Stride or No Stride? the Biomechanics of Pitching. Essay Example
Stride or No stride? The Biomechanics of Pitching.
Brandon Ruston and Jacob Holland
Mr. Post
2012
Will taking a stride while throwing a baseball increase you speed and accuracy of the pitch? Yes. The fact that you are taking a stride helps tremendously your speed and accuracy while throwing a baseball. The stride helps with changing your momentum from your back leg to your from leg which helps to keep you going to forward and add speed to the ball. The ball we use and the distance from the bed sheet are the constants while the speed and accuracy of the pitch are the controls. Each pitcher (there will be 3) will throw 10 pitches with a stride and 10 pitches without a stride. We will measure the speed of the pitch with a radar gun and the accuracy with a camcorder and a bed sheet with a target on it (intervals from 0%, 25%, 50%, and 100%). With this experiment, we will figure out the best way to throw a baseball effectively and safely. Pitching in baseball mostly uses the elbow and shoulder areas of the arm with some wrist action mixed in because of different pitches. The biomechanics of pitching includes four basic motions. They are the wind-up, cocking, acceleration, and the follow through. The wind-up sets up the “rhythm” for the whole pitching routine. It also builds up the energy and momentum needed to delivery a pitch with speed and sharp break. The wind-up requires a great deal of balance and focus in order to have an accurate pitch. The cocking portion of the delivery is when the front foot lands and the throwing hand and glove hand separates. The hands and arms are elevated to 90 degrees at the shoulder. Once the front foot lands, the hips and torso rotate which starts the arm to begin in its throwing motion. Cocking transfers energy from the legs up to the arm and the throwing process is beginning. The acceleration is from when the shoulder begins to rotate and it ends when the ball is released from the finger tips. Finally, the
Brandon Ruston and Jacob Holland
Mr. Post
2012
Will taking a stride while throwing a baseball increase you speed and accuracy of the pitch? Yes. The fact that you are taking a stride helps tremendously your speed and accuracy while throwing a baseball. The stride helps with changing your momentum from your back leg to your from leg which helps to keep you going to forward and add speed to the ball. The ball we use and the distance from the bed sheet are the constants while the speed and accuracy of the pitch are the controls. Each pitcher (there will be 3) will throw 10 pitches with a stride and 10 pitches without a stride. We will measure the speed of the pitch with a radar gun and the accuracy with a camcorder and a bed sheet with a target on it (intervals from 0%, 25%, 50%, and 100%). With this experiment, we will figure out the best way to throw a baseball effectively and safely. Pitching in baseball mostly uses the elbow and shoulder areas of the arm with some wrist action mixed in because of different pitches. The biomechanics of pitching includes four basic motions. They are the wind-up, cocking, acceleration, and the follow through. The wind-up sets up the “rhythm” for the whole pitching routine. It also builds up the energy and momentum needed to delivery a pitch with speed and sharp break. The wind-up requires a great deal of balance and focus in order to have an accurate pitch. The cocking portion of the delivery is when the front foot lands and the throwing hand and glove hand separates. The hands and arms are elevated to 90 degrees at the shoulder. Once the front foot lands, the hips and torso rotate which starts the arm to begin in its throwing motion. Cocking transfers energy from the legs up to the arm and the throwing process is beginning. The acceleration is from when the shoulder begins to rotate and it ends when the ball is released from the finger tips. Finally, the