw 75.

50 lbs might be easier than 5 mph. Or it might not.

It it depends on where you're starting from.

If you've been training for two weeks and bench 95, adding 50 is very, very easy. You can probably do it in a month.

Same if you throw 65 but haven't really trained. Adding 5 mph is easy.

If you've been training for 10 years and bench 445, adding 50 lbs might be impossible. If you throw 83 after playing baseball for years, throwing 88 might be impossible.

And again, you're old and fat and throw in the 60s. How much younger and stronger do I really need to be to throw in the 70s?

You really don't read posts, do you? You throw out the most irrelevant examples. Mike just said less than 1% can benchpress their bodyweight, so where does benching 445 even come into play? What percentage of Americans are over 445 lbs.? And how many of those do you think could actually bench their own weight? At least make your random examples comparable to what's being discussed.

Posted by bad_luck on 9/13/2016 4:07:00 PM (view original):

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/13/2016 3:53:00 PM (view original):
Not if you're BL or dahs. BL doesn't need to warm-up at all. But dahs is better than that. He doesn't even have to throw for 10 years to hit 70s.

And I don't think 75 is all that easy. I don't think the "average" person gets anywhere near it. I don't think people who don't throw regularly get anywhere near it. I think people who hop off the couch and start throwing max rip things that don't need to be ripped.

I read somewhere once that less than 1% of the adult American male population can bench their bodyweight. Personally, I think adding 50 lbs to your bench is much easier than adding 5 MPH to your fastball. So I doubt 1% of adult males can throw 75.

50 lbs might be easier than 5 mph. Or it might not.

It it depends on where you're starting from.

If you've been training for two weeks and bench 95, adding 50 is very, very easy. You can probably do it in a month.

Same if you throw 65 but haven't really trained. Adding 5 mph is easy.

If you've been training for 10 years and bench 445, adding 50 lbs might be impossible. If you throw 83 after playing baseball for years, throwing 88 might be impossible.

And again, you're old and fat and throw in the 60s. How much younger and stronger do I really need to be to throw in the 70s?

Mid 30s throwing 75 is reasonable with a baseball background. Throwing once a week ***** up the equation.

If I told you I ran a 5 minute mile but only ran once a week, would that sound reasonable?