Fitness Testing
Fitness Testing > Tests > Speed & Power > Sprint or Speed > Home to First Base
Home to First Base Sprinting Speed
Running speed is very important for baseball players, particularly speed between bases. Baseball also commonly uses the 60 yard dash in testing.
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purpose: The aim of this test is to determine the time to run to first base. It is also a a reliable indicator of speed and agility around the field.
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equipment required: marked baseball field, stopwatch.
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description / procedure: The test involves running a maximum sprint from home to first base, with the time recorded. The measurements are often taken during game play, but a testing situation can be set up for measurement purposes. A thorough warm up should be given, including some practice starts and accelerations. Start from a stationary position over the home plate, in preparation to receive a pitch. After hitting the ball, the hitter runs as fast as possible to first base. The tester should provide hints to maximizing speed and encouragement to continue running hard through the first base.
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results: Two trials are allowed, and the best time is recorded to the nearest 1 decimal place. The timing starts from when the ball is hit, and finishes when the foot touches the first base. See the table below for guidelines to rating sprint times. As left handers are closer to first base when hitting, their ratings are lower.
| Right Handed Hitter (seconds) |
Left Handed Hitter (seconds) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Above Average | 4.2 | 4.1 |
| Average | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| Below Average | 4.4 | 4.3 |
| Poor | 4.5 | 4.4 |
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target population: baseball, softball and fastpitch.
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reliability: Timing reliability is greatly improved if timing gates are used. Also weather conditions and running surface can affect the results, and these conditions should be recorded with the results.
- comments: the distance between home and first base is 90 feet (27.432 meters). Some players with a long follow through will take longer to start sprinting, thereby having a slower score which underestimates their true running speed.
Related Pages
- more about fitness testing for baseball
- the 60 yard dash, commonly used for testing baseball player's speed
- general information about Sprint or Speed Testing
- training for speed
- the SPARQ fitness testing rating system for baseball
- warming up for sprint testing
- other anaerobic tests and about anaerobic testing
- All about timing gates
- Sprint Test Results
- World Records for Speed tests
Related Products
- speed workouts
- use the Free! BodyByte Fitness and Nutrition Organizer to organize and manage all your fitness testing information as well as your training and nutritional intake
