Maybe earlier, but QB mechanics shifted pretty significantly around the time Manning came into the league (who throws more baseball style)… at least per the splitzoneduo.com podcast, which I’d highly recommend joining their patreon if you like college football as much as I do.
Marino and Elway are the first that come to mind, because I am LOL old.
Mahomes and Jameis were decent pitchers too I think.
Elway was an OF.
LOL me, I suppose.
In my defense, I did admit that my memory on this was sus.
In fairness to you, Mahomes and Jameis did pitch, both mainly as not-too-terribly-inspiring relievers, having looked this up.
I couldn’t throw a football because I have Trump hands. Baseball worked well, though.
Kaepernick was a top tier pitching prospect as well. Baseball players are highly selected by arm strength at all positions. Many have the arm strength to pitch but accuracy and command are what often separate out elite pitchers. Although speed still kills. We had two good pitchers in high school. One had a fastball that topped out in the mid 80s. He could paint corners and had a 12-6 curve that fell off the face of the earth. He dominated high school hitters but had no serious offers to play higher. The other could throw 95 as a sophomore but couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn and was dumb as a box of nails. Went to minors straight out of high school and made it as high as AAA before fizzling out.
I don’t even follow baseball, because watching a game makes me want to gouge my eyes out (unless we’re at game 6 or 7 of an LCS or WS, in which case it is riveting AF), but it would seem to me that the first guy was some seriously wasted potential. If he’s already got all of those tools, hitting the weights, growing/getting older, and some kyleb-style coaching would get him the speed.
So what the tiny hand perspective fooled Mrs dlk9s that something else was big?
I read somewhere (so take with a grain of salt) that most scouts these days are doing exactly the opposite of this.
They’d much rather take a flyer on a guy who is throwing 97 and try to teach him breaking balls and control compared to a guy with elite breaking balls and control but can’t throw the heat.
It’s always been that way. Even though there are new training techniques for increasing throw velocity and expensive camps dedicated to it, pitch speed is by and large a natural talent. You either have it or you don’t, and if you don’t, you won’t be competitive at higher levels. Sure there’s the occasional Greg Maddux (even he threw in the 90s) but for the most part if you couldn’t touch 90 as a HS senior you weren’t playing higher than division 2 college ball. It’s a lot like basketball. For every Iverson there’s a million other talented 6 footers but you have to be so insanely good to overcome your genetics.
So at what age does a pitcher’s speed generally peak?
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That was exactly me. I had no offers.
If I could go back, I would have lifted weights. I was always told that you didn’t want to build muscle because that would hurt your flexibility, etc. Sometimes I wonder what could have happened if I could have hit 90.
(really, I don’t wonder just because if I continued playing past high school, I might not have met my wife, had my kids, all that - my friends and I had fun enough winning intramural softball championships in college)
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80’s with elite breaking skills are like current Grienke as a ceiling, and that’s just not something you’re gonna waste time on, the flame thrower might still end up a reliever if he can’t do anything else
I’d think by definition elite breaking skills are quite rare.
I accept that no one tries to develop these players, but it seems like a leak to me (granted I don’t know shit).
I knew several kids with elite breaking skills in the 80’s. They brought big pieces of cardboard to school.
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Baker has to be able to beat out Darnold???
it’s sad that I think darnold beats him out/will look better in practice at any rate
Baker seems like he needs to be motivated. Not sure if this is the best way to do it, but it did sort of work in college as he seemed to relish the underdog role and getting revenge against perceived slights. Might be harder when it’s your own team doubting you.