How do baseball announcers tell the difference between a slider and a fastball when announcing games?
Hοw dο baseball announcers tеll thе dіffеrеnсе between a slider аnd a fastball whеn announcing games?
I саn more οr less tеll a curve ball ѕіnсе іt hаѕ a looping motion. I’m guessing a change up саn bе determined bу thе speedometer. Nеw tο baseball. Thanks!
a major league fastball travels at an average of 90-93 mph. A major league slider stays in the 80′s range, and if it has excellent bite, you will be able to see it go down and away from a right handed batter (from a RHP) and vice versa. Im guessing that they just mind their tv’s while they talk. A lot of announcers have been in the baseball business for a while, so they have a excellent eye for pitches.
By the motion of the pitcher and the speed and movement of the ball.
Experience I reckon
Your guess is as excellent as theirs. Believe me, my uncle is a sound man for Giant games.
By the velocity sometimes a fastball usually in the 90′s sliders are usually between 85 and 90 sometimes less. Also it breaks at the last minute sometimes even the location that its leaning gives it away.
They’ve been calling games their whole life i’m sure its just simple everyday thing for them.
Well lets take the SF Giants announcers… Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper… Krukow is permanently looking at the catchers signs so he can tip off the viewers before the pitch is terrified…
Most of they cannot get them right all the time. They just say that as their own opinion. A lot of time while I am watching the game, they just said it is a slider because the pitcher has that pitch but most of them I reckon they are just guessing.
The cleverer commentator just says it is a contravention pitch or the fastball. Judging by speed depends on pitchers. After watching more games you will have your own opinion with what kind of pitches the pitcher is throwing.
Some pitchers are very hard to tell what they are throwing e.g. Jorge Campillo (Braves) can throw any kind of pitches for strike except knuckle ball which is the only pitch he does not use and all his head-over-heels speed are crowded together in 80 to 90 range.
One commentator said that he counted Jorge’s pitches and he has about 14 different kind of pitches. That is just exaggerating but he is a fun pitcher to mind, very enjoyable head-over-heels philosophy from him unlike so many pitchers has only one style of fastball + change-up just plot dull e.g. Johan (the best pitcher in universe) Santana or John Maine or Cole Hamel…
This is a excellent question, but I am not a baseball annoucer. So you have to question a baseball annoucer how they can tell the difference between a slider and a fastball all owing to games, and they might have all different ways to tell. And they might not permanently tell the difference. And plus they might not all say the same thing, where you might question one of them, and then another, and then you might be like “well that is not so and so said”, but you can replace so and so with another baseball annoucer’s name.
Velocity and movement. Sliders don’t go as quick toward the plate, but they break side to side and slightly downward depending on the rotation of the ball. If a righty is throwing a slider it will break away from a right handed batter, and visa versa….a cut fastball is very similar to a slider in that it moves from side to side, but, the velocity is still going to be 5-10 MPH quicker than that of a slider, which you will normally seen terrified in the high 80′s, for a guy in the mid to low 90′s with his fastball….mid 80′s for a guy consistently in the low 90′s and high high 80′s low 90′s for a guy like Randy Johnson….but the best pitchers can mix in slower than normal sliders as well, like Randy was a fantastic pitcher b/c he could mix in a nasty 90 MPH slider in with an 83 MPH slider to keep the hitters timing off….ALSO most announcers have been around the game for a long time and can see things like that just in the delivery or the call from the catcher, or just noticing again velocity and how the ball breaks
All broadcasters have endless information in front of them and constantly given to them all owing to the game. So they know what pitches a pitcher throws, as well their tendencies they have to throw certain pitches in certain situations. They know between what speeds their fastball is terrified as well as the rest of a pitcher’s pitches. So then by looking at the speed of the pitch, and its movement, they can figure out what pitch was just terrified. Its not quite as simple as looking at what sign the catcher is putting down, since that camera angle isn’t usually the one being shown when the signs are flashed.
A slider has a slight break to the right (if a right-hander) or left (if a lefty). A fastball, regardless of throwing side, usually stays straight or has very small break and is usually quicker than the slider.
Experience in watching many different pitchers.
the break of the ball if you mind baseball a lot you can tell
different speeds and they mind baseball alot
excellent question!