Control of ball release timing and direction by the shoulder joint in baseball pitching

Abstract

Although it might be thought that the control of the ball in baseball pitching is mainly controlled by the end-effector, considering the dynamics of the ball and the body, we assume that the shoulder joint primarily controls the start of ball rotation and the timing of release, as well as the speed and direction. In the experiment the ball and body movements were measured using a motion capture system and the point of application of force was calculated to clarify this hypothesis.