How many of you have heard pitching coaches yell “find your balance, only throw strikes, shoot straight to the plate, back up weird and shoot, throw hard now” etc.? I too had coaches like that growing up and guess what… They don’t know what they’re talking about.
Throwing, just like any other complex movement, requires many moving parts to flow in the correct sequence. When executed correctly, it should create a single effortless movement. Simply throwing the ball is too general; we must be able to throw the ball in a downward plane with the greatest possible speed while exerting the least amount of tension on the weakest links (UCL/Rotor-cuff) within the kinetic chain that is throwing.
First, let’s divide the human body into 3 main power generating components. Starting from scratch, we first have the lower body made up of the feet, the ankle joints, the lower legs (tibia, fibula), the knee joint, and the upper leg (femur), all connected in the pelvis (hip joint). Second, it’s where most of the power is generated and that’s the core. The bone that supports the core is the lumbar spine, where the range of motion is greatest, giving the core the ability to create torque. Third, there is the upper torso and arms. This part of the human machine is the most complex and most throwing injuries occur at the shoulder or elbow due to the immense stress these joints have to endure with every throw. The brain controls everything! Now let’s see how we can use each component to the greatest mechanical advantage our anatomy allows.
lower body
The lower body should be separated into two subdivisions, the legs and the pelvis (hips). The sole purpose of the legs is to create the greatest speed (distance/time) going to the target, and then stop as abruptly as possible, which in turn will speed up the rotation of the upper body, maximizing power output at the release point. Think of this reaction in terms of a car accident. If a car with a stack of books in the passenger seat is driving at 100 mph and hits a stationary wall, the car’s speed will drop to zero, but the books will still fly through the windshield at the original 100 mph. The Pelvis (hips) also have an important part in the throwing process. Their job is to simply charge (rotate away from the target) at the start of the motion and relax in sync with the landing foot as the legs propel the caster toward the target.
The nucleus
The core is best visualized as a very thick coil that joins the upper and lower components. Although most of the energy generated in the proper launch motion is produced by the nucleus, it is the simplest process in this kinetic chain. To use the core to its fullest potential, the pitcher simply must load the upper and lower components simultaneously at the beginning of the throw and keep the upper body loaded (closed) as much as possible until the front foot lands. At this point, the more separation there is between the pelvic and upper torso lines, the more torque the core can produce. This is the true meaning of the commonly misused term “stay closed.” The separation of the pelvic and shoulder lines creates the greatest range of motion for the already stretched core to rotate explosively; this rotation will be the main source of speed for the caster.
upper torso
The last but not least of the three components is the upper torso. The main goal of the upper torso is to achieve maximum loading of the scapulae and to maintain the greatest amount of separation from the pelvic line to the soles of the front foot. All of this will lead to maximum external rotation of the throwing arm, which will directly increase speed. The most efficient way to load your shoulder blades is to do it as naturally and effortlessly as possible. The arms actually have tracks, just like trains. If the train goes off the track, it doesn’t work. This track is different for each individual. To find out where your clue is, stand with good posture and let your arms hang by your sides and swing them back and forth. You will find that your arms will naturally want to stay close to the body and swing in a Chest-Back plane. This Chest-Back plane never changes, no matter what. As the arms move through the natural pathway, the elbows will shoot toward each other squeezing the shoulder blades together as the chest expands. This is called loading of the scapula. This loading of the scapula will occur just as the front foot hits the ground and plants. This is when the loaded shoulders pivot explosively driving the throwing shoulder up and towards the target line. The actual pitching of the baseball is accomplished by extension, pronation, internal rotation, and wrist flexion of the pitching arm. After the ball is released, the shoulder rotation will stop to make structural limitations, but the now accelerated throwing arm will continue until it hits the rib cage and stops. This method of deceleration is the most natural and puts the least amount of stress on the decelerating muscles. As a result of the rapid rotation of the upper torso, the rear leg will lift off the ground and land softly.