[Kevin Finnerty]

I worked the gun for several summers of scout ball, and I worked the gun for a handful of D-I games this year. So I've gunned about 200 college pitchers and college prospect pitchers who threw as high as 98 m.p.h., and generally lived in the high 80s/low 90s.

When you aim it from a low angle, you get your reading near his release point. But when you aim it from a high angle, you can put it where you want it. When a guy who throws 90 m.p.h. lets it fly, it's going 90 out of his hand and for the first few feet. But at the 30 ft. mark, you can register an 87 or 88 on the same pitch that the guy next to you registers a 90 out of his hand. At a point approximately eight or 10 feet in front of the plate, it's 85 or 86. So, that would mean a 90-m.p.h. fastball is traveling at about 84 or 85 when it reaches the plate.

A two-seam fastball breaks down faster. I clocked a guy this year who throws a two-seam hard sinker that clocks at 91 and 92 consistently. It's going 83 or 84 when it reaches the area in front of the plate.

So, based on those experiences, a high-velocity fastball slows down on average about one m.p.h. every 10 feet, but it's obviously slowing down more in the last 30 than the first 30.

The gun measures it as it breaks through the beam, and it is solely dependent on where it's pointed.

Also, there are occasions when you aim it too close to the hitting zone and you register the bat. A college level stud swings a bat 110 m.p.h. or more on their best cuts.