Physical characteristics of college baseball fastball pitchers

Abstract

Introduction

There have been reports on performance improvement and injury prevention for pitchers. Unfortunately, only few studies on college pitchers who have pitching speed up to 150 km/h have been reported.

Thus, we aimed to clarify the characteristics of college pitchers who pitch up to 150 km/h during scrimmage and or games.

Methods

Our subjects were twelve college baseball pitchers. We administered a questionnaire and conducted measurements of physical characteristics, such as, range of motion and muscle tightness. Based on the fastest pitch speed during games played in the past year, we divided the subjects into two groups of six subjects, high speed group (148 km/h or higher) and low speed group (139 km/h or less).For statistical analysis, we used an unpaired t test, with a significance level of (P<.05).

Results

BMI and pitching history presented significantly higher values in the HS group compared to the LS group. The HS group also presented significantly higher values for pronation of the non-dominant forearm and thoracolumbar extension in measurement of range of motions in the joints.

Discussions

BMI and pitching history were significantly higher in the HS group, indicating that having a large mass and long pitching history are related to pitch speed. Previous studies recommended that looking over the anteriorly rotated non-dominant shoulder is the ideal pitching motion. In this study, the pronation of the non-dominant forearm was higher in the HS group. This motion guides the anteriorly rotated non-dominant shoulder, leading to the current results. The high range of motion for thoracolumbar extension in the HS group allowed for an ideal pitching motion that links the glenohumeral joint, scapulothoracic joint, clavicle, and thoracic vertebrae, in addition to the shoulder complex, to ultimately enhance pitch speed.