Pitching
Pitching
Pitching
especially as it relates to injury to the throwing arm. It has been reported that although
softball pitchers may experience fewer injuries to the pitching arm, both types of pitchers
experience distraction forces that are equal to body weight or higher on the shoulder joint
[Alderson, 1999 #81; Werner, 1995 #23;].
Preliminary position
The pitcher must begin the pitch in a position with both feet in contact with the pitching
rubber, and both hands on the ball and must pause for at least one second prior to delivery
of the ball. The shoulders must be square to home plate and the ball held in the midline of
the body. The ball is gripped near the ends of the fingers with the fingers on the seams.
The specific grip is determined by the type of pitch being thrown and varies with the pitch
(Regitano 1982). The pitch begins when the hands separate and the pitching arm moves
back to a position behind the body.
It is important to differentiate between the back leg and the front leg of the pitcher. The
back leg is the leg from which the pitcher pushes off during the pitch- this leg starts on the
pitching rubber and often slides forward from the mound during the pitch. This leg is also
called the pivot foot or the pitching foot, and is the
right foot for a right handed pitcher so is the foot on the same side as the pitching arm.
The front leg is the leg onto which the weight is shifted during the pitch, also called the
stride leg. A long step is taken onto the stride leg during the pitch, and all the weight is
shifted onto this leg as the ball is delivered. This is the left foot for a right handed pitcher;
or the non pitching leg.
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In the stance phase the pitcher should assume a wide stance with both feet
touching the rubber but as far apart as possible. This wide stance allows the pitcher to
build up momentum over a greater distance than a narrower stance (Kirby 1969). The feet
are placed about shoulder width apart in the lateral direction
Backswing
The backswing begins as the pitching arm moves
backward, a movement known as shoulder extension, which places
the anterior shoulder muscles on a stretch prior to the forceful
delivery motion (Figure 3). This movement is often accompanied
by trunk flexion, which places the back extensor muscles on a
stretch prior to back extension during the delivery. As the arm
moves back, the pitching foot (the foot on the same side as the
pitching arm) (also called the pivot foot) takes a short step forward.
This step is not allowed (by the rules) to be too long, as the
pitching foot is supposed to be close to the rubber while the
pitching motion is occurring. The pitching foot must also remain
in contact with the ground as it slides forward- it is not supposed to
FIG. 3: Anterior be raised from the ground during the motion forward. When the
shoulder muscles are pitching foot is planted in front of the rubber, the pitching arm
stretched during the starts to move forward (shoulder flexion) toward the front of the
backswing phase of body. The pivot foot turns slightly to the side of the pitcher to
the skill.
allow the hips to rotate to an open position (Werner 1994).
Many windmill pitchers perform illegal movements during the windmill pitch, in
that a long hop or leap is taken onto the back foot prior to planting the front foot for the
pitch. Although a short step forward or slight leg drag is allowed, a long step or leap onto
the back foot is actually illegal. A recent study of Olympic softball pitchers examined the
whether a pitcher was actually airborne, dragged her back foot, or whether there was a
secondary plant and drive (Byrd, Werner et al. 2003). Of the 21 pitchers examined, ten
were airborne as the back foot left the rubber and four had a secondary plant and drive.
Neither of these illegal actions resulted in an advantage in ball velocities when compared
to pitchers using legal techniques. It was concluded that concern over possible increments
in ball velocity due to these illegal movements is not warranted (Byrd, Werner et al. 2003).
It should be noted that umpires seldom call pitchers for this dragging of the back foot, even
though it occurs regularly in many pitchers.
The pitching arm moves forward at the same angular velocity as the other leg (the
non pitching leg) begins to step forward. This motion forward of the front leg is important
FIG. 4: Free leg moves as the pitching arm moves forward. This will help the pitcher push off of the
pitching plate more forcefully.
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in increasing the forceful push-off from the pitching leg (Figure 4). The more forcefully
the free leg and pitching arm move forward, the greater the ground reaction forces down
and back on the push-off leg and the greater the velocity of the center of gravity that can be
transferred to the ball. The acceleration of these limbs forward increases the forces on the
back foot, increases the reaction force that drives the athlete forward.
As the front leg moves forward into the step, the trunk rotates sideways toward the
pitching arm. For a right handed pitcher, the trunk rotates to the right so that it is facing
third base at the top of the backswing, and the opposite shoulder is facing the batter. This
sideways rotation of the trunk increases the range of motion of the pitching arm backwards
and places the trunk muscles on a stretch prior to the forceful rotation back to face the
batter (Figure 5).
FIG. 5: As the pitcher pushes off the pitching plate and steps forward, the pitcher rotates
her trunk away from home plate allowing the pitcher to place the trunk muscles on the front
of her body on a stretch. This position also helps the pitcher conceal the ball from the
batter.
5
pitching arm is extended forward during the upswing of the pitching arm. As the pitching
arm moves downward and trunk rotation is started, the non pitching arm can contribute by
driving diagonally downward and backward to assist in forceful trunk rotation (Werner
1994). From the position in front of the body at the start of the pitch, the non throwing arm
can be used to pull the non throwing side backward as the throwing side moves forward
(Figure 8). This produces forceful rotation of the shoulder girdle around the axis through
the spine and horizontal adduction of the pitching shoulder.
The Stride
FIG. 9: Frame 1 illustrates where the pitcher takes off from the pitching plate. In frame 2 the pitchers right toe drags
along the dirt as required by the rules, however this foot bears no weight. Frame 3 shows where the pitcher lands.
Ideally, elite pitchers wish to take up the majority of the pitching circle so they can release the ball as close to home plate
as possible.
As the pitching arm is moving forward and the weight is being driven forward by
the driving back leg, the pitcher will often perform a long hop on the pivot foot in the
direction of the batter (Figure 9). This hop is legal as
long as the back foot is not lifted from the ground. This
hop can often cover several feet, and help to increase the
velocity of the center of gravity toward the batter. This
foot cannot be lifted from the ground during the glide,
but it can only slide forward along the ground. Landing
from the glide onto the pivot foot also helps to load the
rear leg for the final push off toward the batter, so there
should be some flexion of the back leg at the instant of
landing following the glide. The pivot foot turns toward
third base to allow the hips to rotate to an open or
sideways position (Werner 1994). As the weight is
driven forward from the back foot, the center of gravity
follows a straight path toward the target with little
vertical fluctuation until stride foot contact (Werner 1994). The front foot should be
planted in alignment with home plate, and not too far to the left or right so that the
momentum from the drive from the back foot is all directed towards the target. The
orientation of the stride foot should be close to 45 degrees at landing to allow a full range
of hip rotation backwards at the end of the backswing (Werner 1994).
7
The length of the stride onto the front foot is an important variable in pitching- the
longer the stride the more skilled the pitcher. The stride length should be in the range of
80% to 100% of the pitchers standing height (Figure 11). A study of eight top US pitchers
reported an average stride length of 73% of standing height with a range from 56 to 86 per
cent (Werner 1994). The longer stride will improve accuracy by flattening the arc at the
bottom of the forward swing and increasing the time during which the pitch can be
released accurately (Kirby 1969).
The body weight is then taken onto the
FIG. 10: Front foot is 45 to the front foot with the toe pointing
plate. at 45 degrees toward the
batter and the knee is extended.
The average knee angle at SFC (Stride Foot
Contact) is 155 degrees
(Werner, Murray et al. 1997). FIG. 11: Length of step is 83% of
The stride knee is extended standing height.
during the weight shift onto
the leg and the front leg
becomes an axis around
which the body can rotate if
hip and trunk rotation are
used during the delivery. This leg usually remains extended throughout the release of the
ball, although hyperextension of the stride knee is not ideal (Werner 1994). Some flexion
of the front leg during delivery of the ball may reduce the forces on the front knee and help
to absorb the forces of delivery. These forces include the forceful weight shift onto the
front foot as well as the rapid rotation of the trunk around the fixed front hip.
The forceful landing on the stride foot in windmill pitching can lead to overuse
injuries to the knee (Werner, Guido et al. 2005). Strength and conditioning regimes are
recommended to strengthen the large muscles of the stride leg to withstand the high
eccentric contraction forces at landing and release.
The front foot is planted (Stride Foot Contact- SFC) just as the arm begins to move
downwards toward the ground. At the instant of stride foot contact the arm is at its furthest
point behind the pitcher. This pattern helps to stretch the anterior trunk muscles of the
pitcher to produce a more forceful trunk rotation toward the batter. The stride onto the
front foot should not be too long; as if the stride is too long the pitcher will be unable to
rotate the hips and trunk to the position facing the batter at release. At the instant that the
arm is at its highest point (top of backswing TOB) the front foot is about to contact the
ground, so the arm and the free leg move downwards at the same time. The time from
TOB to SFC has been reported to be .06 sec (Werner 1994). As the arm starts to move
down toward the ground, the weight is shifted from the back leg to the front leg, and the
trunk rotation from sideways to facing forward is initiated as the weight is being shifted
forward. The weight shift forward is a critical aspect of windmill pitching, and is
important to initiate trunk rotation and to move the weight onto the front foot and into the
direction of the pitch to increase the force applied to the ball (Werner 1995).
8
FIG. 13: Many softball pitchers are unable to fully rotate their hips fully and square
them off with the plate. The male pitcher on the left is the only one of the three
pitchers to have his hips squared to the plate.
force that can be produced by the powerful muscles of the trunk (Alexander 1998). The
hips need to rotate to a closed position toward home plate during the delivery phase, and
9
this position is facilitated by forceful back leg drive (Werner 1994). The full rotation of the
trunk provides a significant transfer of momentum from the trunk to the pitching arm. In
this position the back foot should be unweighted with the toe on the ground or completely
off the ground (Figure 14).
The amount of hip rotation seen in
skilled windmill pitchers is variable and a
source of controversy among pitching
coaches. Biomechanical principles
suggest that a full range of trunk and hip
rotation is needed prior to release of the
ball in order to attain the maximum
contribution from the trunk to ball
velocity. Hip rotation in which the pelvic
girdle faces home plate at release of the
ball is a desirable technique. Hip rotation
FIG. 14: Both pitchers have all their weight off allows a full contribution from the lower
their back foot. body and trunk into the pitch. However,
the majority of modern windmill pitchers
do not rotate their hips forward to face the batter prior to release of the ball- they keep the
hips facing sideways while the shoulders and pitching arm moves forward through release
(Figure 15). This alters the shoulder movements so that the arm is undergoing shoulder
adduction across the body at release instead of shoulder flexion. This technique forces the
pitcher to throw across her body and lose potential contribution from the trunk and hip
rotation (Werner 1994). It has also been suggested that the range of hip rotation is
dependent on the type of pitch being thrown, with a drop ball requiring less hip and trunk
rotation than a rise ball (Kinne 1987)
FIG. 15: Both pictures are of elite National team players. The pitcher on the left shows better
hip rotation than the pitcher on the right. This can be attributed to the type of pitch thrown or to
personal preference. From a biomechanical point of view, the technique on the left is more
desirable.
rotation of the hips (pelvic rotation) to face the batter. It has been suggested that lack of
hip rotation at release will decrease the forces on the pitching shoulder during release.
This is likely due to the decreased stretch on the anterior shoulder capsule when the trunk
is not rotated fully forward prior to the completion of the arm movements. The horizontal
distraction forces acting across the shoulder are decreased when there is less trunk rotation.
This position may also allow the pitcher to hide the ball more effectively until later in the
delivery, making it more difficult for the batter to track the ball.
FIG. 17: The elbow is flexed just prior to release of the ball (top left frame) and will increases the effectiveness of
shoulder medial rotation and pronation of the forearm.
11
bend the elbow more at release and into the follow through (Werner 1995). By flexing the
elbow, less pull is created on the shoulder. Some of the energy from the shoulder is
absorbed by the elbow bend, and the circular windmilling motion is stopped more quickly
(Werner 1995). This may be due to the greater shoulder medial rotation that occurs when
the elbow is flexed as compared to the extended elbow. Pitchers who maintain a straight
arm into the follow through tend to continue the windmilling motion long after the ball has
been released. These are the athletes that may encounter shoulder distraction forces equal
or exceeding their body weights (Werner 1995).
Although the elbow is extended for much of the windmill motion, the elbow undergoes
flexion just prior to release of the ball (Figure 17). The average elbow angle for elite
pitchers was found to be 140-165 degrees at release (Werner 1994) (Figure 18). This elbow
flexion helps to increase the moment arm for shoulder medial rotation and therefore
increases ball velocity. The maximum reported flexion velocity for right handed pitchers
was 966 d/s, with a range in the values between 645 to1700 deg/s (Werner 1995).
The pitching arm should remain behind the trunk and in a supinated and laterally
rotated position during the downswing behind the body. The velocity of the ball during
this phase is from the shoulder flexion that is occurring on the downswing, as well as from
the trunk rotation that is occurring. The most active muscle during this phase was found to
be the pectoralis major muscle which was strongly active from the top of the backswing to
ball release (Maffet, Jobe et al. 1997). At a point 2 frames prior to release (.066 s), the
pitching arm begins the critical rotational movements to increase ball speed: lower arm
pronation and upper arm medial rotation. The magnitude of the internal rotation torque
relative to body weight appears to be greater for underhand throwing than for overhand
throwing (Barrentine 1999). It has been concluded that internal rotation of the humerus
produced by this internal rotation torque is a major contributor to ball velocity.
The ball is released in mid pronation and mid medial rotation as this is the point of
peak angular velocity of these movements. Just prior to ball release a maximum internal
FIG. 18: All three pitchers from various developmental stages meet the criteria of elbow flexion.
FIG. 19: The pitching arm starts in a position of lateral shoulder rotation and forearm supination (as seen in frame 1) to a position of
shoulder medial rotation and pronation of the forearm (frame 5).
12
rotation velocity of 4600 d/s is reached (Barrentine 1999). These movements are
performed with the elbow slightly bent and the wrist abducted to maximize the length of
the moment arm for these rotations from the axis to the ball. The axis for shoulder medial
rotation passes through the long axis of the upper arm; and the axis for pronation occurs
through the long axis of the lower arm. The flexed elbow and abducted wrist will help to
increase the moment arms about these axes.
The pitcher also performs lateral trunk lean in the direction of the pitching arm
during release- this movement increases the moment arm for both spinal rotation and
rotation around the left hip. The axis for spinal rotation passes through the spine, so that
slight abduction of the arm about the shoulder joint will increase this distance. The axis
for rotation about the left hip passes through the left thigh, and leaning sideways away
from this axis will increase the moment arm for rotation about this axis.
FIG. 20: The lean towards the pitching arm is evident in all four pitchers.
in order. In this way some momentum is transferred from proximal to distal segments.
One implication of this finding is that not only agonist (mover) muscles must be
strengthened in skills of this type, but equally important is the ability of the antagonist
muscles to perform this deceleration of a rapidly moving segment (Alexander and Haddow
1982).
Critical Instant (Release of the Ball)
At the instant of release (REL), the ball should be just anterior to the trunk, or just in front
of the hip on the pitching side. The arm should be just past the vertical position. Just prior
to release, the pitching arm should be in a position of supination and lateral rotation, in
which the palm and the ball are facing sideways (toward third base for R handed). The
elbow should be slightly flexed to produce a maximal moment arm for shoulder medial
rotation. This cocked position of the pitching arm is important to allow for rotation in the
opposite direction during release of the ball. During release, the lower arm should be
pronating and the shoulder medially rotating to increase the velocity of the ball at release.
At release, the arm should be in mid pronation (halfway between supination and pronation)
and mid medial rotation, so that pronation and medial rotation are occurring at the fastest
speed possible. From the side view, the back of the hand should be visible at release to
show that rotation is occurring, as the hand has moved from a palm up position prior to
release to a palm down position following release due to the rotations of the arm (Figure
21).
FIG. 21: Side view of a pitcher in the training to win stage of development. Just prior to release (middle picture) the
hand is palm up, in the middle of its movement from the starting supinated position to the finishing pronated position.
Many skilled windmill pitchers will contact their lateral thigh at the instant of
release, which will stop or slow down the forward progression of the humerus. This
contact with the thigh may help improve accuracy by producing a common point of release
for every pitch and improve consistency of release. This action will also decrease the load
on the rotator cuff muscles in deceleration of the high speed medial rotation and the triceps
in deceleration of flexion of the humerus. Research has shown less rotator cuff activity in
pitchers that contact their thigh with the humerus at release (Werner, Guido et al. 2005).
This may lead to fewer rotator cuff injuries in pitchers that adopt this strategy.
The weight should be all on the front foot at release, the hips (pelvic girdle) should
14
be facing forward, and the trunk should be erect and not flexed forward excessively. Many
modern pitchers utilize a pitching style in which the hips are not rotated forward during
delivery, but the hips remain facing sideways while the shoulders are rotated forward to
face the batter. This may decrease the contribution from the rotation of the hips (pelvic
rotation), but it may also produce greater force from the trunk rotation by providing a firm
base on which the trunk rotators can pull during delivery Figure 22). As well it may help
the pitcher to hide the ball from the batter longer during delivery.
Follow Through
The purpose of the follow through is to decelerate the pitching
arm over the greatest possible time and distance, to decrease the
force per unit time and decrease the chance of injury. All the
weight should now be shifted to the front leg, and the back foot
should slide forward to a position just behind the front foot.
There should be no weight remaining on the back leg during the
follow through (Figure 23).
The pitching arm should follow through across the body
and upwards, and finish in a position that reaches to at least
shoulder height. The pitching arm will also continue to rotate in
the direction of pronation and medial rotation, to decelerate
pronation velocity over the greatest time
and distance possible. The teres minor
muscle was found to have the highest FIG. 23: Back foot is
muscle activity during this phase, acting unweighted during the
in protraction to prevent excessive follow through to allow the
hips to continue to rotate.
retraction during release (Souza 2005).
Many windmill pitchers experience extreme positions of rotation in
the pitching arm during the follow through, in order to decelerate
the arm rotations over the greatest time and distance possible. As
the follow through ends, the weight is on the front foot, the back
foot has moved up to a position parallel to the front foot, and the
arm is at shoulder level and rotated to a palm down position. The
FIG. 24: Pitcher is
pitcher should be balanced with the trunk erect, the glove up and the
ready to field the
ball after her follow
through.
15
eyes on the batter. The feet should assume a ready position with the feet at least shoulder
width apart and the knees flexed in order to field a possible hit back to the pitcher (Figure
24).
stride foot orientation for eight elite pitchers is close to 30 degrees, so the stride foot was
always turned toward a closed position at SFC (Werner 1994)
Knee angle at stride foot contact is a measure of the amount of flexion in
the knee just following contact of the front foot. Values range from 160 degrees,
suggesting a more extended knee at contact, to an average angle of 150 degrees so the knee
was more flexed. This position is related to the individual style of each pitcher, and either
is correct for a particular style.
Shoulder joint angular velocity averaged 1300 degrees per second for each of the 8
pitchers in this study, which is slightly less than the mean values reported for eight elite
pitchers. The previous pitchers attained shoulder speeds of 2000 degrees per second
(Werner 1995); although measuring techniques can affect the values produced in different
studies.
The trunk rotation speed can be measured by two parameters: rotation of the
shoulder girdle and rotation of the pelvis or hip rotation. Since the hips and trunk can
rotate independently of each other, both the upper trunk rotation speed and the lower trunk
rotation speed are calculated (Werner 1995). The average shoulder (referred to as trunk)
rotation speed in this study was 600 degrees per second for subject HN, and 800 degrees
per second for subject SN. These values compare favorably with those reported by
(Werner 1995), with an average trunk rotation speed of 762 degrees per second with a
range of 400 to 1200 degrees / second.
The hip rotation speed in this study was found to be 500 degrees per second for
HN and 600 degrees per second for SN. These are slightly less than the average value for
hip rotation reported by (Werner 1995) to be 796 degrees per second with a range from
300 to 1200 degrees per second.
Elbow flexion velocity is also reported in the literature (Werner 1995) for female
windmill pitchers, with a mean value of 966 degrees per second and range between 645
and 1700 degrees/second. The pitchers in a recent study both attained elbow flexion
values of close to 1100 degrees per second, suggesting that they may have more effective
elbow motion in the pitch (Werner 1995). Another recent study reported the elbow angular
velocity was 2520 deg/s at release of the ball (Kellen 2005). Note that elbow flexion likely
occurs as part of lower arm pronation and shoulder medial rotation, which are difficult to
measure from video film.
17
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