Three Important Measures of Pitching Efficiency

You’ll hear a lot from us about how strength measurements are key in picking up on fatigue which leads to reduced performance and injuries in baseball players, but in this article, you’ll see how it’s also a metric for pitching efficiency.

One of the common phrases you hear about a pitcher is that “so-and-so has an efficient delivery.”

But really, what does that mean?

To truly tell if a pitcher is efficient, you need data to inform how effectively they project force to the baseball and then maintain that output for an entire outing.

Defining Efficiency

We define efficiency through three different data-driven methods:

VELOCITY EFFICIENCY – This can also be considered pitch efficiency that looks at maximizing the highest unit of velocity per unit of throwing arm torque. Assessing velocity efficiency requires 3D motion capture to identify arm-loads accurately. Additionally, fatigue can lower velocity relative to torque to make the pitcher less efficient from a force standpoint.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY – This calculation looks at velocity achieved versus energy generated by the throwing arm. A more efficient pitcher transfers energy efficiently to the throwing arm, meaning the shoulder and elbow generate less energy relative to the velocity achieved. This assessment also requires 3D motion capture techniques to measure energy flow. If a pitcher reduces energy transfer to the throwing arm, the ratio between velocity and energy generation reduces, and therefore, the pitcher is less efficient.

MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY – This measure is the most available to the everyday player and coach via the ArmCare App. Aligning with previous insights related to injury and fatigue, a post-game strength test is the best and potentially most intuitive way to assess this type of efficiency. Combined with pitching accuracy, coaches and athletes will understand the impact of fatigue on mechanics.

The goal of using this intersection of data is to see how mechanics change in relation to strength. For example, the top right box (see the red star) shows the player maintained post-game strength from baseline along with a high degree of pitching accuracy (strike-throwing percentage). These results would indicate that the pitcher has efficient mechanics that don’t change with fatigue, and the delivery is repeatable.

Using Strength to Measure Efficiency

In this ArmCare IQ segment, Ryan will help you better understand the importance of post-game strength testing to compare against changing mechanics. Not only does this data help pitchers protect their UCL, but it helps create informed coaching decisions and helps build training programs.

The take-home is that the next time you hear the word “efficiency,” consider strength testing and accuracy tracking as essential benchmarks for this metric. And by using the ArmCare App, coaches and athletes can determine fatigue levels coming out of games and when to adjust mechanics and workload. Bottom line, we put the lab in your hands to unlock optimum throwing health and performance.