Could you hit today’s fastball with a 54 ounce bat?

[Tere1071]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Substitute a name for “you” in your answer or opinion.

Easily, if wasn't in motion

Phil aka Tere1071

[z28jd]

I think if players had an approach like the old players they could use the heavier bats. Some of those old guys had short swings oriented towards contact and that's why they could use the heavier bats. They were almost in a check swing stance before the pitch came in. If they went up there like the mass produced cavemen you see in today's game who are living by the "swing hard and hope for the best" motto, they wouldn't be using the heavier bats.

As for the speed of old pitchers, I use personal experience from a field day contest when I was 15 years old. I had the fastest pitch during the event at 81 MPH and the longest throw of 243 feet in the air. Multiple guys in the 1800s recorded throws of over 400 feet in the air. If I topped out at 243 feet (I hit 238,239,243 on the throws and 78-79-79-81-79 on the pitches), then I'd say they had to be throwing harder than 80 MPH to add about 160+ feet to the throws. It's ridiculous to think old pitchers were just lobbing the ball up there at 80 MPH at their best

[Joe Hunter]

If you count bunting as hitting, then yes.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by Joe Hunter

If you count bunting as hitting, then yes.

If you count HBP as hitting, then yes for me.

[Hankphenom]

On the "Glory of Their Times" audio set, Chief Meyers points out a bat in the corner of the room he says was given to him by Babe Ruth. You can hear Larry Ritter walk across the room and exclaim in amazement as he picks up the bat. He says, "this must weigh 50 ounces, at least," and the Chief replies, "50 or better than that." Also on the set you have Hans Lobert telling Ritter that when Ruth came up at 19, "his upper body was like Hercules." You can see in photos and films that the Babe's bats were enormous and we know he had no trouble getting around on pitches, to say the least. As for pitching then vs. now, the average pitcher today might be a little faster than the average pitcher 100 years ago due to size and leg strength, but I think Walter Johnson was probably the faster pitcher that ever lived who could also get the ball over the plate consistently. I've never heard of an exercise or strength training that increases the velocity of a pitcher's fastball. Have you?

[jingram058]

I played baseball all through school, then fast pitch softball for a couple of years. Played organized softball in the Navy. Just before I retired from the Navy in San Diego at age 49, I decided to take a few swings in a batting cage with the speed set supposedly to major league, with a 34 ounce bat. It was a dumb idea, to put it mildly.