The easiest way to measure the speed of a baseball is to locate a radar gun that is operational, point it at the ball as it travels, and mark down the result. But it is possible to calculate the speed of a baseball with a stopwatch, a calculator and a specific mathematical equation. The result may not always be as accurate as a gun and depends on your skill in timing with the stopwatch, but this method is an option for determining the speed of a baseball.
Step 1
Enter the distance the ball is to travel in your notebook. If you are measuring the speed of a pitch, an adult pitching mound is 60 feet 6 inches from home plate. For Little League, the distance is 46 feet.
Step 2
Measure the time it takes for the ball to travel the distance. Use your stopwatch and click the button as soon as the pitcher releases the ball, then again after the ball crosses home plate.
Step 3
Divide the distance the ball traveled by the time it took to travel. As an example, if a Little League pitch took a half-second to reach the plate, divide the 46-foot distance by 0.5. The result is 92, which is the distance the ball traveled per second.
Step 4
Calculate the speed of the pitch in miles per hour. A speed of 1 foot per second is equal to 0.68 miles per hour, according to the University of Florida's SPICE program. Multiply the feet per second, which is 92, by 0.68 and your answer is 62.5 miles per hour.
Things You'll Need
- Baseball
- Stopwatch
- Calculator
- Notebook for recording results
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