Strength in Numbers #198
Power. Stability. Longevity. These three words define the foundation of a high-performing, durable baseball player, particularly pitchers.
In part one, we touched on vertical jump testing and how contraction elements, particularly the loading component of the jump, are impactful for the delivery. One thing that must be acknowledged is that although the vertical jump has been a staple for evaluating lower-body power, the vector of force is directed upward to elevate the center of mass, and it does not tell us much about power when moving forward or backward on one leg.
Therefore, we must look to other jump tests that are often overlooked, such as horizontal jumps, especially in the frontal plane. When you watch a pitcher deliver the ball, the first power movement toward the plate occurs when separating from the rubber. The action of the drive leg in the hip is very similar in pitching and hitting, and it needs to be well understood.
Let’s break down why horizontal jump testing is a must-have in baseball performance evaluations and how it directly impacts injury risk and throwing arm health.
The Why: Frontal Plane Power in Baseball
Unlike purely vertical sports like volleyball or basketball, baseball is a multi-directional sport that involves applying rotational and lateral forces, especially in pitching and base running. The horizontal jump, including variations like the lateral bound (skater jump) and broad jump, evaluates an athlete’s frontal plane power generation and motor control, key for effective stride direction, hip deceleration, and rotational transfer in the pitching motion.
This is an advanced lateral jump that adds resistance and assistance in frontal play hip plyometrics. There are many variations, but this is a safe way to load athletes of any age without putting excessive load on the spine, such as a heavy weighted vest, which can cause excessive flexion of the lumbar region when top-heavy.
What is the research saying about all this anyway? Well…research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (Lehman et al., 2013) found that horizontal jump performance strongly correlates with throwing velocity, particularly in pitchers who can transfer lateral and rotational energy efficiently through the kinetic chain.
Why is this?
Well, it’s because our direction of force starts with linear momentum and is actually in the frontal plane.
But here’s the issue: when you move past the high school level, upper-level athletes are the best at movement compensation, and if linear momentum is not optimized, they are going to develop velocity somewhere else, and that comes from rotational momentum.
If we cannot push, we pull. Athletes come to me all the time with arm problems. I evaluate their training, and it’s bilateral, heavily focused on flexion and extension, and axially loaded – meaning it loads the spine.
If linear momentum is altered in an athlete, you BETTER ASSESS THE THROWING ARM.
A slide from our Certified Biomechanist Course. You must understand the kinesiology terms and their biomechanical relevance. Then, we break them down into strength- and coordination-based approaches.
Fatigue mitigation and optimizing variability are essential, as the interrelationship between being “linear” and “rotational” is something you need to be on top of in your knowledge and coaching skill set.
Hip Abductor and Adductor Injury Risk
Many baseball-related lower-body injuries stem from imbalances or power deficits in the hip abductors, such as the gluteus medius, and the adductors, including the adductor longus and magnus. These muscle groups are responsible for stabilizing the pelvis and controlling lateral movement.
Common frontal-plane injuries in baseball include:
- Adductor strains (often seen in pitchers and catchers)
- Hip impingement syndromes
- Gluteus medius dysfunction (leading to pelvic drop and stride misalignment)
These are all super bad for the throwing athlete as they alter the delivery. When these muscles cannot absorb or redirect lateral forces properly, pitchers may begin to compensate through the spine, shoulder, or elbow, which increases the risk of upper extremity injury.
It is also not uncommon to see a velocity loss that may be a result of lowered linear momentum. When this happens, there’s a major risk as the rotational component wears out. What happens is that we require more effort from the throwing arm to sustain velocity.
This is what you want to see in your post-exams. Maximal effort and minimal fatigue. If you start seeing a reduction in throwing arm strength, that signals an alert – you need to modify the throwing volume for the week, rest tired muscles, restore muscle balance, and keep checking under the hood to see if you have a lower body power dysfunction.
At times super strong arms can mask lower body fatigue signals, so for some of your super arms, get in the habit of identifying inconsistencies in lower body power, but a simple way to prevent issues is to instill a strength and coordination training approach rather than traditional lifting to appreciate the athletes preferred way of moving, and how force vectors, being the direction of force, occur in the delivery. Optimizing lower body performance with elite upper body function and fatigue resistance is the place you want to be!
From Hips to Arms: The Kinetic Chain Connection
Frontal plane strength and control in the hips are directly tied to throwing health. A landmark study by Oyama et al. (2014) in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) demonstrated that poor lumbopelvic control and hip weakness were associated with increased stress on the shoulders and elbows in pitchers. Without proper hip strength and motor control, the body’s rotational sequencing breaks down, forcing the arm to overwork and absorb more load.
Additionally, Chaouachi et al. (2010) linked horizontal and lateral jump measures to neuromuscular coordination and hip torque development, both of which are critical in the late-cocking and acceleration phases of pitching.
Focus your eyes on the delivery. See the vectors of the ground reaction force in action, represented by large arrows coming from the ground. They are directed by ankle, knee, and hip coordination to load, store, explode, and brace. If there is an inefficiency with the lower body chain, you could run into some serious issues with the shoulder and elbow. You need to assess the arm for a strength change consistently, as it can help you identify a hip power problem.
How to Use Horizontal Jump Testing in Baseball
- Lateral Bound Testing (single-leg): Measures unilateral frontal plane power and motor control.
- Broad Jump with Lateral Measurement: Evaluates force projection and ground reaction force alignment.
- Bilateral vs. Unilateral Comparisons: Identifies side-to-side imbalances that may impact stride length and direction.
Testing is essential, but the technical elements of the jump are huge. As I have mentioned in our ArmCare Accelerators, we go through the practicals with a focus on the brakes. If we don’t train the brakes, we will certainly brake. When you coach, focus more on force absorption than generation.
Closing Thought This Week: Don’t Ignore the Frontal Plane
Vertical jump tells part of the story. But horizontal jump testing fills in the missing puzzle piece for power transfer, injury prevention, and actual linear-to-rotational momentum efficiency. For pitchers, especially, hip function in the frontal plane is directly tied to the health of the shoulder and elbow.
Regular horizontal jump assessments, when paired with throwing arm strength and mobility testing using the ArmCare platform, contribute to a multidimensional athlete profile—empowering coaches and clinicians to create more innovative training and rehabilitation programs.
If you have questions about this topic or are interested in our educational offerings, both electronic and in-person, please reach out to us.
Be an expert and save some arms out there.
Ryan
Ryan@armcare.com
