Just How Tough Is It To Throw Out Billy Hamilton?
A scout said he and multiple other scouts timed Hamilton at 2.98-3.03 on steals last year. The same scout timed Rickey Henderson at 3.04-3.10 seconds from first to second in his prime. Yes, the scout said that Hamilton is faster going from first to second than the all-time stolen base champ.
If a base stealer can get from first to second in 3.1 seconds, the math of throwing him out becomes very, very difficult. With a slide-step, a pitcher can often cut his time to home to 1.1-1.2 seconds. Without the slide step, a 1.3 second time home is pretty reasonable. For any pitcher taking more than 1.3 seconds to throw home against Hamilton, it’s probably not worth even considering a pitchout.