Escamilla RF, Fleisig GS, Barrentine SW, Zheng N, Andrews JR. Kinematic comparisons of throwing different types of baseball pitches. Journal of Applied Biomechanics 14(1):1-23, 1998

Fleisig GS, Kingsley DS, Loftice JW, Dinnen K, Ranganathan R, Dun S, Escamilla RF, Andrews JR. Kinetic comparison among the fastball, curveball, change-up, and slider in collegiate baseball pitchers. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 34(3):423-430, 2006

Kinetic Comparison of Various Types of Pitches

The purpose of this study was to establish and compare shoulder and elbow force and torque kinetics among 16 collegiate pitchers when throwing the fastball, changeup, curveball, and slider. Peak kinetics for nine of the 14 parameters showed significant differences among the four pitch variations. The fastball group (FA) consistently generated significantly greater kinetics than the changeup group (CH) (nine parameters) and curveball group (three parameters), while the CU consistently produced significantly greater kinetics than the CH (seven parameters). For two parameters the slider group (SL) produced significantly greater kinetics than the CU and CH. No significant differences were observed between the FA and SL. Since the CH consistently generated the lowest kinetics among the four pitch variations, shoulder and elbow injury potential may be lower when throwing the changeup compared to throwing the fastball, slider, or curveball. Shoulder and elbow kinetics were quite similar among the FA, SL, and CU, with only three parameters showing significant differences among these pitch variations. Hence, this study did not offer any credence to a common belief of many coaches that throwing a curveball is more stressful to the throwing arm compared to throwing a fastball. Understanding shoulder and elbow kinetic differences among different pitches can help assess joint loads and potential injury.

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May 16, 2006