In 1972, Herb Washington set the world record for the fastest 60-yard dash time, clocking in at a whopping 5.8 seconds. Two years later, he made his MLB debut after signing a contract with Oakland A’s, primarily as their pinch runner.
While a 5.8-second 60-yard dash time probably won’t get beaten any time soon, it makes you wonder what the average 60-yard dash time is for baseball players, mainly because the 60-yard dash is one way scouts measure potential players. What’s a good 60-yard dash time in baseball?
A good 60-yard dash time for youth players is between 7.0 and 10.0 seconds, depending on a player’s age. A good time for high school players is between 6.5 and 7.5 seconds, while a good time for college players is between 6.5 and 7.0 seconds. A good time for professional baseball players is between 6.2 and 6.8 seconds.
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of info on the internet about what a good 60-yard dash time is for youth players, but I was lucky enough to come across some data that is used by one program to recruit youth baseball players in Colorado. Keep reading to learn what is a good 60-yard-dash time by age.
Article Contents
- Ideal 60-Yard Dash Time for Youth Players
- 8-Year-Olds
- 9-Year-Olds
- 10-Year-Olds
- 11-Year-Olds
- 12-Year-Olds
- 13-Year-Olds
- Average 60-Yard Dash Times for High School Players
- Average 60-Yard Dash Times for College Players
- Average 60-Yard Dash Times for Professional Players
- Some Coaches Prefer a 30-Yard Dash
Ideal 60-Yard Dash Time for Youth Players
Youth baseball is pretty competitive in Colorado and coaches need a way to grade potential players during tryouts. They use many methods to grade potential players and one of those ways is by measuring how fast a player runs.
In my opinion, some of these times for youth baseball players seem outrageous (especially to get into the “Exceptional” category), but I guess that’s the consequence of being in a very competitive space.
But I still wanted to share this data in case others wanted to compare how their youth players compare to at least one program in Colorado. At the very least, I personally wanted to write this article so I can easily reference what is a good 60-yard dash time as my son gets older and participates in tryouts.
Also, keep in mind these times are for players who are trying out for the following year’s team. For example, an 8-year-old might be trying out for a team, but they won’t be playing until they are 9 years old.
8-Year-Olds
The times listed in the table below are for youth players who are 8 years old but trying out to be on a 9U baseball team the following year.
| Exceptional | 9 seconds or better |
| Great | 9.01 – 10.0 seconds |
| Good | 10.01 – 12.0 seconds |
| Average | 12.01 – 14.0 seconds |
| Below Average | 14.01+ seconds |
9-Year-Olds
The times listed in the table below are for youth players who are 9 years old but trying out to be on a 10U baseball team the following year.
| Exceptional | 8 seconds or better |
| Great | 8.01 – 9.0 seconds |
| Good | 9.01 – 11.0 seconds |
| Average | 11.01 – 13.0 seconds |
| Below Average | 13.01+ seconds |
If you compare these times to the table for 8-year-olds, you’ll notice 9-year-olds are expected to be about 1 second faster than they were the year before.
10-Year-Olds
The times listed in the table below are for youth players who are 10 years old but trying out to be on an 11U baseball team the following year.
| Exceptional | 7.0 seconds or better |
| Great | 7.01 – 8.0 seconds |
| Good | 8.01 – 10.0 seconds |
| Average | 10.01 – 12.0 seconds |
| Below Average | 12.01+ seconds |
If you compare these times to the table for 9-year-olds, you’ll notice 10-year-olds are expected to be about 1 second faster than they were the year before.
11-Year-Olds
The times listed in the table below are for youth players who are 11 years old but trying out to be on a 12U baseball team the following year.
| Exceptional | 6.0 seconds or better |
| Great | 6.01 – 7.0 seconds |
| Good | 7.01 – 8.0 seconds |
| Average | 8.01 – 11.0 seconds |
| Below Average | 11.01+ seconds |
If you compare these times to the table for 10-year-olds, you’ll notice 11-year-olds are expected to be about 1 second faster than they were the year before.
12-Year-Olds
The times listed in the table below are for youth players who are 12 years old but trying out to be on a 13U baseball team the following year.
| Exceptional | 5.0 seconds or better |
| Great | 5.01 – 7.99 seconds |
| Good | 8.0 – 8.99 seconds |
| Average | 9.0 – 10.99 seconds |
| Below Average | 11.0+ seconds |
What I found interesting in the table above is the time considered to be “Good” and “Average” went up from the previous year.
It might be because players actually get a little slower between the ages of 11 and 12 or it could just be the types of players that this program recruits. But either way, it’s interesting to see what one baseball program looks for in its youth players.
13-Year-Olds
The times listed in the table below are for youth players who are 13 years old but trying out to be on a 14U baseball team the following year.
| Exceptional | 5.0 seconds or better |
| Great | 5.01 – 7.99 seconds |
| Good | 8.0 – 8.99 seconds |
| Average | 9.0 – 10.99 seconds |
| Below Average | 11.0+ seconds |
As it turns out, this table is exactly the same as the table above for 12-year-olds.
Average 60-Yard Dash Times for High School Players
The average 60-yard dash time for high school players is between 6.5 and 7.5 seconds, with most players aiming to run it in under 7 seconds. However, players tend to get faster as they grow and develop through high school so Seniors tend to be faster than Freshmen.
Here are the average 60-yard dash times for high school players:
| Freshman | 7.5 – 8.5 seconds |
| Sophmore | 7.0 – 8.0 seconds |
| Junior | 6.5 – 7.5 seconds |
| Senior | 6.0 – 7.0 seconds |
Average 60-Yard Dash Times for College Players
College athletes should aim to run the 60-yard dash in under 6.5 seconds. This is considered above average and will impress coaches.
College baseball is where positions begin to become more specialized, which also means a good 60-yard dash can be broken down by position.
Below are some average 60-yard dash times for college athletes:
| Outfielders | 6.5 – 6.8 seconds |
| Infielders | 6.6 – 6.9 seconds |
| Catchers | 6.9 – 7.2 seconds |
Average 60-Yard Dash Times for Professional Players
The fastest professional baseball players can run a 60-yard dash in under 6 seconds, but that’s a difficult time to beat.
And keep in mind that 60-yard dash times are mostly used for scouting new players. All players get slower as they age and there are plenty of veterans in Major League Baseball who are close to retirement.
The 60-yard dash times listed below probably won’t apply to players who have been in the league for 10+ years, but managers have plenty of other ways to evaluate a player other than speed.
The average 60-yard dash times for professional baseball players are:
| Outfielders | 6.2 – 6.5 seconds |
| Infielders | 6.3 – 6.6 seconds |
| Catchers | 6.8 – 7.0 seconds |
Some Coaches Prefer a 30-Yard Dash
Depending on who you ask, some coaches think a 60-yard dash is valuable while others think it’s a dumb way to measure speed in baseball. After all, bases are 30-yards apart so why bother measuring how far players can run in 60-yards?
Instead of measuring a player’s 60-yard dash time, I know of some coaches who opt to use a 30-yard dash time to measure a player’s speed because they feel like that’s a more accurate way to measure.
If you happen to come across a tryout where coaches opt for a 30-yard dash time and you want to know what is a good 30-yard dash time in baseball, look at all the tables I’ve listed above that show a good 60-yard dash time and simply divide that time by 2.
