Extension is a measurement that defines how far down the mound a pitcher’s release point is relative to the rubber. In other words, Extension measures how far towards home plate the pitcher releases the ball.
Measurement
Extension is measured in feet and can be directly measured through ball/player tracking technology like Hawkeye, Trackman and Rapsodo.
There are a few factors that can influence a pitcher’s extension:
These factors can impact Extension, which ultimately becomes your release point down the mound. The average Extension of an MLB pitcher is about 6.3 feet, meaning that the release point of the ball is 6.3 feet closer to home plate than the rubber.
Specifically, this means that MLB pitchers on average release their pitches roughly 54 feet away from home plate.
Having a longer extension may be beneficial to a pitcher because releasing the ball closer to home plate can give the batter less time to react to a pitch. Conversely, a pitcher with a shorter extension can technically have more time for their pitches to break since they travel over a longer distance.
Keep in mind, Extension is mostly used as an evaluation tool. Players aren’t going to grow a couple of inches overnight, and it’s likely unwise to overhaul arm slot or stride just for the sake of increasing extension. Some front offices may even use this data point as a way to evaluate certain pitch profiles and look for outliers on the market.
Normally in Player Development, coaches won’t recommend pitchers to stride further just for the sake of having a higher extension. This is a data point that shouldn’t be used in an absolute as there are usually more data points to consider before making those types of recommendations.
Summary
Extension is a metric that can be beneficial in dissecting a pitcher’s capabilities. As we analyze the core components of any individual pitcher profile, it is important to keep in mind all relevant data points including extension.
Related Links
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/statcast/extension
https://www.manula.com/manuals/diamond-kinetics/pitchtracker-baseball/1/en/topic/extension
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