FanGraphs Audio: You Shall Know Our Fastball Velocity

by
April 12, 2017

Episode 730
Managing editor Dave Cameron is the guest on this edition of the program, during which he discusses the beguiling matter of velocity and the measurement of velocity in baseball after the League recently completed their transition from the PITCHf/x to Statcast pitch-tracking systems.

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Audio after the jump. (Approximately 35 min play time.)

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Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.

3 Comments
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Newest Most Voted
scooter262
9 years ago

One point: you cannot calculate velocity, or more accurately speed, at one point, as Dave mentioned several times.

You need at least two points: speed is distance/duration. You need to calculate distance traveled over a period of time. One point only gives you a location, not a distance. Similarly, you need two time measurements to calculate a duration to divide by.

1
Expo27Member since 2016
9 years ago

Wouldn’t the fingertip need to travel faster than the ball at the point of release for a fastball, to impart backspin? The Centre of the ball is moving at X, while the fingertip must move at least at X to maintain contact, plus some extra amount Y forward and down to spin the ball up and back over the fingertip? The ball is moving forward at one velocity, while the fingertip is moving on a different vector, forward and down somewhat, at a higher speed. Or maybe that only makes sense in my head.

0
JoserMember since 2021
9 years ago

This may be the most un-listenable Cameron-Cistulli podcast ever. I actually had to stop listening in the car and wait until I got home where I have the control to skip ahead in the podcast. The two of you talking about physics is like listening to two 12-year-old virgins talking about orgies.

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