Copyright 2009
Coaching Pitchers
By Michael G. Marshall, Ph.D.
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Section VII: Biomechanical Analysis of the Pitching Motion
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Youth pitchers destroy their pitching arms before their growth plates mature. They pull the ossification center for their medial epicondyle off the shaft of the humerus. The rebound collisions of their radial head against the capitular end of the humerus deforms the radial head into uselessness. They pre-maturely close the growth plates of their pitching arm, which reduces the adult length of their humerus.
All for what? Adolescent glory? The growth plates of the pitching elbow do not completely mature until young men are biologically sixteen years old. For parents to take charge and protect their sons, they have to not permit their sons to train for pitching for more than two months per year, not permit their sons to pitch in games against batters until they are thirteen years old, not permit their sons to pitch more than one inning per game twice a week and use my 60-Day Youth Baseball Pitchers Interval-Training Program to teach their sons the proper way to apply force to their pitches.
The growth plates in the shoulder do not completely mature until young men are biologically nineteen years old. Remember the Jim Morris story in the movie, 'Rookie?' In his early twenties, he only threw in the high eighties. He injured his pitching shoulder. Surgeons repaired his shoulder. They tightened the gleno-humeral ligaments of his shoulder.
Although he quit baseball, to throw batting practice to his high school team, he adjusted his pitching motion and kept throwing. Then, in his middle to late thirties, he went to a tryout and threw in the high nineties.
High school pitchers stretch the ligaments in the shoulder. In addition, high school kids have 'Tommy John' surgeries and more. For parents to continue to take charge and protect their sons, they have to limit their sons to no more than three times through the lineup no more than once a week and use my 120-Day High School Pitchers Interval-Training Program to teach their sons the proper way to apply force to their pitches and to start building their strong pitching skeletal foundation.
At one major university, twenty-three of the twenty-four pitchers over a two years span had at least one pitching arm surgery. While I question whether these twenty-three college pitchers needed all of these surgeries, I have no doubt that they were in great pain.
I know that when major college baseball coaches recruit the best high school pitchers, they do not tell them that they will destroy their pitching arms in the name of them keeping their jobs. but, is the scholarship money worth the pain and permanent disability? For parents to still take charge and protect their sons, before their sons sign scholarship offers, they have to use my 724-Day Adult Pitchers Interval-Training Program to teach their sons the proper way to apply force to their pitches and to 'injury-proof' their sons.
The careers of once promising professional pitchers are over before they get started. The mother of one promising young major league pitcher emailed me the following story. After a well-known orthopedic surgeon for a major league team performed a second operation on her son, the surgeon told her son that the son had to find out what he is doing wrong in his training or his pitching motion that causes the injuries that results in his surgeries.
Clearly, the orthopedic surgeon has no idea what causes pitching arm injuries. Clearly, he did not trust the pitching coaches of the major league team to know what causes pitching arm injuries. This mother also told of several other promising young pitchers in this major league organization that have had career-ending surgeries. Therefore, before they permit their sons to sign professional contracts, it is still up to the parents of even major league pitchers to take charge. They need to tell their sons to complete my 724-Day Adult Pitchers Interval-Training Program to teach their sons the proper way to apply force to their pitches and 'injury-proof' their sons.
The earliest pitching coaches copied the successful pitchers of their day. Then, generation after generation of pitching coaches handed down the ‘traditional’ pitching motion over the one hundred and thirty years of baseball to succeeding generations of pitching coach wannabes. Even today, when pitching coaches teach their pitchers how to pitch, they tell them to imitate the successful major league pitcher de jour.
If medical doctors similarly handed down their theories, then they would still have their patients 'bleed out' all the bad blood. We would not have anti-biotics and vaccines. Forget gene therapy. It is time for the baseball 'witch-doctors' to stop destroying the pitching arms of our sons. It is time for actual science and research methodology, not what passes for science and research in professional baseball.
I know the applicable science and research methodology. Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion explain how pitchers should apply force to their pitches. Applied anatomy teaches what muscles are available. Physiology of Exercise designs interval training programs. High-speed film slows down ninety mile per hour pitch releases. Before Professor Richard Nelson invented the word, biomechanics, I had analyzed high-speed film of baseball pitching. Every day, I continue to properly 'research' the pitching motion. To help parents do the toughest job in their lives, 'parenting', I will continue to share what I learn in my Coaching Baseball Pitcher book.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sir Isaac Newton
In 1687, Professor Isaac Newton wrote Principia, the most important Physics book of all time. Nineteen years after accepting his professorship at Cambridge University, 45 year old Isaac Newton organized and published his system of mechanics. While the majority of Professor Newton's work exceeds the physics required to understand pitching, his three laws of motion explain how pitchers should apply force to their pitches.
1. Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion: The Law of Inertia
‘A body remains at rest, or if in motion, it remains in uniform motion with constant speed in a straight line, unless it is acted on by an unbalanced external force.’
When Sir Isaac Newton determined that moving objects continue moving with constant velocities in straight lines, he refuted Aristotle's theory that objects were in their natural states only when they were at rest. Now, when they move with constant velocities in straight lines, moving objects are also in their natural state.
Baseballs start ‘at rest’ in pitchers’ gloves. However, gravity is an external force that constantly acts on baseballs. On earth, gravity accelerates baseballs downward at 32 ft/sec2. Therefore, for baseball pitchers to hold baseballs at rest, thye have to counter gravity’s force. Consequently, while pitchers apply force to baseballs to achieve maximum release velocities, they have to continuously overcome the downward force of gravity.
Once baseball pitchers remove baseballs from their glove, the baseballs want to move at constant velocities in straight lines. Therefore, if baseball pitchers want to move baseballs in non-straight lines, then they must apply additional force to overcome the straight-line inertial pathways baseballs want to follow. To constantly have to overcome non-straight line movements wastes force.
Curvilinear force applications waste force in two ways. First, they require pitchers to constantly redirect the mass of the baseballs. Second, they take force away from straight-line force applications.
When baseball pitchers apply force from side-to-side and up-and-down as well as toward-home-plate, only the toward-home-plate force application influences release velocity.
2. Sir Isaac Newton’s Second Law of Motion: The Law of Acceleration
‘The acceleration produced by an unbalanced force acting on an object is proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.’
Baseball pitchers apply unbalanced forces that act on baseballs. Baseball pitchers want to maximize the release velocity of their pitches. Therefore, we need to examine what variables influence the release velocity of baseball pitches.
a. The Release Velocity Formula for Baseball Pitchers
In formula form, the law of acceleration is: a = F/m
Where:
(a) stands for acceleration which equals the velocity of baseballs at release (vr) divided by the time (t) pitchers apply toward-home-plate force.
(F) stands for straight-line toward-home-plate force.
(m) stands for mass which equals weight (wt) divided by gravity.
Baseballs weigh five and one-quarter ounces or 0.328 pounds and gravity approximates 32 ft/sec2. Therefore, the mass of baseballs equals 5.25/16/32 or 0.0102539 ft. lbs./sec2.
Substituting these two factors into the law of acceleration formula creates the release velocity formula for baseball pitchers.
1. Formula: a = F/m
2. Multiple both sides by mass (m): (m)(a) = (F)(m)/(m)
3. Because (m)/(m) = 1: (m)(a) = F
4. Substitute (0.01) for mass: (0.01)(a) = F
5. Substitute (vr) / (t) for a: (0.01) (vr)/(t) = F
6. Multiply both sides by time (t): (0.01)(vr)(t)/(t) = F(t)
7. Because (t)/(t) = 1: (0.01)(vr) = F(t)
8. Divide both sides by (0.01): (0.01)(vr)/(0.01) = F(t) / (0.01)
9. Because (0.01)/(0.01) = 1: (vr = F(t)/(0.01)
The release velocity of baseball pitches equals the amount of straight-line toward-home-plate force that pitchers apply times the time period over which pitchers apply their forces divided by the mass of the baseballs or 0.01. Therefore, the variables that determine what release velocities pitchers achieve are their straight-line-toward-home-plate force application and the time period over which they apply their forces.
My uniform acceleration study determined that pitchers apply force from leverage through release for approximately 0.2 seconds. If we assume that pitchers want release velocities of at least 90 miles per hour, then we can determine how much straight-line toward-home-plate force they must apply for two-tenths of second.
To determine the feet per second of ninety miles per hour, we multiply 1.467 times 90 and learn that 90 mph equals 132 ft/sec. Therefore, for vr, we substitute 132 ft/sec.
1. Release Velocity Formula: (vr) = (F)(t)/(0.01)
2. Substitute known quantities: (132) = (F)(0.2)/(0.01)
3. Divide both sides by (0.2): (132)/(0.2) = (F)(0.2)/(0.2) / (0.01)
4. Because (0.2)/(0.2) = 1: 660 = (F)/(0.01)
5. Multiply both sides by (0.01): (660)(0.01) = (F)(0.01)/(0.01)
6. Because (0.01)/(0.01) = 1: 6.6 = F
7. Change sides: F = 6.6 lbs.
The Release Velocity Formula shows that when pitchers apply 6.6 pounds of straight-line toward-home-plate force for two-tenths of a second, they achieve release velocities of ninety miles per hour. To better understand the interrelationship between release velocities and force and application time, let us assume some other numbers.
When pitchers decrease their application time forces by five-hundreds of a second, the force required for pitchers to achieve ninety miles per hour release velocities increases to 8.8 lbs. Therefore, the application time directly influences the amount of force that pitchers have to apply to achieve their desired release velocities. For example, when pitchers uniformly apply 6.6 lbs. of force for 0.22 seconds, then they achieve release velocities of 145.2 ft/sec or 98.98 mph.
3. Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion: The Law of Reaction
‘For every Action force, there is an equal and oppositely-directed Reaction force.’
The law of reaction requires that baseball pitchers apply force toward second base equal to the force that they apply to baseballs toward home plate. Therefore, when baseball pitchers want to apply more force to their baseball pitches, then they have to apply more force toward second base.
Baseball pitchers have three ways with which they can apply their oppositely directed force. First, pitchers can push harder against the pitching rubber with their pitching arm side leg. Second, pitchers can pull their glove forearm back toward second base. Third, pitchers can push back toward second base with their glove arm side leg.
4. Dr. Mike Marshall's Three Laws of Force Application for Baseball Pitchers
Sir Isaac Newton wrote his laws with respect to the motion of objects.
When Professor William H. Heusner explained Newton's laws to my Kinesiology class, I immediately understood that Newton's three laws also explained how athletes should apply force to projectiles, including themselves. Therefore, I developed my three laws of force application for baseball pitchers. I leave it to others to develop the three laws of force application for other sport/work activities.
1. Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion; the Law of Inertia
For my first law of force application for baseball pitchers, I determined that, to achieve their maximum release velocities, baseball pitchers must apply straight-line force from the first movement toward home plate through release.
a. The 'Traditional' Baseball Pitching Motion
The following are force application techniques with which the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion violates Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Inertia.
1) Their Hips and Shoulders
'Traditional' baseball pitchers reverse rotate their hips and shoulders beyond pointing directly at second base. Therefore, they take the baseball laterally behind their body. With the baseball on the glove side of their body, to throw the baseball toward home plate, they first have to return the baseball to their pitching arm side of their body. As a result, instead of applying force in straight lines toward home plate, at every moment along the curved sideways pathway, they have to overcome the horizontal inertial force that wants the baseball to leave the curved pathway in straight lines tangent to the arc.
2) The Palm of Their Pitching Hand
'Traditional' baseball pitchers turn the palm of their pitching hand to face away from home plate. Therefore, when they reposition their pitching hand to face toward home plate, they have to move the palm of their pitching hand backward and outward to their pitching arm side. As a result, instead of applying force in straight lines toward home plate, at every moment along the curved pathway, they have to overcome the horizontal inertial force that wants the baseball to leave the curved pathway in straight lines tangent to the arc.
3) Their Glove Foot
'Traditional' baseball pitchers land with their glove foot closed (to the pitching arm side of a line between their pitching foot and straight forward). Therefore, to be able to throw the baseball toward home plate, they have to pull their pitching arm across the front of their body. As a result, instead of applying force in straight lines toward home plate, at every moment along the curved pathway, they have to overcome the horizontal inertial force that wants the baseball to leave the curved pathway in straight lines tangent to the arc.
4) Their Trunk
'Traditional' baseball pitchers stride forward with their glove foot seventy to ninety percent of their standing height. Therefore, they cannot continue to move the center of mass of their body forward such that, to continue to move their pitching arm forward, they have to bend forward at their waist. As a result, instead of applying force in straight lines toward home plate, at every moment along the curved pathway, they have to overcome the vertical inertial force that wants the baseball to leave the curved pathway in straight lines tangent to the arc.
5) Their Pitching Upper Arm.
‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers pull their pitching upper arm across the front of their body. Therefore, they use their Pectoralis Major muscle to horizontally flex their pitching upper arm. As a result, instead of applying force in straight lines toward home plate, at every moment along the curved pathway, they have to overcome the horizontal inertial force that wants the baseball to leave the curved pathway in straight lines tangent to the arc.
6) Their Pitching Elbow
‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers apply sideways force to their pitching arm side. Therefore, to prevent the bones on the back of their pitching elbow from slamming into each other, they have to use their Brachialis muscle to eccentrically flex their pitching elbow. As a result, instead of applying force in straight lines toward home plate, at every moment along the curved pathway, they have to overcome the inertial force that wants the baseball to leave the curved pathway in straight lines tangent to the arc.
7) Their Pitching Forearm
To throw their cutters, sliders and curves, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers supinate (turn their pitching thumb to point upward) their pitching forearm. Therefore, they increase the sideways force to the pitching arm side of their body. As a result, instead of applying force in straight lines toward home plate, at every moment along the curved pathway, they have to overcome the inertial force that wants the baseball to leave the curved pathway in straight lines tangent to the arc.
b. The 'Marshall' Baseball Pitching Motion
The following are ways that the ‘Marshall’ baseball pitching motion satisfies Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Inertia.
1) Their Hips and Shoulders
Marshall baseball pitchers pendulum swing of their pitching arm toward second base. Therefore, they passively reverse rotate their hips and shoulders to also point at second base. As a result, they apply force to their pitches in straight lines toward home plate.
2) The Palm of Their Pitching Hand
Marshall baseball pitchers have their pitching hand at driveline height with the palm of their pitching hand facing away from their body. Therefore, they can adjust the position of their pitching forearm along the straight lines toward home plate. As a result, they apply force to their pitches in straight lines toward home plate.
3) Their Glove Foot
Marshall baseball pitchers step to the glove arm side of the straight line toward home plate (open). Therefore, they keep the center of mass of their body moving toward home plate. As a result, they apply force to their pitches in straight lines toward home plate.
4) Their Stride Length
Marshall baseball pitchers step forward with their glove foot only as far as they would when they are power walking. Therefore, as they continuously move the center of mass of their body forward, they can stand tall and rotate. As a result, they apply force to their pitches in straight lines toward home plate.
5) Their Pitching Upper Arm
After they raise their pitching hand and baseball to driveline height, Marshall baseball pitchers immediately point the tip of their pitching elbow upward. Therefore, they can they use their Latissimus Dorsi muscle to extend and inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm straight toward home plate. As a result, they apply force to their pitches in straight lines toward home plate.
6) Their Pitching Elbow
Marshall baseball pitchers move their pitching upper arm vertically moving straight toward home plate. Therefore, they use their Triceps Brachii muscle to drive their pitching hand and baseball straight toward home plate. As a result, they apply force to their pitches in straight lines toward home plate.
7) Their Pitching Forearm
Marshall baseball pitchers powerfully pronate (turning their pitching thumb to point downward). Therefore, they not only pronate the pitching forearm, they also flex the pitching elbow. As a result, they apply force to their pitches in straight lines toward home plate.
2. Sir Isaac Newton’s Second Law of Motion; the Law of Acceleration
For my second law of force application for baseball pitchers, I determined that, to achieve their maximum release velocities, baseball pitchers must apply force over as great a time period as possible.
a. The 'Traditional' Baseball Pitching Motion
The following are ways that the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion violates Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Acceleration.
1) Their Stride Length
‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers stride forward seventy to ninety percent of their standing height. Therefore, they stop the forward movement of the center of mass of their body, which prevents them from extending their driveline toward home plate. As a result, instead of applying force over as great a time period as possible, they decrease the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
2) Their Shoulders
‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers only forwardly rotate their shoulders to perpendicular to the line between home plate and second base. Therefore, with their shoulders stopped, they cannot extend their driveline toward home plate. As a result, instead of applying force over as great a time period as possible, they decrease the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
3) Their Pitching Foot
At release, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers leave their pitching foot within inches of the pitching rubber. Therefore, they cannot extend their driveline toward home plate. As a result, instead of applying force over as great a time period as possible, they decrease the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
4) Their Pitching Elbow
To fight the sideways force that they generate to the pitching arm side of their body, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers do use their Brachialis muscle to eccentrically (the length of the contracting muscles gets longer) flex their pitching elbow. Therefore, they cannot use their Triceps Brachii muscle to extend the length of their driveline. As a result, instead of applying force over as great a time period as possible, they decrease the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
5) Their Pitching Forearm
‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers do not powerfully use the Pronator Teres muscle to flex their pitching elbow and pronate their pitching forearm. Therefore, they cannot apply additional force with their pitching forearm. As a result, instead of applying force over as great a time period as possible, they decrease the time period over which they have to apply force their pitches toward home plate.
b. The 'Marshall' Baseball Pitching Motion
The following are ways that the ‘Marshall’ baseball pitching motion satisfies Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Acceleration.
1) Their Stride Length
Marshall baseball pitchers step forward with their glove foot only as far as they would when they power walk. Therefore, they can keep the center of mass of their body moving forward through the release of their pitches. As a result, they increase the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
2) Their Hips and Shoulders
Marshall baseball pitchers rotate their hips and shoulders forward together through release. Therefore, they can rotate their hips and shoulders to point toward home plate. As a result, they increase the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
3) Their Pitching Foot
Marshall baseball pitchers drive their pitching knee forward in front of their glove foot at release. Therefore, they move their pitching foot well in front of the pitching rubber. As a result, they increase the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
4) Their Pitching Elbow
Marshall baseball pitchers use their Triceps Brachii muscle. Therefore, they actively extend their pitching elbow toward home plate. As a result, they increase the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
5) Their Pitching Forearm
Marshall baseball pitchers powerfully use their Pronator Teres muscle. Therefore, in addition to the more powerful force that they can apply by extending and inwardly rotating their pitching upper arm, they can apply additional force with their pitching forearm. As a result, they increase the time period over which they have to apply force to their pitches toward home plate.
3. Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion; the Law of Reaction
For my third law of force application for baseball pitchers, I determined that, to achieve their maximum release velocities, baseball pitchers must apply more force toward second base.
a. The 'Traditional' Baseball Pitching Motion
The following are ways that the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion violates Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Reaction.
1) Their Glove Forearm
‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers point their glove arm well behind the pitching arm side batter. Therefore, when they pull their glove forearm backward, they apply force diagonally to the glove side of second base. As a result, they do not apply as much force as possible toward second base.
2) Their Stride Length
‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers stride forward at distances seventy to ninety percent of their standing height. Therefore, instead of applying force toward second base, they apply force toward home plate. As a result, they overcome whatever force toward second base that they achieved with their pitching leg and glove forearm.
b. The 'Marshall' Baseball Pitching Motion
The following are ways that the ‘Marshall’ baseball pitching motion satisfies Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Reaction.
1) Their Pitching Leg
Marshall baseball pitchers walk straight forward off their pitching rubber. Therefore, they push off the pitching rubber with their pitching leg. As a result, they generate oppositely-directed force toward second base.
2) Their Hips and Shoulders
After their glove foot lands, Marshall baseball pitchers powerfully rotate their hips and shoulders toward home plate. Therefore, they drive their pitching knee forward. As a result, they generate oppositely-directed force toward second base.
3) Their Glove Arm
Marshall baseball pitchers point their glove arm at home plate. Therefore, they pull their glove forearm straight backward. As a result, they generate oppositely-directed force toward second base.
4) The Center of Mass of Their Body
Marshall baseball pitchers move the center of mass of their body in front of their glove foot. Therefore, they push back toward second base with their glove leg. As a result, they generate oppositely-directed force toward second base.
5) Force-Coupling
Marshall baseball pitchers coordinate the push back toward second base of their glove leg with the pitching upper arm extension and inward rotation of their pitching upper arm, extension of their pitching elbow and pronation of their pitching forearm through release. Therefore, they couple these parallel and oppositely-directed forces. As a result, they generate oppositely-directed force toward second base.
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Chapter Thirty