Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Tall pitchers

[default]

Are 6' ft and taller pitchers better than the shorter pitchers?
Are there many pitchers in Ohio 6' and taller? Do the tall girls play other sports like volleyball and basketball?

 

[default]

spinball,

in general I think most of the elite pitchers are six feet tall or over. eg. finch, cat, abbott, pauly, and holawell. as far as ohio I do not know of any but my dd is still in seventh grade so I have not seeen many of th eolder pitchers out there

 

[default]

This is going to depend on who you talk to, and where the cut-off line for "elite" is. It's really not JUST height that gives the advantage, though. A 7' tall pitcher (gulp!) who does not use all her God-given ability quite possibly won't throw as hard as a 5'5" pitcher who IS giving it everything with proper mechanics.

All things being equal (athleticism, mechanics, etc.) the girl with the longest arm will generate the most velocity. It's all about physics. Longer whip = more velocity.

Now, go tell that to Katie Chain ...because for every rule there's an exception!

 

[default]

sammy,

I agree with everything you said about height and arm length, but in my book katie does not fit into the elite catagory. she is however a very good pitcher but not quite on the same level as those who i mentioned earlier. and for whatever reason they are all tall women.

 

[default]

I agree with the taller lady having longer arms so more whip and velocity. This is just the laws of physics. But, as stated you have to have good mechanics to be able to generate the speed. The arm whip alone without the lower part of the body only generates so much speed. I am not sure of many tall ones. I think the lady from Whitmer in NWO maybe 6' or taller. How tall is Gill from AW? She looks to be at least 6' too.

 

[default]

For every point there is a counterpoint.

Lisa Fernandez is a "pretty good" pitcher and stands all of 5 foot 6 inches.

 

[default]

All things being equal (athleticism, mechanics, etc.) the girl with the longest arm will generate the most velocity. It's all about physics. Longer whip = more velocity.

I'll agree with that statement as long as one of the things being equal is arm speed. http://www.pitchsoftball.com/Page2.html

Angela Tincher (http://allstars.hokiesports.com/tincher/bio.html) is only 5'7" and is one of the top college pitchers.

 

[default]

My DD is a shade over 6' - and is a pitcher,She throws the ball pretty hard but the point of interest is when she releases the ball, she is on or over the circle, therefore the release is at 32' or so.Her pitching coach believes that her big hands allow her to throw a nasty knuckle ball too.(which may go with the height thing)But no I don't think it matters a whole lot in speed though it seems that colleges love her height.We had a smaller pitcher last year on the team who threw just as hard if not harder. May be a bit more intimidating(sp?) Though?
She also plays Volleyball - Middle hitter - No basketball anymore - Middle school she did play Basketball.

 

[default]

Everything that is being said has to do with speed. Speed is great but if you can't throw "junk" than it doesn't matter anyway's every pitcher can be timed up after a couple of innings no matter what her speed is if you cant throw "junk". If a batter goes to the plate knowing the only pitch you can throw for a strike is a fast pitch then by the third inning you are going to be in trouble. Just my opinion though.

 

[default]

Byers and the girl from Lakewood are 2 of the tallest pitchers I have seen the last few years. Both of them have tremendous velocity, and like coach_R stated, they both release from about the 32' mark............(and yes coach_R, she does have a "Nasty" knuckle ?).

 

[default]

While height does seem to matter to a degree. I'd argue that the size of the hands might be more important. While Osterman is tall she's not overpowering. It's her spin much like Sarah Pauley with the riseball that's dominating. What I've witnessed is alot of pitchers in the 5'7" to 5'9" range that have big hands that are dominant because they can spin the ball.

 

[default]

My take. Many can jump higher than the rim , but can't dunk a basketball, because they cannot palm it! One common thing all these pitchers have is finger length. To be an elite pitcher you have to create spin with you fingers. Taller girls have an advantage with longer fingers. Bill Hillhouse , may not be tall but he can create a great deal of spin, due to hand strengh. Cat has long fingers, its not the height.

 

[default]

better pitchers are better, ? of course the higher level college teams, ? team usa and teams of their ilk want a pitcher that is over 6' tall. ? ?This is true of every position on the field. ? ?When two players of equal skill, ability and talent are compared by these teams the bigger player is preferred. ? A first baseman that is 6'6" ?makes a great target. ? ?Just like a 7' center that is a great athlete is what every basketball coach looks for. ? The problem is that there are only so many players that are physically well above average in stature. ? ?So don't quit pitching if your not over 6' tall. ? my dd has played on two teams with pitchers well above 6' and both were great kids but were not great pitchers, ? ?the long legs and long arms were hard to get coordinated and move quick, ? or so it appeared to me. ?

 

[default]

I remember the first time that I met Katie Chain at a camp. I had never seen her pitch before and had no idea what she looked like. I was really surprised when this petite woman began talking to the crowd. People had told me that she threw in the 63 - 65 mph range with a dominating rise, I expected the prototypical 6 footer. At one of the breaks I talked to her for a while and noticed how small her hands are, so I asked her to put her hand against my daughter's hand. Her fingers barely reached the first knuckle. I don't know how she generated the spin for a rise.

I guess my view is that size will get you a leg up but its what the person does with what they're dealt that matters.

 

[default]

We have a girl that plays in the Classic organization (18's?) that brings it pretty good and she's way over 6 ft...her younger sister is an up and coming pitcher for the 14's, and may well be stretching past 6ft in the near future....all in all, maybe these girls can bring it faster than some of their shorter counterparts, but that is by no means a given for taller players over others
didn't i mention that you can't coach size in another posting? sounds pretty much the same here..taller/bigger=matures faster/stonger=more heat

 

[default]

As far as being a dominating pitcher I don't think height is much of an advantage unless intimidation is a factor and after rec ball that usually stops. I prefer movement over speed anyday as will any good coach outside of rec ball. A good shorter pitcher who can set up the batter with off speed and a continuous mixture of speeds and movement pitches will be more valuable to me than a 7 footer who can throw 65. JMHO

 

[default]

I think having blonde hair is an advantage because the sun reflecting off of golden locks has a way of blinding batters. Also, having short thumbs helps, because they don't tend to get in the way so much. A one-legged pitcher would probably be one of the best, because they would have to work hardest of all.

 

[default]

sammy, my dd is 6' brown hair pitcher . any sugestions on hair dye products ;D

 

[default]

Hey sammy a 1 leg pitcher with gas would really be interesting.

 

[default]

.............and don't forget an optic yellow arm/skin tone.....Sort of like the Simpson's! batter would never see the ball released.