Cy Young Speed Gun

We all already know that Justin Verlander is a great pitcher, so just what are you trying to prove, Detroit? What am I talking about you ask? Have you ever noticed that when pitching in Detroit, the radar guns have Verlander’s pitches clocked at 101 mph as late as the eighth inning? But yet, when he is on the road, I did not see any of his pitches exceed 98 mph, not even in the first inning.

In 2006, rookies Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya had arrived to Detroit, and pitch speeds have never looked the same since. That same year, Zumaya had been clocked at 103 mph in New York and Oakland as well. So there appears to be more outside validation of the legitimacy of Zumaya’s heat. But in an interview with Detroit radio station WRIF, former Tigers pitcher Denny McLain stated that he believed the numbers on stadium and television radar guns were inflated.

Plus, consider the fact that Zumaya rarely pitched for more than an inning at a time. While Verlander is the ace starting pitcher who has to approach each start under the assumption that he needs to throw over 100 pitches. That makes a difference for sure, and if you don’t believe me than look at the variance in pitch speed between games that fellow Detroit teammate Max Scherzer starts, and ones in which he comes in to a relief role. His fastball averages over 98 mph coming out of the bullpen, which is over 4 mph greater than his average fastball when starting.

So could Justin Verlander throw 101 mph if he was a reliever who only has to get three outs an appearance? I believe that to be the case. But to claim that he is throwing 101 mph in the eighth inning in Detroit is to put it simply, inaccurate.

Am I bashing Verlander here? Absolutely not. A 2011 line that includes a 24-5 record with 250 K’s, a 2.40 ERA, and WHIP of only 0.92 is impressive regardless of what division he pitches in. I certainly do not believe that the faulty radar guns have anything to do with a request on his part. He is busy trying to win games, just as the Detroit organization should be, and not worrying about fooling everyone with these ridiculous radar numbers.

The same thing goes for the television networks who are just as much a part of this. They should be worrying more about reporting actual facts than this radar gun propaganda non-sense.

Why is any of this important you might ask? Well, I would start by saying that anything that is important enough to report in the first place, is important enough to be reported accurately. Obviously the speed in which Verlander’s pitches are recorded do not have a lot of baring on his current contract status because he is a shoe-in for the 2011 Cy Young award and has two no-hitters to his credit. Those things are what will get a guy like him paid. But for many other players who have yet to actually cement their status on a big league roster, this matters a lot.

Scouts and other organization employees rely heavily on the accuracy of radar guns to asses a pitchers ability, which in turn usually has a great deal to do with how much that player can earn. It would basically be like if I told you that I clocked a certain running back’s 40-yard time at 4.3 seconds, when in reality it’s something much closer to 4.5. That is a huge difference.

These days, the American general public has gotten used to being lied to about many other things. But that’s part of the reason why so many of us love sports, because it’s supposed to be a release from the rest of the world and all the politically slanted spins that we have to endure from our corrupt leaders. But sports are not supposed to be that way. You either win or you don’t. Things either are, or they are not. So stop trying to put a ‘spin’ on how fast these guys are really throwing, and just allow the true numbers to be revealed so we can just enjoy the game and not always have to wonder what is real, and what is fixed.