Old Timers vs. Young Bucks

[Rookiemonster]

They fix the errors of the test in the documentary fastball. He in fact did not throw Hundred .

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

They fix the errors of the test in the documentary fastball. He in fact did not throw Hundred .

They did not fix the errors - they just tried to approximate how fast his 83 mph (122 feet per second) throw was when the ball was 50 feet from home plate (which is the way that modern pitchers are clocked) instead of 15 feet in back of the "plate" as it was done in the 1912 test - definitely not an exact science. I believe that they estimated that it was around 94 mph.

The conditions where they timed Johnson at 83 mph were certainly not optimal for Johnson - he was wearing his Sunday suit for the test! The test was done at the Remington ammunition testing field and it is doubtful if he even had a mound or a rubber to pitch off of. One of the writers that witnessed the event said that he thought that Johnson could have hit 150 feet per minute if he was given more time to warm up which would equate to a tick over 102 mph.

Anyways, this was just a very unscientific test and I would agree with Hank that if Feller threw 98 or 99, then Johnson was certainly 100 or more.

[the 'stache]

A great player is a great player. It doesn't matter the era. Greats have instincts, and a meticulous attention to detail that will play in any era.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

A great player is a great player. It doesn't matter the era. Greats have instincts, and a meticulous attention to detail that will play in any era.

Pretty much agree with this.....

[aro13]

A great player is a great player. It doesn't matter the era. Greats have instincts, and a meticulous attention to detail that will play in any era.

I agree. The game evolves but the best players evolve with the game. The players that suffer are those that benefit from their era - be it a different strike zone, steroids, higher mound, bigger parks, etc.

Nolan Ryan was a good pitcher in 1969 and he was still good in 1992.

Pete Rose was good in 1964 and still good in 1984.

Frank Robinson could hit in 1956 and still hit in 1975.

[bravos4evr]

Pete Rose was good in 1964 and still good in 1984.

well, about that second part.......... (0.8 WAR in 421 PA's)

:-p