Which Throwing Position Is Better For Speed With A Baseball?

For every baseball player, generating the maximum amount of velocity on each throw ranks among the highest of priorities. A pitcher who throws 80 mph might go overlooked by professional scouts, but one a pitcher who throws 90 or higher is almost guaranteed to attract attention. You need to know how to use your entire body to develop a high amount of force behind each throw, while keeping your injury risk to a minimum.

Lower Body

Leg strength and stability are major catalysts in generating force behind each throw. There are three major lower-body steps that contribute to throwing speed. First, every throw begins with a drive off your back foot. Second, your front foot must plant and your knee must fully extend. A 2001 study published in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics showed that pitchers who threw with high velocity are able to extend their lead knee and plant, effectively ending their forward motion and assisting the upper body in generating additional torque. Step three is the follow-through of the back leg, which squares your body with the batter in case of a batted ball, and helps prevent hyperextension of your forward knee.

Upper Body

Upper-body strength and form play a pivotal role in ball speed, namely through momentum and inertia. Regardless of whether you are an over-the-top or submarine thrower, your shoulder is whipped around in a similar motion to throw the ball forward. Timing the whiplike action of your shoulder with your forward body momentum, while pulling down with your forward shoulder is key. By simply timing all of these motions in a perfect, easily replicated unison, you can add several mph without lifting a single weight.

Flexibility

The act of throwing a baseball can put a drastic amount of pressure on several elbow and shoulder ligaments. Keeping these ligaments flexible and helping them maintain a sense of familiarity with each movement can reduce your chance of injury and also help provide additional torque on your throwing motion. Pelvic flexibility can also assist in generating additional speed on a throw. In 2001, a study led by Dr James Stodden found that rotating your trunk, or hips, while cocking your arm to throw can be extremely effective in putting more velocity on a thrown ball.

Wrist and Forearm

You could have a perfect delivery set in place, with just the right amount of arm torque and a beautifully timed snap of the elbow, but unless your wrist and forearm do their jobs, it's all for naught. The two work in tandem, with your forearm muscles providing the power behind every snap of the wrist. At the beginning of the throwing motion, the wrist pronates and at the release of the ball the wrist thrusts down in a snapping motion, putting whatever desired spin is necessary for the respective throw or pitch.

Warning

In a study conducted from 2005 to 2008 at Ohio State University, 74 high schools were followed closely throughout each season, and injuries were tracked. Of the athletes tracked, 131 injured their shoulders while playing baseball or softball, and 10 percent of the injured baseball players required surgery. The inclusion of every major part of the body in throwing a ball is recommended by doctors to generate velocity and to prevent the thrower from tearing his shoulder out of its socket.