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Sport Physics of baseball pitching
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Physics of baseball pitching
Does a windmill or pitching style throw a baseball fastest?
The original question was:
What velocity is gained or diminished by a baseball pitcher starting a throw by going down and using centrifugal force versus bringing the arm motion back and then throwing the ball?
Seed Expert Warren Levy writes:
I assume that by "throw by going down" you mean the under-arm “windmill” style of pitch as used in softball. This is a more efficient way for the arm to work, but a less efficient way to muster all of the lower body into the pitch. The result is a pitch that can be almost the same speed, even with a bigger ball. One key difference is that the under-arm windmill technique puts less stress on the shoulder. Softball pitchers often throw a lot more balls in a day than a baseball pitcher could do with over-arm pitches without suffering strain on the arm.
The speed that can be obtained in pitching a baseball is related to how efficiently all the parts of the body can be coordinated to move forward together for the pitch.
Using the legs and the hips to step into the pitch provides about 50% of the speed
The back adds about 20%
The arm adds about 20%
The last flick of the wrist and fingers adds about 10%
Only by pitching with a good motion can the speed add up to a fast pitch. For the top professional pitchers, the step starts to move the body forward at 50 mph (80 km/h), the arching of the back adds another 15 (24), the arm and shoulder add another 15 (24) and the final flick of the wrist adds the last 10-15 mph (16-24 km/h)
Bringing the arm back allows the pitcher to stretch the muscles in the back, shoulder and hips to propel the whole body forward. It is also important that the hand starts out palm down, to improve the body mechanics. If you want to see how important this is, try holding a baseball extended out behind you at arms length. Hold the ball palm up, and then palm down. The baseball will feel heavier in the palm up position. This extra strain will reduce the speed at which the pitcher can throw.
It should be noted that good mechanics can normally add 5-10 mph (8-6 km/h) to a pitchers speed, but only the right body type can make a pitcher than can pitch at 90 mph (144 km/h)
Also note that balls are bowled over-arm in the game of cricket, and they too can reach speeds of over 90 mph (144 km/h).
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