Coach Bass Player Eval
How to Get Your Player's Numbers
The eval only works with real, measured numbers. Guessing defeats the purpose — and “he throws about 70” is always wrong. Here's how to get each number with the least equipment and the least confusion.
1 Batted-Ball Exit Velocity (mph)
What it is: how fast the ball comes off the bat — hit off a tee, not live pitching.
What you need: a radar device and a net (or a fence to hit into). The standard tool is a Pocket Radar. Don't want to buy one? Your travel coach, high school coach, or local hitting facility almost certainly has one — ask. Free phone apps that claim to measure exit velo are not accurate. Don't use them.
- Set the tee at the player's belt height, middle of the plate
- Put the net 10–15 feet in front of the tee
- Stand directly behind the net, in line with the ball's flight, radar at ball height — off to the side reads low
- Player takes 5–8 full-effort swings
- Record the single highest reading. The max, not the average
Common mistakes: radar off to the side (reads low) · tee too high or low · player easing up — tell them to swing like it's 3-2 in the last inning.
2 Throwing Velocity (mph)
What it is: the player's hardest throw — across the infield or from the outfield, crow hop allowed. This is not pitching velocity off a mound.
What you need: the same radar, a partner to catch (or a net), and 90–120 feet of space.
- Warm the arm up properly first — 10–15 easy throws, building up. Never max-throw cold
- The radar stands behind the catcher/target, in line with the throw
- Crow hop, throw as hard as they can, 4–5 throws
- Record the highest reading
Common mistakes: measuring from the side · skipping the warmup (risking an arm for a number) · too short a distance — give them room to let it go.
3 Home to First (seconds)
What it is: a real-game sprint — from the batter's box, through first base. Every field already has it marked, which is exactly why we use it.
What you need: any baseball or softball field and a phone stopwatch. That's it.
- Player starts in the batter's box, in their normal stance
- They take a real swing (a dry swing is fine — no ball needed) and sprint
- The timer stands near first base, not home plate
- Start the watch on contact (or the swing). Stop it when the foot hits the bag
- Run THROUGH the base — full speed past the bag, never slowing into it
- Run it twice with 2–3 minutes rest. Record the faster time
Honest notes: hand-timing runs a tenth or two fast — that's fine, just enter what the stopwatch says and don't shave it further. Base paths are shorter on youth fields; that's fine too — your player is compared against their own age group, not against high schoolers.
The one rule over everything
Enter the real number. Not the number from the good day last summer. Not the number rounded up. The eval measures where your player is today so you know what actually moves the needle — a padded number just gives you a flattering lie, and the only person it cheats is your own kid.