Abstract
This study aimed to comparatively assess baseball players and sprinters in terms of the movements of the torso and the characteristics of step variables and pelvic elevation while running on a treadmill. Ten college baseball players and ten sprinters ran at 8.0 m/s in a motorized treadmill. Three-dimensional motion analysis was performed to compare the height of center of mass, step variables, and torso segment kinematics. The height of center of mass during the swing phase was significantly lower, and the step frequency was significantly higher in baseball players, suggesting that the baseball players have greater advantage for the change of direction with deceleration and acceleration. However, the stance time was significantly longer, and the torso rotation angle at initial ground contact and the displacement of torso rotation were significantly greater in baseball players than in sprinters. These factors may not allow baseball players to achieve running speed compared to the sprinters and lead to the development of training methods for baseball players to improve running speed.
