I was a 16 year old 125 lb high school Junior, throwing 78mph.
That EXACT YEAR I read in SI how Pedro Martinez at 16 years old had weighed 137 lbs and was throwing 82 mph.
The Dodgers had signed him, realizing if he threw 82 at 137, he might be really good once he “got some nourishment” as they put it in the article.
Martinez gained 50lbs, FB went to 97mph (Juggs gun, so 100mph now), and became Cy Young.
I meanwhile stuck to all my low level baseball isms “i dOnt wAnT tO gEt tOo bIg” and “pItCHeRs sHoUlDnT lIFt hEaVy”-and gained no weight, stayed at 78-80, and received no D1 offers.
Multiple factors made Pedro an all time great, but none of it would have happened if he hadn’t gained size and strength and gotten his FB to 97.
Multiple factors made me suck, but I gave myself NO CHANCE at leveling up by staying small and skinny
F = MASS x A, and a bigger version of YOU will throw 5oz harder than YOU used to throw it!