How to Calculate Miles Per Hour in Pitching

Few stats are followed as closely in pitching as the speed of the pitch. It is most easily determined with a radar gun, but that is not always available for little league or amateur teams. The speed of the pitch can be calculated by timing the baseball over a known distance with a stop watch. This method will only be as accurate as the timing of the pitch.

Things You'll Need

  • Baseball
  • Stop watch
  • Pitcher
  • Catcher
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Instructions

    • 1

      Time a pitch over a known distance. To simplify the math it may be advisable to shorten the distance to an even number such as 50 feet. Use a stop watch to time the pitch from the release from the pitcher's hand to the point it touches the catcher’s glove. Time the pitch several times and try to gather representative times. Disregard times that are obviously abnormally high or low due to errors in operating the stop watch. Average the remaining times to determine the time it takes the baseball to cover the 50 foot distance.

    • 2

      Calculate the speed of the baseball in feet per second. Divide the distance of the pitch by the time, in seconds, it took the pitch to reach the catcher. For example, if the pitch covered the 50 feet in two seconds (speed=50/2) the speed would be 25 feet per second. If the baseball covered a distance of 70 feet in one and a half seconds (speed=70/1.5) the speed would be 46.6 feet per second.

    • 3

      Convert the feet per second into miles per hour. The formula for this conversion is to divide the speed in feet per second by the constant of 1.467. For example, if the baseball traveled at 25 feet per second it would convert to 17 miles per hour (mph= 25/1.467). The baseball traveling at 46.6 feet per second would convert to 31.8 miles per hour.