Brandon Eike’s guide to infield throwing

Dan Elson, Contributing Writer 

VCU fourth-year third baseman Brandon Eike is known for his ability to hit home runs for the Rams, as well as a throwing hard across the diamond.

The science behind the speed 

Eike, who’s hitting .340 at the plate as of Sunday, April 20, said he threw around 90 mph back in high school. That is faster than a cheetah, which can run up to 70 mph, according to National Geographic. 

A cheetah can reach 60 mph in about three seconds, according to the National Geographic Society.

It takes about a second to throw from third to first at 90 mph, according to HowStuffworks. The distance of that throw is a little over 127 feet, according to MLB. Eike said creating a backspin on the throw allows the ball to carry longer.

“So obviously it’s one of the longest throws in the field,” said Eike, who has a 1.070 on-base plus slugging percentage as of Sunday, April 20. “So the more carry you have, the easier it’ll be for your first baseman to catch.” 

The formula for speed is speed equals distance over time. VCU physics assistant professor Richard “Inho” Joh said when throwing a baseball horizontally, its speed doesn’t change.

“Particle speed will undergo constant motion of acceleration,” Joh said. “In terms of thinking about trajectory, that ball will make a parabola once it’s out of the hands of the fielder.” 

Practice makes perfect

Eike said the way to increase throwing velocity is to long-toss and throw harder regularly.

An infielder must throw at different arm angles to get runners out depending on the type of play.  For a routine ground ball, infielders use an overhand throwing motion. Eike said changing arm slots is the hardest thing to do in the infield. 

“A lot of people have one slot they throw from,” Eike said. “Just being able to practice throwing from [a] bunch of different slots just based on where you field ground balls and the position you have to throw it in can kind of play in your favor.”

If there is a bunt down the third base line and the ball is to the right of the third baseman, he would have to pick the ball up bare-handed and throw side-arm to get the runner out.

“We do that pretty much every day in practice,” Eike said. “Just working on fundamentals, fielding bunts and then kind of just letting athleticism take over, and then your instincts, and then you can make a play like that.”

With every ground ball hit to Eike, he tries to hit the first baseman in the chest or the second baseman on the left shoulder with his throw. 

Eike said he takes “hundreds of ground balls every day.”

Long-tossing is where baseball players throw at one another from a far distance. During the season, Eike, who leads the team in home runs, long-tosses at most twice a week. In the offseason, Eike said he long tosses up to 300 feet.

“During the season, it’s mainly just getting my arm ready to play,” Eike said. “So it doesn’t really take more than five minutes.”

Working on throwing drills and throwing regularly are key to improving throwing mechanics, but explosive workouts in the offseason are also important. 

Michael McCaughtry, the director of sports performance for VCU Athletics, works with the baseball team in the offseason. He said the workouts in the winter benefit the players during the season.

“So that’s going to be squat variations, a hinge variation, upper body pushes and pools,” McCaughtry said. 

McCaughtry said exercises the VCU players do over the winter are based on a “fully encompassed training program.”

A lot of what the Rams see on the field represents what the players do in the weight room over the winter, according to McCaughtry. 

The Rams’ next game is Friday, April 26 against George Mason at Spuhler Field at 3 p.m.