this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2023
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This post requires some MLB + physics + sports science knowledge to assess.

Looking at the absurd wingspan of Wemby (8'0"), and the photo of him gripping a baseball, we couldn't help but imagine, if he had the skill of Randy Johnson (6'10" wingspan), what speed could his fastball achieve?

Given:

  1. the additional wingspan

  2. equal strength (this is debatable, but for the sake of this hypothetical, let's assume)

  3. the fact that he'd be releasing 1'2" (1.9%) closer to the mound than The Big Unit

Would MLB players be able to hit it?

According to GPT4, Wemby's torque would be 800 ft-lbs*, compared to Johnson's 684 ft-lbs.

This would, by percentage increase, amount to a 119mph fastball.

It does make the caveat, though, that "various biomechanical factors, air resistance, muscle utilization, and other physical constraints would likely prevent such a straightforward increase in pitch velocity."

This is where I wonder if any Redditors who are smarter than me in physics and/or sports science could please vet this number, and tell us whether the San Antonio Spurs have deprived us of the greatest pitcher in MLB history?

*Fun fact - 800 ft-lbs torque is equivalent to the force generated by this power drill. Victor Wembanyama is probably strong[citation needed]

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[–] OpenArse1984@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Halfway through that pitch his body is going to be like "wtf are we doing? we haven't worked up to this." and he's going to tear something.