Old Time Family Baseball

I already figured that stadium guns were a little off, though I usually thought it was because they were wrongly calibrated. At worst I thought the teams would have them run a little hot to get the crowd into the action. Instead, Kevin Towers reveals that he is the pitching version of a Bond villain. 

When discussing Brad Penny, Towers said:

“We used to dial it down,” said a smiling Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers, formerly the Padres’ GM.

“I know for a fact that every time Brad Penny pitched for the Dodgers in San Diego it was probably the lowest velocities he ever had. He liked velocity. He’d stare at the board. He was throwing 95-96 (mph), but we’d have it at 91 and he’d get pissed off and throw harder and harder and start elevating.”

…

“And on certain pitchers, he said, the readings weren’t always accurate.

“We would bump it up on a couple of our pitchers,” Towers said. “I won’t mention names, but psychologically I think it helped. We felt it gave us an edge. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens in other parks.”

It’s not supposed to, though. Major League Baseball sends teams a memo every year reminding them they’re not allowed to manipulate readings.”

Like Fox Mulder said, “Trust no one.” That and “velocity isn’t everything. Location and command are equally important weapons in a pitcher’s tool belt.”