Baseball Biomechanics Essay

The importance of proper pitching mechanics in baseball is crucial for performance improvement and injury prevention of the pitcher in the sport. Improper pitching mechanics in baseball can result in excessive stress to the joints, thus increasing the risk of injury to the pitcher. The biomechanics of baseball pitching has several different elements that could be examined to increase the effectiveness of the pitch and reduce the occurrence of injury in the sport. During the baseball pitch, there are important phases that are involved in the pitching motion. Each of these phases has a relevant biomechanical aspect that is important to the pitching skill to ensure efficiency and help reduce the risk of serious injury. Pitching effectiveness can

be achieved by changing the amount of work and kinetic energy during the pitch. Injury prevention can be achieved by having a good follow-through during the last phase of the pitching motion.
The proper mechanics during the pitching motion in baseball is crucial for the function of the kinetic chain. The kinetic chain is the optimal sequence of events that leads to increased pitching efficiency and reductions in the occurrence of injuries to pitchers. Being able to follow the proper sequence of events in the phases of the throwing motion allow for the kinetic chain to maximize the velocity of the pitch. The kinetic chain begins during the windup phase of the pitch and ends during the follow-through.
One important phase of the pitching skill is the windup.

During this phase the pitcher winds up so that all body segments including the arms and legs are able to contribute to the ball’s velocity. The biomechanical aspect of this step is to initiate the sequence of events that will follow this specific phase. The purpose of the windup phase is to put the throwing limb in a position that will allow it to move through a greater displacement. The greater the displacement of the throwing arm during the initial motion of the pitch will create an increase in the amount of work that was done in the motion. This increase in work will cause an increase in the kinetic energy and allow for an increase in the velocity of the

pitch.
Another important phase of the pitching skill is the follow-through. Having a good follow-through in pitching is important to reduce the risk of sustaining an injury during this skill. Since the muscles that are involved in the throwing motion are performing negative work to reduce the kinetic energy that was created during the initial phases of the pitch, it is imperative that the pitcher has the proper biomechanics to reduce the risk of injury. For example, during the follow-through the more displacement that the pitcher can create during this phase, the smaller the force that will be required by the muscles to slow down the arm. The smaller force required by the muscles to slow the limb, will decrease the risk of injury to the pitcher when they are performing this skill.
An important biomechanical aspect in the pitching motion is the relationship between impulse and momentum. The impulse-momentum relationship can be used to explain how the velocity of the pitch can be affected and provide the fastest velocity of the baseball at the end of the throw. Since the baseball has a constant mass, the initial velocity of the pitch is zero and the goal of the pitch is to achieve the fastest velocity, increasing the momentum will help increase the velocity. First, a large impulse must be exerted on the ball to cause a change in its momentum and thus increase the velocity of the pitch. During the throwing motion in baseball, a large impulse is created as a result of the large average force being exerted on the ball for a long period of time. The large impulse that was created will result in the baseball’s momentum changing and thus leading to a faster throw. Baseball pitchers focus more their technique to increase the time of force application on the ball to obtain a large impulse and cause a change in momentum. Ultimately, exerting a large impulse by applying a large force on the ball for the longest time possible will cause an increase in the ball’s momentum and result in the ball having a faster velocity.
Compared to all throwing activities, pitching a baseball is perhaps the most dynamic. This skill can be divided into six phases: windup, stride, arm cocking, arm acceleration, arm deceleration, and followthrough. The following qualitative description is for a right-handed pitcher.
Baseball pitching is one of the most demanding activities in sports on the human body.

In an activity where maximum speeds have been measured at 100 mph, the demand on the throwing arm is great, especially at the shoulder and elbow. While maximizing the speed of the ball is not the ultimate goal of pitching, it often improves the chances for getting the hitter out. A good fastball is typically the first pitch a young pitcher will learn to throw, followed by change-up, curveball and slider (Andrews and Fleisig, 1996). Pitching plays an important role in the success of a baseball team. It has been estimated that anywhere from 60 to 75% of the outcome of any given baseball game is determined by the pitching (Kindall, 1993). A pitcher with good mechanics has the same body movement for the same type of pitch. Pitching requires such demands on the body that the osseous adaptation occurs to allow greater external rotation and less internal rotation of the shoulder (Crockett HC, 2002). Such adaptation results from playing many years of baseball, from youth baseball, to high school, college and

professional.

Biomechanics of Pitching (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241057908_Biomechanics_of_Pitching [accessed Nov 21 2017].