How to Calculate Reaction Time & Pitch Distance

Baseball coaches and batters frequently calculate reaction time to see how many seconds a player has to hit a pitch. Learning these numbers can be an invaluable tool as hitters try to improve timing and achieve better results. The calculations for reaction time and pitch distance go hand-in-hand with pitch speed. You must know two of those variables to calculate the third value.

Things You'll Need

  • Radar gun
  • Tape measure
  • Stopwatch
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Instructions

    • 1

      Identify the variable you want to figure out. If you want to calculate reaction time, you must know the pitch distance and the pitch speed. If you want to calculate pitch distance, you must know reaction time and pitch speed. To verify or estimate certain measurements, use a radar gun for pitch speed, a tape measure for pitch distance and a stopwatch for reaction time.

    • 2

      Isolate "seconds per pitch" to determine reaction time. Use fractional reduction and conversion to achieve this. For example, assume a pitch distance of 60.5 feet (professional distance) and pitch speed of 90 mph. Use 60.5 feet per pitch, 1 mile per 5,280 feet, 1 hour per 90 miles and 3,600 seconds per hour. When reduced, you are left with "seconds per pitch" or reaction time. The calculation would be: (60.5 x 3,600) divided by (5,280 x 90). This equals a reaction time of 0.45833 seconds.

    • 3

      Isolate "feet per pitch" to determine pitch distance. Use fractional reduction and conversion to achieve this. For example, assume a reaction time of 0.5 seconds and pitch speed of 90 mph. Use 0.5 seconds per pitch, 1 hour per 3,600 seconds, 90 miles per 1 hour and 5,280 feet per 1 mile. When reduced, you are left with "feet per pitch" or pitch distance. The calculation would be : (0.5 x 90 x 5,280) divided by (3,600). This equals a pitch distance of 66 feet.