yeah, i'm pretty sure velocity = wins seriously, has a pitcher ever won more than 5 games throwing 85-86? the answer? no.
The article said his fastball is hitting 84-90. Has anybody ever won throwing that hard? Some guy named Greg Maddux seemed to do alright.
Obviously higher velocity would be ideal. However, pitchers can survive with lower velocities if they're able to hit their spots.
Somewhat true, but a pitcher with low velocity can't get away with having an off day on the mound, while a pitcher with good velocity and bad location, can (at least more often).
Maddux might be the most famous, but I think he was touching 90 in his prime. I don't think the Kniekros were flamers.
Here is an Astros.com article about Hernandez Spring Training progress... http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...d=1319495&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou New beginning for new-look Hernandez Undeterred lefty shakes off surgery, returns with finesse Carlos Hernandez will fulfill a childhood dream by pitching for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic next month. (Ben Platt/MLB.com)
Maddux had the luxury of a big strike zone given to him and his braves couterparts. He did hit the 90's in his prime but he was a righty so it was a lot more important that his placement was there. A lefty hitting 90 is like a righty up in the mid 90's becuase of the release. The Kniekros i thought were knuckleballers like Wakefield. That's a whole different breed.
Don't compare him to Maddux or knuckleballers. It's a lot harder now to be a successful pitcher without throwing hard. The strike zone is much more strict. I wish him well but I have serious doubts about him ever cutting it at the major league level. I vividly remember the play where he slid into 2nd base. He came out to pitch in the top 1/2 of the next inning and gave up a home run. That was all she wrote. Best wishes Carlos but it doesn't look good for you.
I wasn't comparing Carlos to those guys. I was merely listing famous "slow throwers" per the original poster.
Doug Jones pitched 16 years, had 300+ saves with a career ERA of 3.30 and he couldn't break a window with his fastball. Velocity, location, movement. You can be good with 2 out of 3, the truly great ones have it all.
I saw him pitch at Minute Maid in 01. I thought he was Koufax and Valenzuela combined. I was awestruck, and I'm really disappointed about how this injury has sidetracked him. Hopefully he can get it back on track.
Andy Pettite? Everytime I saw him pitch.. it didn't look like he had much velocity.. but what he didn't have in velocity.. he had in placement.
He also has stuff with wicked movement... make that 4 solid pitches with wicked movement. Carlos only has a plus curveball right now, and the last time I saw it, he still had a terrible time locating it. I'm rooting for him, but let it be known... he was a super-prospect based on the fact that he was a left-hander with poise, and a blazing fastball.
