Comments on: Pitchers Come In All Sizes

By: Noah

Noah — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:22:09 +0000

Muscle will have to force the arm through once the core has already whipped it around with as much torque as possible. When the arm drags from the rotation of the body, it has elasticity. The longer the arm, their tends to be more elasticity. Once the arm has passed the cocking phase of throwing (the point of prime elasticity), force applied by muscle does the rest of the job. So arm speed is a combination of momentum and strength. So if the arm drags, its going to be pulled along eventually, with great elasticity at such high speeds, so when your arm whips forward after the cocking phase, there is going to be a lot of torque, even more so with longer arms. But I do agree with the comment below. Bottom line, look at the radar gun. After that, look at the stride length, to make sure the guy throwing 95 that your about to sign a major league contract is indeed a pitcher, and not just a thrower.

By: Noah

Noah — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:15:05 +0000

Also, it’s worth mentioning that while height does often equate to a larger stride length, specific mechanics such as the push off in pitchers like Roy Oswalt, Nolan Ryan, and quite a few others can add another foot to the stride length. It’s a bit much to describe in a brief comment, but it involves the lifting of the back heel just before foot strike, and before the back foot turns onto the shoe lace side of the foot. Also, if you take a look at Tim Collin’s mechanics, especially visible in a still frame, is that even before foot strike, his back foot has already slid about a foot forwards from the rubber. Part of this would be from his very high, almost uncanny leg lift creating an enormous amount of momentum, and sense he is turned in so much, when he leads with his lower body, this momentum pulls his back foot off the rubber very early(before foot strike), and very much.

By: Noah

Noah — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:03:12 +0000

You mentioned that it probably isn’t a dramatic jump in the final velocity towards home plate. Actually, for every foot a ball doesn’t travel, it adds 3 mph(3 mph difference in reaction time) to the pitch. All the greatest pitchers tended to have incredibly long stride length, some through mechanics that were only found in the greatest pitchers when their mechanics were analyzed meticulously frame by frame. Roy Oswalt for example, we can all agree is a short pitcher. He has a stride length of some 7 and a half feet. The average for a major leaguer is about 6 – 7 feet. So in the long run of a major league career, a larger stride length could indeed have a dramatic impact on statistics and dominance.

By: bigchieftootiemontana

bigchieftootiemontana — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:30:26 +0000

Wonder if more extension and closer to the plate release point can be taught to pitchers who are already in pro ball, or if that would mess them up.
Thanks for posting that link, it is a darn interesting project.

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:00:40 +0000

That’s pretty interesting.

By: cariocacardinal

cariocacardinal — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:54:42 +0000

Someone sent me this very relevant link yesterday.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tom_verducci/04/12/fastballs.trackman/index.html?xid=cnnbin&hpt=Sbin

In summary it talks about a new system that measures pitcher’s release points at its affects. In general a 10 inch closer release point adds about 2MPH to the fastball. It doesn’t specifically equate release point ot height and it gives one example of a 5’10 player with a long stride and a closer (to the plate) release point but I’d think in general tall pitchers would have closer release points. The article goes further to show that pitchers with closer release points are overall more successful.

It also talks about the spin on curve balls and mentions longer fingers help give a ball more spin. Again, though not specific in the article, I would assume that taller pitchers have slightly longer fingers on average.

Which I’d had this article a couple of days ago.

By: RCHIII

RCHIII — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:02:15 +0000

Collins is 5’5″ – recently joked he liked MLB accomodations because the beds were so big he could sleep across them. He releases very high, so that he can still get the downward arc of a pitcher 6’1″. He also has an almost Japanese style wind up where he has a high leg kick and his back is almost square with the rubber before he wheels and deals. Point is, at 5’5″ he has been very successful so far, but his delivery is not what you would call standard or something you would teach.

While it is just my theory based on physics, if the arm speed is the same, then a bigger arc (from a long pitcher) is going to generate more velocity so they naturally have more upside. Of course, a more compact arc might allow for more arm speed than a longer arc, so the shorter guys can make up the difference. Bottom line? Probably look at the gun – forget the height! :)

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:55:46 +0000

You’re right if we’re talking about a rigid member (hammer handle) but since so much (all?) torque is muscle related, I’m not sure you can make an easy comparison between elastic members (various arms).

That would be the full extent of my statics/dynamics knowledge from college.

By: tom s.

tom s. — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 06:18:18 +0000

i always assumed that it was the rotational acceleration/torque from having a longer arm. sort of like, if you take the same hammer and swing it with your hand midway down the handle, you get less force than if you hold it at the end of the handle. you’re just as strong in both cases and the handle is just as heavy, but the added torque gives you more force.

By: pitch and hit

pitch and hit — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:53:12 +0000

Good stuff CC.