Effective Velocity Part 1: How to Attack Hitters

Effective Velocity Part 1: How to Attack Hitters

Effective velocity is a pitching and hitting strategy that has been around the game for a better part of a decade. Effective velocity was initially a theory that was tested out by Perry Husband. Effective velocity is like an onion, the more you peel back the layers, the more layers that appear. Despite this fact, I will showcase facts about effective velocity that I feel are useful for pitchers to know in order to have success.

The key point of effective velocity that coaches must understand is that effective velocity revolves all around timing. Just like the principle of pitching, effective velocity is all about upsetting the timing of the hitter. Effective velocity suggests that we as coaches have called pitches not necessarily the research-based way. In fact, a lot of our success on pitch calling without using effective velocity is based on luck alone. Keep in mind, hitters fail to get a base hit 70 percent of the time. When we add in effective velocity, then we gain even more of an advantage.

Keeping all of this in mind, you are probably wondering what  Perry Husband's research on effective velocity states on its usefulness for pitchers. Husband has stated on social media that most hard contact was made on pitches thrown within 6 effective velocity miles per hour in this years Major League postseason. An example of a non-effective strategy is as follows: you are a right handed pitcher who throws a 95 mile per hour fastball. You are facing a left handed hitter. You throw a 95 mile per hour fastball up and away. That pitch registers as 95 effective velocity miles per hour because a pitch up and away registers as no change in effective velocity miles per hour. Then the pitcher throws a 94 mile per hour cutter low and away, which registers as 90 miles per hour due to effective velocity (low and away pitches lose four miles per hour).  Those two pitches don't make it to more or less than 6 Effective Velocity miles per hour. Therefore, these two pitches aren't a great combo in regards to effective velocity. A visual for this is the below image, just imagine it for a left handed hitter.

Another detail that is fascinating from Husband's research is on high spin rate and low spin rate fastballs. Typically as coaches we would have pitchers who have high spin rate fastball pitch those fastballs to the top of the zone. We would also tell our low spin rate fastball pitchers to pitch their fastballs to the bottom of the strike zone. Husband has found through research that high spin rate and low rate fastballs are both very effective up in the strike zone. Low spin rate fastballs also have more success up in the zone, than low in the zone. 

In addition to this we must understand that a pitcher must have a quality mix of pitches. The key for the coaches and pitchers is to find what pitch mix will work well off of the fastball of the pitcher. The goal for the pitchers is to have a pitch mix that will mirror off of the fastball. As a coach we need to explain to our pitchers that we want all of their pitches to look like fastballs and at the last minute move. This is a key concept of pitch tunneling that also goes in hand with effective velocity. 

In summation, it is important to remember three things about effective velocity. The first thing is to call pitches that add up or subtract to more than 6 effective velocity miles per hour. This can be a variation of speeds on a fastball or an off speed pitch. Another thing we must keep in mind, is that we must preach to our pitchers to not be afraid to pitch inside. This is because pitching inside is crucial for success when pitching with the effective velocity strategy. The second thing to keep in mind is to have a proper mix of pitches. The goal for the pitcher, with aid by the coaching staff, is to find a mix of pitches that will all look like fastballs out of the hand of the pitcher and then the off speed pitches have a deceptive late break. The last thing that is important to remember is to watch for the bat path of a hitter. If a hitter is a low ball hitter we must attack up in the zone. Simply put, we do not want to pitch to the hitter's strength. As coaches, we want our pitchers to be able to hit every spot in and out of the strike zone.This will only add to effective velocity. Effective velocity is a sound strategy that has been around the game for more than a decade. With this all in mind, effective velocity will induce soft contact and give your pitching staff an advantage against the opposing team.