alright im 14 and i throw high 70's to low 80's is that good?

Question

i play on a regular size field like in the majors dimensions are 320' all round 90' feet to the bases and 64' feet to home? could i have a future i throw a curveball changeup and splitter

Answer 1

That's VERY good!!! Keep working on it, and make sure you do the best job you can in school. Your best bet to break into Major League Baseball is still to play baseball for one of the big universities. I won't lie to you -- less than one percent of the collegiate athletes get into professional sports -- so make sure you get that college degree as a backup. But hey, you're off to a great start, and if you start chasing that dream now your chances of catching it are much higher. P.S.: When the Tigers sign you, don't forget the season tickets at Comerica Park for your old friend the Sarge, OK?

Answer 2

A fastball in the mid- to high-70s is a pretty solid high school fastball. In college you can add a few MPH, but the bulk of pitchers at that level are in the 78 to 85 MPH range, so you're not far off at this point. Others here have noted that location of pitches is important, and as a former college pitcher I couldn't agree more.

My advice to someone your age would be to keep it simple. Throw a lot of fastballs and work on locating it throughout the strike zone. The ability to work both sides of the plate and to move the ball up and down in different counts will make you effective. And the best complement to a good fastball is a good straight change. I would suggest developing a change that you can work down in the zone (and below the zone) that you can throw with the same armspeed as your fastball.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I think that greats. I would work on getting the ball over the plate and hitting your spots every time before you move on to other "junk" like curve-ball change-up and splitter. You would only use those pitcher like for a final strikeout pitch but being really accurate at that speed will stike out batters more often than not. Also a change up is just a change in speed to mess-up the batter If you are throwing at around 70 the first two pitching and then the catcher gives the sign for a change up and you throw a 80 mph ball it will really mess up the batters.

Answer 4

First, I would tell someone to move the pitchers mound up to 60'6" like it should be. You're being cheated by 3 1/2 feet.

Second, I would limit the number of curveballs I threw. I was in your position when I was that age, but I threw too many curveballs too early and it really affected the tendons in my arm. I know you want to win your games now, but there will be more important games in the future.

Answer 5

Many of the greats have made long careers out of speeds like yours if they can locate their pitches. Remember, while your speed MAY continue to increase and you MAY have a shot at blowing batters away, the most reliable way to last as a pitcher is to learn to keep hitters off balance. This is done in two ways: changing speeds and changing sightlines (the location of the pitches so batters have to adjust in and out, up and down). Becoming a pitcher--and not just a thrower--means you will survive into your 20s as your fastball gets faster and then into your 30s as your fastball begins to slow again.

Answer 6

I agree with the others. That's good speed for your age, but it doesn't make any difference if you can't throw strikes. Also, it may be a good idea to drop the curve and try to develop off-speed or something less stressful for the arm. At your age you can really screw things up by trying to develop the curve. Try a slurve or slider instead, less strain on the arm for a breaking pitch. But a good change-up can take you all the way to the majors (ie. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Trevor Hoffman).

Answer 7

Of course you know that 80mph is great for a 14 year old if you can get it over the plate. My suggestion to you is to forget all the other pitches, at your age, and concentrate on the fastball and one off-speed pitch. You don't need four pitches to get batters out and you are better off to master two pitches than trying to master four pitches. Good luck

Answer 8

It's not just hard the matters it's control and movement, You've got 3 good pitches there, plus your fastball. keep working.

Hope you make it to the bigs

Answer 9

Sounds good to me. Keep practicing and I am sure that the older you get, the faster you will throw. Good luck.

Answer 10

No, at that age you should be hitting 120 on the gun.......