Dusty Baker recently wondered about the accuracy of ballpark radar-gun readings, which got Nick Piecoro to wondering, too. So Piecoro, who covers the Diamondbacks, asked Kevin Towers. As for Dusty Baker ...
Messing With Brad Penny’s Head
Turns out he had reason to be skeptical. Especially of the gun in San Diego.
"We used to dial it down," said a smiling Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers, formerly the Padres' GM.
"I know for a fact that every time Brad Penny pitched for the Dodgers in San Diego it was probably the lowest velocities he ever had. He liked velocity. He'd stare at the board. He was throwing 95-96 (mph), but we'd have it at 91 and he'd get pissed off and throw harder and harder and start elevating."
As a Dodger, Brad Penny started five games against the Padres in San Diego.
His record in those games: 0-5, 6.12 ERA.
So maybe it worked. Or maybe Penny just didn’t happen to pitch particularly well.
Apparently such shenanigans -- which I half-heartedly endorse, by the way -- are mostly on the outs. For one thing, most of the teams have their display boards hooked directly into the PITCHf/x data, so if PITCHf/x is correctly calibrated -- and sometimes it might not be, in particular ballparks -- what the batters see is what everyone else gets.
And according to Piecoro, there’s are rules about such things: “Major League Baseball sends teams a memo every year reminding them they’re not allowed to manipulate readings.
I’m a rules guy, which is why I can only half-heartedly endorse the shenanigans. They sure do make for good stories later, though.
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