When I watch Bronson pitch I am reminded of when my friend Warren would throw me one of his swerves back when we played whiffle ball as kids. It took me a while but I finally got pretty good at hitting it. I got to wondering the other day if I could rake Bronson's pitches. I mean, it's kinda like Warren's swerve, except that Warren's pitch came in faster.

 

Seriously, how many of you think you could get a hit off Arroyo? Major League hitters obviously have some issues with Bronson's 68 mph pitches but I wonder if the Average Joe like one of us could get a hit off of him? I mean, you couldn't even get me to step into the batter's box against a guy like Chapman or Iglesias , but I think I could put some wood on one of Bronson's frisbees. Then again, as much guile and pitching smarts as that guy has, he would probably make me look as foolish as I looked with my yellow plastic bat swinging at one of Warren's swerves.

 

What do you think? Could you get a knock off of Bronson?

He could throw 83 MPH fastball then a 68 MPH change up back and forth and you'd never get a bat on it.

If he threw solely the fastball, yeah, I'm confident I could here and there.

 

Other stuff, not a chance in hell.

He could throw 83 MPH fastball then a 68 MPH change up back and forth and you'd never get a bat on it.

 

I'd sit on the 60 mph pitch and hope that he threw me at least one.

No question I could hit anybody's 83 mph fastball after a couple looks.

 

Not so much on the junk pitches.

10 pitches and you wouldn't even come close to hitting any of the off speed stuff.

What was one of the Reds' announcers saying the other night about major leaguers not being able to hit a 68 mph pitch? They were quoting Bob Melvin, I think. They were saying something to the effect that 68 was kinda a magic number.

Only if he offended me somehow

Are you kidding?!? No. And even if I did make contact, it'd probably be more because he threw the ball where my bat was, instead of the other way around.

I'd sit on the 60 mph pitch and hope that he threw me at least one.

 

I guess what you are missing is that the speed changes are what makes it hard to hit the ball...not the actual speed in most cases. You can't get me to believe that YOU are a better hitter than the countless number of actual MLB hitters that he gets out every time he pitches...Wait, maybe none of them ever thought to just wait and sit on a pitch before.

 

I hit over 700 Whiffle Ball Homeruns one summer (Yes, we kept stats), doesn't mean I could sniff at a major league pitch.

Yes

No question I could hit anybody's 83 mph fastball after a couple looks.

 

Not so much on the junk pitches.

 

Maybe...Maybe if they threw it in the exact same spot over and over. If they went in, out, up, down it would be a bit harder than most think.

As a guy who played D1 baseball in college, I am confident that at one time I could square at least one up every now and then against major league pitching....I've gotten hits off more than a few guys who've pitched in the majors. I was a .500 hitter in high school but a sub .250 hitter in college. Which probably translates to .150 (or worse) against MLB guys. At my current age, and ability, I might be able to make contact, but I'm pretty certain my "getting hits off major league pitching" days are pretty much over...even against a junker like Arroyo. He'd probably have to hit my bat for me to have a chance right now.

 

In general, the average guy is not going to get a hit off any major league pitcher. Hitting a baseball is hard to do. Hitting against major leaguers is nearly impossible for the average guy, even one's that played a little in high school. If the best hitters in the world fail 65-70% of the time, and the average big league hitter fails 75% of the time, an average guy is going to fail 99.9% of the time. If you didn't play above high school, and have only been swinging at softballs lobbed at you underhand for the last several years, you ain't getting any hits of big league pitching. Even Arroyo, who is by the way, still able to get big league hitters out.

I guess what you are missing is that the speed changes are what makes it hard to hit the ball...not the actual speed in most cases. You can't get me to believe that YOU are a better hitter than the countless number of actual MLB hitters that he gets out every time he pitches...Wait, maybe none of them ever thought to just wait and sit on a pitch before.

 

I hit over 700 Whiffle Ball Homeruns one summer (Yes, we kept stats), doesn't mean I could sniff at a major league pitch.

 

I wasn't trying to get you to believe that. I was pretty good in my day, but my day has long since passed. Bronson could probably get me out 999 times out of 1000. Could I get a hit off him eventually? Possibly. Maybe even probably. Would I ever get a hit off Chapman? Nada. Nor would I even try.

Maybe...Maybe if they threw it in the exact same spot over and over. If they went in, out, up, down it would be a bit harder than most think.

 

I saw 80mph fastballs regularly in high school. I feel like most people who play baseball did. Sure it would take a few rips to find it, but 83 is not that fast.