“The radar gun gets you drafted, but you have to pitch to get to the big leagues” (baseball adage)
“The radar gun gets you drafted, but you have to pitch to get to the big leagues” is a baseball adage that Nationals assistant general manager (later Braves chief of scouting) Roy Clark said in 2013 and 2015. The adage means that pitching velocity gets a pitcher noticed, but pitching skill is what will take a pitcher to the major leagues.
It’s not known who first coined the adage. “Would seem that velocity gets you drafted but velocity + control gets you to the majors” was cited in 2005. “A live arm can get a pitcher drafted, but the recipe for success in the big leagues is locating pitches properly, changing speeds and creating movement” was cited in 2007.
HS Baseball Web
Do Scouts Prefer Pitching Speed or Accuracy?
NYdad
January 22, 2005 9:17 AM
Would seem that velocity gets you drafted but velocity + control gets you to the majors.
Los Angeles (LA) Times
Dodgers’ power is in pitching
Schmidt and Wolf join formidable rotation, which must make up for a lack of heavy hitters.
February 16, 2007|Steve Henson | Times Staff Writer
(...)
Of course, there is a lot more to pitching than rearing back and firing fastballs. A live arm can get a pitcher drafted, but the recipe for success in the big leagues is locating pitches properly, changing speeds and creating movement.
Orioles.com
08/09/12 11:24 AM ET
Aumont among Phillies’ potential callups
Minor Leaguers hope to follow in Victorino’s footsteps with September success
By Jake Kaplan / MLB.com
(...)
As (assistant general manager Benny—ed.) Looper often tells young pitchers: “A radar gun will get you drafted, but getting people out will get you promoted. There’s a lot of examples of guys that weren’t flamethrowers but know how to pitch.”
Baseball America
High School Velocity: Too Much Of A Good Thing?
April 25, 2013 by Conor Glassey
(...)
“The old saying in baseball is that the radar gun gets you drafted, but you have to pitch to get to the big leagues,” Nationals assistant general manager Roy Clark said. “And that’s true in some cases, but everybody’s not the same. Some guys need to have their foot to the metal each time—they need to put everything they’ve got in each pitch.”
Twitter
rpsportstraining
@rpsportstrainin
The old saying in baseball is that the radar gun gets you drafted, but you have to pitch to get to the big leagues
11:48 PM - 26 Apr 2013
D Rays Bay
Checking on pitch velocities
By Kevin Antonevich @Kantonevich7 on May 12, 2015, 11:31a
“The old saying in baseball is that the radar gun gets you drafted, but you have to pitch to get to the big leagues.”
- Roy Clark, Braves Chief of Scouting
Every baseball fan knows that a pitcher’s velocity is important. It’s often the first thing the casual fan looks for, and when the radar gun starts nearing triple digits, it’s easy to become very excited.