Great Rotation proves Size Doesn't Matter to these athletes SM#87
- Thread starter Ken07
- Start date
79mph exit speed translates into 370 feet of distance? Was there a gale force wind at his back? A baseball hit 101mph barely goes farther than that...
https://twitter.com/DingerTracker/status/1056726414874030080
https://twitter.com/DingerTracker/status/1056726414874030080
Ken07
DeMarini/Wilson Sports Senior Pro
Actually from our tests, and we have done well over a 1000+ ball exit speeds I would guess, the fastest exit speeds that a hitter records is a one hop liner to the pitcher, low liner or similar. Its because the ball is squared up on the bat barrell and its the maximum impact...of ball and barrell of the bat. Long underspun homeruns typically are 10-20 mph lower in exit speed because there is less square impact, and the ball is cut at less than square impact. There is a higher trajectory, and a more glancing blow, giving alot of underspin.
Our measure of the top exit speed a player hits on the squarely hit one hop liners and ground balls, is quite accurate for giving the maximum range a hitter can achieve..understanding a homerun is a different kind of impact and angle.. We have numerous exit speed testing with top young pros, etc..on other shows available on our website. But to give an example, the fastest exit speed we have tested is top young pro Ryan Harvey. He hit the pitching screen at 121mph. At roughly 4 feet per MPH, that would give Harvey roughly 484 feet of power. That is a good ballpark figure. i have seen personally seen Harvey hit a half dozen balls over 500 feet. A good measure of a top young pro is they all go over 100mph, ranging mostly from 103-113mph. I have seen Dale Brungardt reach 109mph on a low line drive, and in the same session hit a ball 430 plus range, that only had an exit speed of 89mph. So don't correlate directly the exit speed and max distance for what the exit speed is on those actual homerun shots.
Again, the top exit speed you get from trying to hit the ball square as a one hop liner into the pitching screen is the number that should be considered. These two hitters in this video had around 90-92 mph on their fastest exit speeds..that would equate to around 360+ feet. We had markers set out in the outfield at 350 feet , on a fence that was 300 feet, there was a 3-5 mph wind out, which helps. We guessed how far the balls landed past the 350 marks, so its not totally exact but this exact speed testing does show a great correlation between max ball exit speed and the distance you should be able to generate if launch angle, and underspin cut on the ball are correct. What I think it does better, is show the improvement in line drive exit speeds and how much line drive velocity a hitter has..Bat, ball, temp, wind, hitters physical conditions all are factors.
Our measure of the top exit speed a player hits on the squarely hit one hop liners and ground balls, is quite accurate for giving the maximum range a hitter can achieve..understanding a homerun is a different kind of impact and angle.. We have numerous exit speed testing with top young pros, etc..on other shows available on our website. But to give an example, the fastest exit speed we have tested is top young pro Ryan Harvey. He hit the pitching screen at 121mph. At roughly 4 feet per MPH, that would give Harvey roughly 484 feet of power. That is a good ballpark figure. i have seen personally seen Harvey hit a half dozen balls over 500 feet. A good measure of a top young pro is they all go over 100mph, ranging mostly from 103-113mph. I have seen Dale Brungardt reach 109mph on a low line drive, and in the same session hit a ball 430 plus range, that only had an exit speed of 89mph. So don't correlate directly the exit speed and max distance for what the exit speed is on those actual homerun shots.
Again, the top exit speed you get from trying to hit the ball square as a one hop liner into the pitching screen is the number that should be considered. These two hitters in this video had around 90-92 mph on their fastest exit speeds..that would equate to around 360+ feet. We had markers set out in the outfield at 350 feet , on a fence that was 300 feet, there was a 3-5 mph wind out, which helps. We guessed how far the balls landed past the 350 marks, so its not totally exact but this exact speed testing does show a great correlation between max ball exit speed and the distance you should be able to generate if launch angle, and underspin cut on the ball are correct. What I think it does better, is show the improvement in line drive exit speeds and how much line drive velocity a hitter has..Bat, ball, temp, wind, hitters physical conditions all are factors.
Ken07
DeMarini/Wilson Sports Senior Pro
You certainly have a right to your opinion, and I don't often debate on this forum, but I enclosed back to back swings I mentioned above and happened to have of DeMarini Pro Dale Brungardt. First swing is a line drive that went 106mph, next pitch was a high long fly ball that carried well over the 350' baseball fence at softball magazine spring training. Note the exit speed on this long homerun is 83 mph. The 370' ball Jorge hit was pitched by and witnessed by Dave "Pops" North of Woodlawn Hitting Club, myself and 4 other athletes. It is fact it happened, and to see that Dale cleared by plenty a 350 fence, with a 83 mph exit speed, shows the huge difference between exit speeds on line drives and homeruns. You mention baseball exit speeds in your comment..I don't have any experience with baseball testing but the cores of a baseball and softball make it hard to compare the 2 sport performances. We find that if you take the highest exit speed of a hitters line drives, if the athlete is capable of hitting an underspin, homerun type ball, the line drive exit speed gives a ball park figure of how much distance a hitter potentially has. Have alot of research on this and am confident of this statement for softball hitting. Here is the video.
dunkky
Well-Known Member
you gonna have to provide a lot more physics and math to back that up. there are more variables to consider what contributes the distance. Linear exist speed is not everything, although it's relatively most dominant force. there's aero-dynamics aspects, torq of the spinning ball, inherited force, etc.. initial exit speed that you and bat provide does not directly equate to distance all the time, cuz new extra energy can be generated and added or existing energy can be better preserved afterward by the movement of a ball.
4xtra
Player/Coach
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ShortYellowBus
Well-Known Member
Senior bats are insane. Hitting 44’s.
And don’t forget that (almost) everything on the Internet is bull****.
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
You guys can argue about this until the end of time. No one can really say that you need XXX MPH on your batted ball speed to hit a ball 400' (or whatever distance). One thing I WILL say is that the balls I hit the furthest often aren't the hardest balls hit. I DO agree with Ken when he says the fastest batted ball speeds occur on liners or sharp one hoppers though the infield. The ball is being hit viciously hard, but because it has no backspin it won't necessarily look like anything impressive.
The most important things for hitting a softball far are backspin and launch angle. If you backspin a ball well with some good loft you'll get carry, even if you miss the sweetspot of the bat. Today's bat and ball combo is ludicrous. Anyone who puts even a halfway decent swing on the ball should be able to hit at least 350' routinely. As has been said, batted ball speed can be misleading in determining how far someone hits a ball. I think batted ball speed is as dependent on the bat being used as the person swinging it. Trampoline effect is very real. Still, batted ball speed is still a good measure of how hard someone is truly hitting the ball. You most likely won't see a D or below player cracking 100 MPH.
With the bats out today you don't necessarily have to swing brutally hard. One should be more concerned with finding the barrel and imparting backspin on the ball. When they say "let the bat do the work" they aren't lying. A good softball bat will do almost all of the work. A 79 MPH swing is still good enough to launch a ball over 350'.
Ken does all his filming in FL. Imagine if he did it in CO. He'd be adding about 50' to whatever distance guys are getting in FL. I've played in FL numerous times and can say with certainty that you lose at least 20% of your distance on well hit balls vs here in CO.
Furthermore, Ken takes the time to produce hitting videos for the benefit of players everywhere. Yet all people here seem to want to do is contradict his findings and be snarky. I guarantee Ken has more softball experience than 99% of the people on this board and knows what he's talking about. Agree or disagree with his posts, but at least do it in an articulate manner.
The most important things for hitting a softball far are backspin and launch angle. If you backspin a ball well with some good loft you'll get carry, even if you miss the sweetspot of the bat. Today's bat and ball combo is ludicrous. Anyone who puts even a halfway decent swing on the ball should be able to hit at least 350' routinely. As has been said, batted ball speed can be misleading in determining how far someone hits a ball. I think batted ball speed is as dependent on the bat being used as the person swinging it. Trampoline effect is very real. Still, batted ball speed is still a good measure of how hard someone is truly hitting the ball. You most likely won't see a D or below player cracking 100 MPH.
With the bats out today you don't necessarily have to swing brutally hard. One should be more concerned with finding the barrel and imparting backspin on the ball. When they say "let the bat do the work" they aren't lying. A good softball bat will do almost all of the work. A 79 MPH swing is still good enough to launch a ball over 350'.
Ken does all his filming in FL. Imagine if he did it in CO. He'd be adding about 50' to whatever distance guys are getting in FL. I've played in FL numerous times and can say with certainty that you lose at least 20% of your distance on well hit balls vs here in CO.
Furthermore, Ken takes the time to produce hitting videos for the benefit of players everywhere. Yet all people here seem to want to do is contradict his findings and be snarky. I guarantee Ken has more softball experience than 99% of the people on this board and knows what he's talking about. Agree or disagree with his posts, but at least do it in an articulate manner.
The guy who rambles about irrelevant things and can't comprehend that a 79mph exit speed /= a 79 mph swing complains about coherency...
Redsfan
Well-Known Member
I've watched several of Ken's video. He gives alot of good info on swing mechanics and I believe his claims on how he can improve a players power. But, he does run a hitting school that I'm sure it isn't free so exaggerating some numbers might get him more customers and help make some more money.
Maybe videos where you can actually see where the ball lands with exact distances could help remove some doubt other posters might have. Also info on type and weight of bat would help.
It's been proven that swinging a heavier bat at the same speed as a lighter bat will produce more distance as long as it's the same type of bat. More mass = more power.
Maybe videos where you can actually see where the ball lands with exact distances could help remove some doubt other posters might have. Also info on type and weight of bat would help.
It's been proven that swinging a heavier bat at the same speed as a lighter bat will produce more distance as long as it's the same type of bat. More mass = more power.
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
Don't forget to mention the balls used. In Ken's videos he seems to use Evil BPs and ultimate Evil balls. Those ultimate Evils will go 350' easily. Couple that with a hot bat and the distances he claims are not far fetched at all.
Having looked at his website pricing it is probably safe to assume he hasn't spent hours editing videos and changing fence distances in an elaborate plan to become a mogul selling hitting lessons. I think he does a great job but he probably isn't hiding money in the Cayman Islands from selling $200 hitting lessons.
Bobby Buggs
SBF Site Sponsor
Ahhh the softball fans new years eve nay sayers. Life isn't complete without them
Hiltz
Built for comfort
You must've missed the part of the video where what you said can't happen actually happened.
Ha ha, it's also physically impossible for a 747 to fly! But when you combine factors such as thrust and lift somehow that giant hunk of metal flies. The basic laws of physics can be bent or broken when certain dynamics are combined. There are numerous factors that go into what makes a softball travel certain distances other than exit speed. Wind, core and compression of ball used, compression of bat used, ball spin, humidity, air temp, etc.. And that's just science. If you are going to claim something is impossible you should have facts to back it up! Ken has a video of a guy going yard with what you're claiming is impossible. What do you have other than a google search of what exit speed you need to hit a home run.
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Kaveman
Trend Setter
Heard the same about a honey Bee - shouldn't be able to fly -but it does,,,,ahh - the power of 'honey!
