The King is gone

[BretMan]

As many times as I've heard reports of Feigner's 100+ mph fastball, I have a hard time believing those numbers to be accurate. My guess is that it is either showmanship hype, faulty measuring methods or the speed of the pitches were converted to an "equivalent" speed for a baseball thrown from 60 feet.

I had the pleasure of seeing The King and His Court just this past summer. Eddie wasn't there and it was announced that his failing health prevented him from attending.

The men's fastpitch league were I play supplied the players to act as fodder for the The Court's antics. We also supplied the umpires for the exhibition.

Rich Hoppe has taken over the pitching duties for the team and still does the whole blind folded, pitching from second base routine.

It has been reported that Hoppe also pitches at over 100 mph. Having seen him pitch in person, I would have to say that he must have had a 100 mph hurricane at his back the day those readings were taken!

I would estimate his pitches to have been in the low-to-mid 70's, tops. Speaking with the umpire after the game confirmed this to be his opinion, too.

A 75 mph softball pitch is nothing to sneeze at, and the pitcher will really be popping the mitt. A men's pitcher with that kind of speed will be successful. But it is a far cry from 100+ mph.

Interestingly, I do know a good softball pitcher that played for one of the men's baseball leagues around here. He was a pretty good softballer, and could still throw around 65 mph.

He tried pitching underhand in some baseball games and was not very successful. One problem was that the smaller surface area of the baseball made it impossible to get the same kind of movement on the pitches that the larger softball allows.

Flat, straight 65 mph pitches from 60 feet in an adult baseball game have a tendency to find themselves on the other side of the fence in a hurry!