INTRODUCTION:
You are the main pitcher in the baseball team and you are
playing a strong side. Usually your fastball is quick enough to strike-out the
batters in the weaker sides however against the strong sides your pitch is not
fast enough to strike them out. How can biomechanical principles be applied to
the pitcher in order to increase the speed of his pitch. Accuracy cannot be
compromised for speed as end result is to get a strikeout which requires both
accuracy and speed. The end result of the biomechanical intervention should be
to have the pitcher increasing their pitching speed.
BIOMECHANICAL
PRINCIPLES:
-
Force Summation & the Kinetic Chain
-
The Magnus Effect & Hand Grip
-
Angular Velocity
Force Summation &
the Kinetic Chain
The baseball pitch is a very complex movement that involves
a large number of muscles and joints. Although the action is incredibly
unnatural for the body the correct movements can lead to a very large summation
of force responsible for building very large amounts of force. The key to
having a efficient pitch is to have each stage of the action building up force
(Redlegs Baseball, 2013). A flaw in any of the stages of the motion has a
detrimental flow on effect that inhibits the end result. The kinetic chain of
energy moves from the lower body through the following path:
Legs > Hip > Trunk> Upper Body> Forearm> Hand
> Ball
The large muscles of the legs and trunk begin the motion and
through careful sequential movements the energy transfers through to the
smaller muscles of the arm and hand with the force becoming greater as the
muscles size decreases . In order to get the most effectively pitch, the
movements and rotations of the body need to be in a precise order with each
muscles moving at the right time and in the correct direction. The pitching
action begins the pitcher taking his stride, followed by the rotation of the
pelvis, rotation of the upper body, extension of the elbow and finally wrist
flexion and finally release. People often refer to people needing to pitch with
their whole body in order to be efficient, this is correct to a degree but it
is more than just using the whole body, the whole body needs to be used correctly.
If part of the kinetic chain goes out of order the whole kinetic chain is
broken and the resulting energy built up before the break is lost resulting in
a loss of velocity on the pitch. In order to get the maximum velocity on the
ball the pitcher needs to release the ball with back spinning motion. Any
turning of the wrist will result in a breaking of the kinetic chain which will
mean loss of velocity.
(http://psychsciencenotes.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/the-task-dynamics-of-throwing-to.html)
These images show the stages of a pitch and the Kinetic Chain develops
The Magnus Effect
The Magnus effect refers to the change in the trajectory of
an object through the air as a result of the spin on the ball. Spinning of the
ball changes the way the ball travels through the air. In a standard fastball
thrown by a pitcher the ball will depart the hand with backspin imparted on the
ball (Alan, 2007). The resulting airflow around
the ball will impart lift onto the baseball. Baseballs are reasonably heavy so
the lift force generated will not be enough to raise the ball in its flight
path but the force will be enough to allow the ball to maintain its trajectory
without dropping. A beach ball, being much lighter, can generate enough change
in air pressure to actually lift the ball in its flight path. How with a
baseball this does not happen. In order to pitch the ball with maximum
speed and velocity the ball needs to leave the hand with backspin. If the ball
is spinning with a different spin the way the ball moves through the air
changes. If side spin is put on the ball, it moves through the air differently
and will lose speed as it moves through the air. If the goal of the pitch was
to produce a more effective curveball, different spins on the ball would be
desirable, however in the instance of a fastball, the pitcher wants the Magnus
force to be lifting the ball and nothing else.
(http://www.aviation-for-kids.com/the-magnus-force.html)
This image shows how the backspin on a ball imparts lift onto it
Angular Kinetics and
Acceleration
During a baseball pitch the shoulder moves at approximately
7600 degree’s per second making it one of the fastest angular movements in a
sporting context (Barncard, 2012). This movement is very rapid and imparts a
lot of speed onto the ball. When the motion is coupled with the ball being
right at the end of the arm means that the ball will travel even faster than
the shoulder does. Angles play a very important role in increasing the speed of
a pitch as the further the pitcher has to get the ball accelerating the faster
the ball can travel. Small changes to a pitchers action such as cocking the
wrist or increasing the range of motion in the arms make major differences to
the speed of the ball upon release (Wang, 1995).
Many elite pitchers will begin the movement of the ball at the very start of
their pitching stride in order to get maximum acceleration on the ball.
(http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/baseball/pitching/Images/Examples/Example_HipsRotatingBeforeShoulders_TimLincecum_2007_006.jpg)
This image shows how the shoulder of an elite pitcher is pushed right back to allow for maximal accleration of the ball.
THE ANSWER
To increase pitching speed that pitcher first needs to look
at the biomechanical impact that has the greatest impact on the through, the
kinetic chain. In order to increase the speed of the pitch it needs to be
analysed to determine if the pitcher is using their entire body efficiently. Breaking
down the movements of each body part of the pitch to determine if the movements
are correct would be the first stage to determining the efficiency of the
action. A pitch with lots of velocity starts right down at the legs. Many
pitchers, particularly pitchers in the cognitive stage, throw with just the
upper body and fail to get their legs involved in the process of the kinetic
chain. In order to increase pitching speed it needs to be analysed to see
firstly if the pitcher could involve their legs more in the action. The pitcher
may need to lift their legs higher in order to get more force in the initial
process of the chain. Understanding the kinetic chain is the key to increasing
the velocity on the ball. Once it has been determined what mechanical issues
may be present within the action, progress can be made to correct the flaws.
The end result in a fluent kinetic chain will have a flow of energy from the
legs, through the trunk and out the arm through the hand. Body rotation begins
with the knee, followed by the movement of the pelvis, the trunk, the upper
body and finally the extension of the arm and release from the hand.
The spin on the ball can play a part in the maximal velocity
imparted on the ball. The pitcher is trying to throw the ball as fast as he can
and any spin imparted on the ball other than backspin will actually slow down
the ball as it moves through the air. The Magnus effect relates to the movement
of the ball through the air. If the pitcher wants to be able to throw the ball
at maximal velocity it is important he is throwing the ball with back spin. A
coach can stand behind the pitcher and look at the ball to determine how the
ball is spinning through the air. Minor adjustments to the grip on the ball or
the angle of release can be implemented to ensure the ball is spinning
correctly.
Angular kinetics can be the most difficult biomechanical
principle to be applied to a pitchers technique. Most pitchers settle into
actions that feel comfortable to them and find it hard to refine their
technique with smaller actions such as wrist cocking or extra movement of the
arm. With coaching techniques pitchers should be able to improve the technique
in order to get more speed through the arm and a longer period of acceleration
for the ball. With application of new technique the pitcher should be able to
generate more force and throw the ball harder.
Through creating a stronger kinetic chain of energy, getting
the correct backspin and application of angular kinetics the pitcher should be
able to generate more force. The end result will be that the pitcher will be
able to generate more speed and force through their body and deliver a pitch
that has a greater velocity.
HOW ELSE CAN WE USE
THIS INFORMATION?
Increasing throwing speed can be applied onto a number of
different sports. Within baseball itself having a throw that is both quick and
accurate is vital, in particular to the infielders who rely on fast throws. The
biomechanical principles of angular kinetics and the kinetic chain are important
to understand for throwing in general. Throwing is a skill that can be applied
to a number of other sports and although the ball may be larger in some other
sports many of the principles remain the same. To throw a basketball harder
across the court, increasing the angle allows more acceleration of the ball
meaning it will travel faster. This skill can be very useful when trying to
move the ball quickly across the court.
The principal of the Magnus Effect is very useful to
understand in several other sports but the two main sports that come to mind
are baseball and cricket. As previously discussed the Magnus effect is useful
to understand in the context of the ball movement and how to get maximal speed
the ball needs to be rotating backwards. Using this understanding how the ball
moves through the air, pitchers can understand how to throw a curveball most
effectively. In order to get the ball to drop down rapidly at the end of the
pitch the ball needs to be having forward spin. To pitch a slider the ball
needs to be rotating sideways. The result of the slider will be a pitch that
not only drops down but also moves sideways. Therefore it can be determined
that to throw a curveball most effectively the ball needs to spinning either
forward or sideways. Throwing an in between pitch will see that the ball will
not move as strongly in either direction.
The same concepts can be applied to cricket as well. To get
the most effective fast pitch, backspin needs to be applied to the ball. Many
cricketers use their fingers to apply different spin on the ball when bowling a
fastball to deceive the batter. By using their fingers to spin the ball the
ball different it will make the ball slower through the air. This can trick
batters as the action looks pretty much the same apart from the minor
difference. Changing the spin on the ball even slightly out of the hand will
create a much bigger difference over length of the pitch. Understanding how to use biomechanics to improve a pitchers action has a number of applications to other sports, hence making it a very useful information.
http://www.parentingcounts.org/information/timeline/can-throw-a-ball-overhand-42-49-months/
http://sports-software.com/registrations-2/registrations/
The first image is of a child whose coach hasnt read this biomechancial blog. The second image depicts more desierbale technique.
