Strength in Numbers #115
It’s painful to read some of the current news on throwing arm injuries. All I see is that velocity and biomechanics are the culprits, like in this article in Sports Illustrated and this one by USA Today. Yet, no one is voicing a solution other than to throw slower and be more “efficient” without an accurate interpretation.
This message is spreading fear amongst all athletes, parents, coaches, scouts, front offices, agents, you name it. They all have started to believe in the ticking timebomb theory, which says it’s only a matter of time before a pitcher’s arm blows out.
Stop that line of thinking immediately! Because it tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It makes an athlete anxious, throw with a rigid delivery, throw with less effort, and some may pack it in altogether.
In this Strength in Numbers, I won’t get into debunking the myths and misconceptions about velocity and pitching mechanics. I’ve covered these topics extensively in the Great Debate Series, along with my thoughts on efficient pitching mechanics. (I also discuss these issues in great depth as part of our Certified Pitching Biomechanist Course.)
Instead, I want to focus on why throwing easier is not a solution to the injury epidemic in baseball.
1. It’s Not Easy
If you ask a player to throw at 75%, the velocity generally comes out at 90% of their maximum speed. Granted, an elite pitcher can ramp up during games, but this is not the norm for an amateur pitcher. If they do build during a game gradually, it’s likely a sign of an inefficient warm-up process.
If you do not believe me, the article abstract is here. It is not possible or sustainable, and especially not competitively desired, to throw your fastball slower.
If your movement is ridiculous, you might want to slow it down. For example, Greg Maddux could throw in the mid to high 90s but chose not to so he could preserve the speed-accuracy tradeoff and have major movement on his pitches. Maddux could pitch to contact, but many pitchers today cannot, so you must use other tools to throw competitive pitches, and velocity is highly effective.
Introductory physics shows we cannot underhand the ball and consistently get strikes. A 90mps fastball takes 400ms to get to the plate, and the swing takes 200ms to get off, so the batter must recognize the pitch in 200ms.
Now, take this to 100mph, and you significantly shorten the decision-making window, which is critical.
2. It Makes Your Changeup Less Effective
If you really want to reduce stress on the throwing arm, throw changeups. In my opinion, they are energetically easier and reduce neurological, metabolic, and hormonal costs. When you look at the pitch in 3D, you find that the changeup reduces shoulder and elbow loading, and better lead knee absorption reduces the effort required by the arm.
But a video is better than written words, and seeing will become believing when you go through this ArmCareIQ on changeups.
I believe it should be the first pitch an athlete learns to throw because it reduces stress, but throwing an accurate and effective changeup is also a major competitive advantage.
But a successful changeup relies on the deception of spreading effective velocity over eight mph or more from one’s fastball. This gets the batter swinging early and out in front of the pitch. But with the throw-a-slower fastball mentality, it speeds up your changeup and makes it more hittable.
If you throw 95mph and cruise it in at 92mph, in the game today, that’s a beachball.
3. It Doesn’t Actually Reduce Injuries
You may not be aware, but MLB pitchers use the fastball less than at any point in the game’s history. Right now, it is under 50% usage, which is barely throwing it compared to pitchers over the years.
We also live in a world where pitchers are generally not getting out of the 5th inning, throwing way less competitively than ever, and a complete game almost comes with a jail sentence.
Pitchers also have more rest than ever before. In the minor leagues, MLB mandated a schedule that involves a league-wide off day on Mondays, which provides significant neurological, structural, and cognitive rest to perform.
Despite all these things, the national average for pitching surgeries is about 5% of pitchers. That’s roughly 5 in every 100 pitchers getting cut on each season.
In summary, pitchers today throw less, throw fewer fastballs, have more rest, and are still getting hurt at an alarming rate.
STRENGTH MATTERS MOST
Now, what do you think I will say about all of this?
There are currently 23,000 athletes throwing confidently because they test their arm strength with the Arm Primer every day before throwing, complete fresh exams on bullpen days, and take a post-exam to check on their fatigue.
Then, to further support these data, are the elite coaches involved in this movement. They have found a way to make velocity enhancement safe. This will go even deeper with the ArmCare Elite that will start meeting in the middle of September.
These people understand how to blend strength metrics from the dynamometry with 3D motion capture data to create more individualized training, called Strength and Coordination Training, to add to health and minimize the risk of injury and poor performance.
We will talk about arm path changes in 3D that occur with throwing fatigue, which is why arm surgeries are happening, and ECON training to prevent compensations, making velocity enhancement and high-powered throwing safer. You can have a glimpse of the animation without data here:
In my opinion, the pitch clock made games faster, but it will not show any extra health benefits, and I believe it will show the opposite after the season.
Maybe one day pitchers will be substituted for robots if the injured list gets too high for teams to save money, or player development models will develop ambidextrous pitchers in case one arm blows, they have another one so that they do not lose out on opportunities or financial rewards for their dedication to their craft.
These are the manifestations of my nightmares, yet living in a world where less than 1% of pitchers experience surgery is the essence of my dreams.
It won’t be perfection, but we will make progress if we have Strength in Numbers.
