How Fast Do I Need To Throw?

Hey everyone! Coach Jill here with some personal opinions on pitching speed. This following article is coming to you from someone who threw 71+ MPH; but read through the whole thing as my opinions might surprise you!

I began playing softball at the age of 7 and started pitching at the age of 9. For whatever reason, I just naturally threw pretty hard. I went on to play top level travel ball and played in college as well. I often hit my max speed of about 73 MPH. People would “ooh,” and “aah” at the speed because back when I was playing throwing 60MPH was considered fast. So to see someone throwing anywhere near 70 mph was rare. Furthermore, because this speed was so uncommon, batters were not used to hitting it. It was really easy to just blow fastballs by them. However, even back then, I’m not sure my speed was what really made me effective.

Now, I’m not saying speed isn’t important. It is. The chances of getting into a top D1 program throwing 40MPH I would say are probably pretty low. However, is speed really the most important factor?

I have been training pitchers for years now, and whenever I ask my girls what they want to work on, by far the most common answer is “I want to throw harder!” I get countless emails from parents asking about lessons, saying that their daughter has pretty good mechanics but feels like she needs to throw harder. People are obsessed with speed, and little else. Why? Because it is awesome, an attention-grabber, especially for coaches, and is fun to watch. However, is speed alone really going to cut it?

My answer: Absolutely not. What will cut it? Speed changes and spin! That is what pitching is all about. Throwing hard is great but if you are constantly throwing at one speed over and over again, batters (especially batters at the highest level) are going to hit you. And the harder you throw, the further the ball goes when it is hit. A batter just has to put their bat on the ball and it’s going to go flying. In my opinion, the best and most effective pitchers are the ones who can throw hard but who can vary speeds and move the ball around keeping the batters off balance.

Keeping the batters off balance is CRITICAL! The only way to accomplish this is to throw pitches they do not expect or aren’t used to. Throwing one speed over and over again, no matter how fast, will become “normal” to hitters, will give them a rhythm or timing. Even if you manage to strike them out the first time up, the more at bats they have, the easier it will be for them to hit you. Changing speeds and moving the ball around is a must.

Every season I watch as many NCAA softball games as I can. As the years have gone by it is becoming clearer that throwing 70MPH and up isn’t really all that special anymore (in fact there are a handful of pitchers who are now topping out between 75 and 76MPH). The greatest change since I was on the field is not the increase pitching speeds, it is the hitting abilities. Batters are now accustomed to hitting high speeds with ease. I’ve been noticing a large handful of elite pitchers, who throw 70+ MPH, being pulled from the game by the second inning because they’ve already given up several home runs, and then the team ends up getting run ruled. Those pitchers who are mixing up speeds and locations are much more effective.

It still blows my mind how many pitchers enter top D1 programs without the ability to throw a changeup. The changeup was one of the reasons I was so successful when I was playing. Sure I could blow a 70+ MPH fastball past batters and hit my spots. But then I came at them with a 54 MPH changeup or an off speed drop and they were completely fooled or caught off guard. When you continually change speeds and locations the batter does not know what to expect. Therefore they are off balance the whole game. They can’t really have a plan of attack when they come up to bat because they will have no idea what you are going to throw. Will it be a 70 MPH fastball? Will it be a changeup that’s 20 MPH slower? Will it be a movement pitch that is 10 MPH slower? And which quadrant will it land in?

In short, as someone who threw 70+ MPH during her career, my opinion is that speed is NOT the most important thing. These days, if you are throwing one speed, batters will hit you. If you are changing speeds, moving the ball to different quadrants and have really tight spin and bite on your movement pitches, batters will be off balance and will have a much harder time hitting you. I hope in time, more and more pitchers and coaches will come to understand this.

Have you had any experiences with speed vs. spin? Leave us a comment or send us a message and let us know!