Comments on: MLB Innings Pitched By Height

By: New Pitching Model - OOTP Developments Forums

New Pitching Model - OOTP Developments Forums — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:47:36 +0000

[...] least one article with some height observations: MLB Innings Pitched by Pitcher's Height __________________ "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." — Samuel Beckett [...]

By: slamdunksy21

slamdunksy21 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:56:35 +0000

Thanks for the comment Zack. I'll have to look around to see if there are stats on the speed of the game. It would be fairly easy to do in football thanks to the NFL Combine, but can't think of anywhere where speed is documented consistently in baseball.

By: Zack Porter

Zack Porter — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:26:59 +0000

Just a thought, but I'm curious to know how fast the game has gotten. I don't know if there is data on players 40 yard dash times, but I think it would be interesting to see how fast the game has gotten.

By: Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:41:40 +0000

Thanks for the comment Matt and interesting questions you raise. I don't have the data to study the affect of height on pitching effectiveness but it would certainly be interesting to look at! In its simplest form I think some of it has to do with physically being taller, delivering closer to the plate, and some psychological in terms of people "thinking" a taller pitcher is better thus getting more opportunities. I'll follow up this piece with on on ERA relative to height but as a preview there was very little ERA difference relative to height.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:24:26 +0000

I think at least three factors are in play.

• A taller pitcher's higher release point creates better down plane to the plate. A fastball angled down in the strike zone is more difficult to hit solidly and lift for power. Does this have an opposite effect on breaking balls and changeups, I wonder?

• A taller pitcher releases the ball closer to plate, giving batters even less time to react. A pitcher who throws hard and hides the ball well will derive even greater benefit.

• Teams, perhaps subconsciously, have been trying to recreate the effects of the Year of the Pitcher, seeking taller pitcher to approximate the 15-inch mounds of the 1960-1968 period in your study. In '69, mounds were lowered to the present 10 inches.

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Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:43:24 +0000

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