Time analysis of the catcher’s throwing motion to second base

Abstract

    This study investigates the catcherʼs throwing time to second base (time from the ball being caught to the completion time of the thrown ball reaching second base). The throwing motion of college baseball catchers (n=12) and the catching motion of a second baseman were videotaped at 210 Hz using different high-speed cameras. The throwing time was divided into the motion time (time from the ball being caught to being released) and the airborne time (time from the ball being released to the ball reaching second base). The motion time was further divided into the hold time (time from the ball being caught to the ball being held in the right hand), the stride time (time from the ball being first held in the right hand to the lead foot contact), and the release time (time from the lead foot contact to the ball release). To evaluate the throwing ability of the catchers, the throw distance was measured. There were no significant correlations between the throwing time and the motion time, but there were significant positive correlations between the throwing time and the airborne time. These results indicate the importance of increasing the initial velocity of the ball after release. There were no significant correlations between the throwing time and the hold time, or between the throwing time and the stride time. However, there were significant negative correlations between the throwing time and the release time, and the airborne time showed a significant negative correlation with the release time. These results suggest that catchers exhibiting the shorter the throwing times attempted to increase the initial velocity of the ball after release, although the release time became longer. Throw distance showed a significant negative correlation with the airborne time. These results clearly demonstrate the necessity of increasing throw distance to obtain a higher initial velocity of the ball at release.