In order to understand the biomechanics of pitching, one must be able to define biomechanics kinesiology, and velocity. The purpose of biomechanics is to study mechanical laws relating to the movement of muscular activity. Biomechanics is sometimes known as a form of kinesiology since it is applied to physical activity, exercise, and sports. The definition for kinesiology is “the study of the acquisition of motor skills, the mechanical aspects of movement, and the body’s responses to physical activity (Webster's Dictionary).” Velocity represents the maximum speed of a specific pitch from its release to home plate. California State University conducted a study of 378 male professional baseball pitchers that demonstrated three different ways of pitching, along with the possible shoulder and elbow injuries that occur. These injuries can be associated with ball velocity, pitch type, pitching kinematic and kinetic variables, and pitching delivery styles. “A pitcher’s velocity, consistency, and durability may be linked to kinematic and kinetic factors as well as the temporal association of segmental body motions (Seroyer, 2010).” Looking at the biomechanics of pitching, there are specific steps to follow such as the proper mechanics and pathomechanics that lead to consequences and the type of pitch.
There are three types of pitching techniques that are dependent on the pitcher, these include over-hand, 3-quarter, and sidearm. Over-hand pitching consists of body movements that begin when the lead foot is lifted and progresses to link the motion of the hips as they propel the ball forward. From the study, 21% of overhand pitchers experienced any of the possible elbow injuries. “Maximum humeral internal rotation velocity during [a pitch] may reach 7500 to 7700 degrees per second (Seroyer, 2010).” Three-quarters is a specific pitching style in which the pitcher's arm is between the head and the waist level. This pitch has advantages such as allowing differences in the angle of the slope, the speed, and the use of a full strike zone. For a pitch to be labeled a sidearm, the ball must remain low and on a horizontal axis. “Sidearm pitching velocity is slower because of three forces working against the ball [known as] gravity, increased distance, and air resistance (Ellis, 2010).” The study mentioned determined that “73% of their sidearm pitchers [experienced] symptoms of an elbow injury (Escamilla, 2019).”
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The first step in pitching is the windup phase. This phase must start off with a good position, which starts with lifting the front leg. Once maximum knee height is reached, the pitcher should be balanced, and the stride phase would begin. This stride phase consists of the front leg touching the ground with arms separated, swinging down, and then raising the arm back up. “A decrease in push-off rubber leads to a decrease in ball velocity (Fortenbaugh, 2009).” During this phase, the foot is positioned slightly inward and is planted towards the third base as contact is made with the ground. “A decrease in stride length and shoulder horizontal abduction decreases ball velocity (Fortenbaugh, 2009).” The next phase includes arm cocking, which means a pelvis rotation, followed by an upper trunk rotation. If the pitcher were to do too early of a pelvis rotation there will be a decrease in ball velocity. However, if they were to have a late pelvis rotation there will be an increase in shoulder and elbow kinetics. “Achieving such external rotation is strongly related to ball velocity (Fortenbaugh, 2009).” Maximum external rotation (MER) occurs during this phase. This rotation is achieved by externally rotating the shoulder 180 degrees with an elbow flexion of 90 degrees. Decreases in shoulder external rotation will lead to a drop-off in ball velocity, but excessive shoulder horizontal adduction and elbow flexion will increase shoulder kinetics. When releasing the ball, the elbow should be extended and then followed by shoulder internal rotation. “An increase of knee extension velocity, the ball velocity will be increased (Fortenbaugh, 2009).” If the pitcher has a decrease in forward trunk tilt, the velocity of the ball is decreased.
A study conducted by California State University, involving 378 male professional baseball pitchers, demonstrated the three different ways of pitching. “Based upon arm slot angle at ball release, [there were] 30 overhand, 156 three-quarter, and 21 sidearm pitchers” that were tested using a motion analysis system at 240 Hz. An overhand pitch must be under 40 degrees, a third quarter is between a 50-60-degree angle, and a sidearm pitch is more significant than a 70-degree arm slot angle. For each pitch trial, there were a total of 37 kinetic and kinematic parameters calculated. Kinetic parameters included “[a. forces applied by the trunk to the upper arm at the shoulder, b. torques applied by the truck to the upper arm about the shoulder, c. forces applied by the upper arm to the forearm at the elbow, and d. torques applied by the upper arm to the forearm about the elbow] (Escamilla, 2018).” Kinematic parameters include elbow flexion, shoulder external rotation, shoulder horizontal adduction, shoulder abduction, trunk lateral tilt, pelvis angular velocity, upper trunk angular velocity, stride length, foot angle, and position. “The timings of maximum pelvis angular velocity and maximum upper trunk angular velocity were represented on a normalized time scale, where 0% was the time at lead-foot contact and 100% was at ball release (Escamilla, 2018).” The results of this study included “there would be significant kinetic differences among the 3 arm slot groups was partially support as 2 of 7 variables were significantly different (Escamilla, 2018).” Fourteen of the 30 kinematic variables were significantly different. The ball velocity in meters per second was described for each group. For the overhand group (30 players), the ball velocity was 37.4. One hundred and fifty-six players took part in the 3-quarter group that had a velocity of 37.9. The last group, sidearm pitchers had the highest ball velocity at 38.0. “The p-value for the ball velocity was .28 (Escamilla, 2019).” Ultimately, there were “no significant differences were observed for age, body mass, body height, or ball velocity (Escamilla, 2019).”
References
- Ellis, S. (n.d.). Pitching Sidearm In Baseball. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://www.pitchingtips.com/pitching-sidearm-in-baseball.html.
- Escamilla, Rafael & Slowik, Jonathan & Diffendaffer, Alek & Fleisig, Glenn. (2018). Differences Among Overhand, Three-Quarter, and Sidearm Pitching Biomechanics in Professional Baseball Players. Journal of Applied Biomechanics. 34. 1-27. 10.1123/jab.2017-0211.
- Fortenbaugh, D., Fleisig, G. S., & Andrews, J. R. (2009). Baseball pitching biomechanics in relation to injury risk and performance. Sports Health, 1(4), 314–320. doi:10.1177/1941738109338546
- Kinesiology. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kinesiology.
- Pitching style – Three quarters. (2010, May 22). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://idavid07.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/pitching-style-three-quarters/.
- Seroyer, S. T., Nho, S. J., Bach, B. R., Bush-Joseph, C. A., Nicholson, G. P., & Romeo, A. A. (2010). The kinetic chain in overhand pitching: its potential role for performance enhancement and injury prevention. Sports Health, 2(2), 135–146. doi:10.1177/1941738110362656
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