What 60 yard time does a guy need to be considered for an outfield position at a top D1 program?

"Success is where preparation and opportunity meet" Bobby Unser

grandslamfan, The 60yd dash won't make or break a coaches opinion of you unless it is extreme. A 6.5 or a 8.00 could sway his opinion, but the nickname you use will sway him a lot more. A kid who is a real good hitter and is an adequate runner will get lots of attention. A CF is a player that will be a good runner, but if you can hit and don't run very fast, they will just move you to left or right.

My son runs a 6.4 60 and the coach has him playin LF.

Hey guys, as an OF the main thing is, to read the ball at the crack of the bat and to run good routes. If your son is a decent runner and has good a god jump on the ball, he wont have any problems, when it come to hitting? You don't have to be a power hitter to play CF, for the most cases the RF is the one with the lumber and better arm. How many times a baseball player has to run 60 yards on a straight line? 6.7 to 6.9 is MLB average.

xgent,
Your son must run track?. He's a burner!


Knowledge is Power! Thank you Mavens and HSBBWEB!

Links to a couple of articles:

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/pro-scouting/scouting_speed.htm

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/pro-scouting/rating_system.htm

Bob,
"Doing nothing is still a course of action"

Don't confess speed with quickness and agility.

GO NAVY!!!BEAT army!!!!!

Last year a mid-major D1 college coach told me they were looking for sub 6.7 for centerfielders and sub 7.0 for corner outfielders. He claimed virtually every D1 or D2 outfielder in North Carolina (about 25 teams?) could run sub 7.

Having observed the recruiting of my '04 outfielder son, by far the most important tool they are looking for from their outfielders is hitting - the ability to really deliver HRs and RBIs (particularly at the corner outfield spots) or a fast runner who can get lots and lots of base hits.

Yes, there is a lot more to being an outfielder - getting a jump on the ball, agility, etc. etc., but that's very tough to observe in the few times they see a kid. Though it seems awfully simplistic, the truth is they at least make a preliminary judgement based on something they can measure - their 60 yd time.

-jda

A lot has to do with the type of game that a coach plays--some like speedy outfielders with good defense and not necessarily being power hitters

Others don't look for speed other than in their centerfielder and want power out of the LF and RF posiitons.

Just another think to investigate as you go thru the recruiting process--do your tools fit the programs style of play?

TRhit

CF needs the speed, RF need the arm, and LF needs to hit. All outfielders need to react from the crack of the bat. Above all accurate arms and knowing where to throw in the split second decision to hold a runner or gun him down is more important than the .2tenths speed in a straight line. A quick note is that a quick ball transfer or mid crow hop could shave the .2seconds.

Softhands...6.7-6.9 is major league average? Which Major League?

In the US, each team has a 2 quick outfielders and a couple of middleinfielders that might run less than 7. I would bet that only 1 or 2 on a team are 6.7 or less.

I remember the Angels when they won the World Series. Had to be the slowest team in the history of MLB. Eckstein seemed like the only guy that had any running speed. Erstad is about 7.0. Catcher was about a 9.2. Spiezio had to be 7.4-7.5. Kennedy at 7.2. Glaus at 7.8. Salmon at 15.0 and Anderson at 7.2. ...and the DH.

beenthere, I'll bet each would say "it was a slow track"

If you can run, great. But speed, arm and defense are really secondary skills in the college game. A generalization, maybe, but that is mostly how it is.

In college, outfielders are hitters, period. All have to hit for average and corner outfielders have to hit for power, too.

OLDVAMAN

I respectfully disagree

It all depends on the type of game the program plays-

TRhit

Thanks for all your input. My son is a two way player, right fielder/pitcher right now (15 year old). He wants to play both ways in college, but he hasn't showcased his position player skills as well as his pitching skills at the showcases we've been to. Good thing he has two more years to do that. He ran a slow 60 (7.6) at the last showcase we were at, but ran a 7.1 with summer team last week, indoors. He has been very disappointed with his hitting at the showcases. He is a much better hitter than he has demonstrated. He has done very well during the summer against some of the better teams in the country. I can't say it enough, thanks for all your advice to start early, now he has time to improve!

"Success is where preparation and opportunity meet" Bobby Unser

Salmon a 15.0?

Can you say, facetious?

Actually, he's likely an 8.0

I think I can beat Manny Ramirez to 1st. He usually jogs and sometimes doesn't even bother with that.

My kid just needs to beat the batter to 1st base from the mound....thank goodness.

The bottom line is that you can play D1 without being super fast. But you will definitely get a lot more looks if you can run 6.5 to 6.7.
The pro scouts that I have spoken to say that they consider 6.8 to 6.9 to be average speed.