Baseball - Throwing Mechanics

Relationship of Biomechanical factors to Baseball Pitching Velocity: Within Pitcher Variation

Stodden DF, Fleisig GS, McLean SP, Andrews JR. Relationship of biomechanical factors to baseball pitching velocity: within pitcher variation. Journal of Applied Biomechanics 21(1):44-56, 2005.

Methods

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fastball velocity and variations in throwing mechanics within individual pitchers. 19 healthy, male baseball pitchers participated in the study. Pitchers were required to throw at least 33.5 m/s (75 mph) and have at least 1.8 m/s (4 mph) of variation in ball velocity among their maximal effort pitch trials. Three separate mixed model analyses were performed to assess the independent effects of 7 kinetic parameters, 11 temporal parameters, and 12 kinematic parameters on pitched ball velocity.

Results

Overall, 8 of 30 kinetic, temporal, and kinematic parameters were significantly associated with increased ball velocity within an individual pitcher. There were 3 kinetic variables significantly associated with increased ball velocity: elbow flexion torque, shoulder proximal force, and elbow proximal force. Temporally, an increased time to maximum shoulder horizontal adduction and decreased time to maximum shoulder internal rotation was shown to increase velocity. Finally, decreased shoulder horizontal adduction at foot contact, decreased shoulder abduction during acceleration, and increased trunk tilt forward at ball release were the kinematic variables that significantly related to increased ball velocity within pitchers. These results suggest there are variations within an individual’s specific throwing mechanics that relate to ball velocity. Thus, pitchers should focus on consistent mechanics to produce consistently high fastball velocities.