Fastball pitching performance only slightly decreases after mobility impediment of the pelvis and trunk—Do (catch-up) compensation strategies come into play?

Background: Baseball pitching performance can be mechanically explained by the summation of speed principle and the principle of optimal coordination of partial momenta. Impeding optimal energy generation or transfer by or between the pelvis and trunk segments could provide valuable insight into possible compensation or catch-up mechanisms...

Elite athlete motor and loading actions on the upper limb in baseball pitching

In baseball, pitchers are the players that are most prone to injury. Most injuries occur at the elbow and shoulder of the throwing upper limb. It is widely accepted that understanding the loading in the joints during pitching is a key factor to prevent injuries. To deepen the understanding of the joint actions this study proposes to split the...

Shoulder joint velocity during fastball pitching in baseball

The purpose of this study was to assess the rotation and translation velocity of the shoulder complex during fastball pitching in baseball. 8 pitchers from the Dutch AAA team performed each 3 fastball pitches. Their motion was recorded by an opto-electronic device. Kinematic computation was performed using the quaternion algebra. The results...