How to Improve Pitching and Hitting With a Baseball Radar Gun

A radar gun turns guesses into numbers. Did that grip change help? Is your changeup slow enough? Are you hitting the ball harder than last month? Here's how to use one in practice.

Pitching

Test grips and pressure

Small changes in how you hold a four-seam fastball (finger spacing, pressure, how deep the ball sits) can change velocity and spin. Use the radar to compare:

1. Throw a short set with your normal grip and note the readings.
2. Change one thing.
3. Throw another short set and compare averages, not single throws.

Change one thing at a time so you know what made the difference. Keep bullpens short and within age-appropriate limits.

Check speed gaps

Pitching isn't only about throwing hard. A changeup works because it looks like a fastball but arrives slower. A radar shows the gap between your fastball, changeup and breaking ball, so you can see if your off-speed pitches are different enough.

Work on mechanics

Adjust your delivery with a coach and use the radar to see whether it's helping. Better use of the hips and legs often shows up as more velocity. Film the same session so you can match video to readings. Some radar apps, like Pocket Radar's, put the speed on the video.

Watch for fatigue

A pitcher whose velocity drops noticeably during a session may be tired. That's a good time to stop. See arm injuries.

Hitting

Exit velocity

Exit velocity is how fast the ball comes off the bat. Harder-hit balls give fielders less time to react. Measure it off a tee, front toss or batting practice, from a safe position behind a net and in line with the ball's flight.

Use it to compare stance, swing and bat changes, the same way you'd test a pitching grip: one change, a set of swings, compare averages.

Bat speed

Bat speed is different from exit velocity. A bat speed radar like the Swing Speed Radar or a bat sensor measures it. See how to increase bat velocity and how to measure bat velocity without a radar gun.

Fielding and throwing

• Catchers: throw-down speed to second base.
• Infielders: across-the-diamond throws.
• Outfielders: arm strength on throws to the plate or a cutoff.

Track it over time

Log readings with the date, so you can see real progress over weeks and months. One great reading means less than a steady upward trend.

Find the right gun for practice in our best baseball radar guns guide →