Interesting recent paper from Fleisig/Andrews

Pitching Mechanics
#1

J Appl Biomech. 2009 Feb;25(1):22-31.

Biomechanical comparison between elite female and male baseball pitchers.

Chu Y, Fleisig GS, Simpson KJ, Andrews JR.
Biomechanics Laboratory, Dept of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

The purpose of the current study was to identify the biomechanical features of elite female baseball pitching. Kinematics and kinetics of eleven elite female baseball pitchers were reported and compared with eleven elite male pitchers. Results suggested that females share many similarities with males in pitching kinematics, with a few significant differences. Specifically, at the instant of stride foot contact, a female pitcher had a shorter and more open stride and less separation between pelvis orientation and upper torso orientation. From foot contact to ball release, a female pitcher produced lower peak angular velocity for throwing elbow extension and stride knee extension. Ball velocity was lower for the female. Foot contact to ball release took more time for a female pitcher. Maximal proximal forces at the shoulder and elbow joints were less for a female pitcher.

PMID: 19299827

There are some valuable points in this paper. The underlined passage (above) should especially help pitchers of both genders understand where much of the velocity originates from in a delivery…

#2

Flippin, I would love to take a look at that paper if it’s possible. I wonder if in the course of their research the authors considered differences in pitching styles—whether the pitchers, male, female or two-headed green Martian, threw overhand, three-quarters or sidearm, whether any of them used such deliveries as the crossfire, the differences between full windup and the stretch, whether they were hard throwers or not—things like that. 8) :baseballpitcher: