The relationship between pitching parameters and release points of different pitch types in major league baseball players.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of pitches and to obtain basic knowledge about pitches by comparing 4-seam and other pitches in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Methods: We analyzed big data for 1,820 professional baseball pitchers of MLB on release speed, spin rate, release point 3D coordinates (X, Y, and Z axes), amount of change for 4-seam, and seven changing ball types (sinker, slider, changeup, cutter, curve, split finger, and knuckle curve), using PITCHf/x and TrackMan. We also evaluated three relationships: (1) between the release points and the ball types of pitch; (2) between the amount of change in the ball and the release speed; and (3) between the release speed and the spin rate.

Increased medial laxity of the elbow in preadolescent baseball players with or without medial elbow apophysitis.

Background: Medial elbow apophysitis is a traction apophysitis observed in the medial epicondyle of the elbow in preadolescent baseball players. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between medial elbow apophysitis and elbow valgus instability in preadolescent baseball players.

Methods: The participants were classified into a control group and an injury group; the injury group included participants diagnosed with a medial elbow injury (inclusion criteria were only symptoms of the elbow joint or positive findings on physical examinations, or both).

Recognition capability of one's own skilled movement is dissociated from acquisition of motor skill memory.

When we have rehearsed a movement using an object, we can reproduce the movement without holding the object. However, the reproduced movement sometimes differs from the movement holding a real object, likely because movement recognition is inaccurate. In the present study, we tested whether the recognition capability was dissociated from the acquisition of motor skill memory.

Whole-Body Mechanics of Double-Leg Attack in Elite and Non-elite Male Freestyle Wrestlers.

This study examined the movement characteristics of the double-leg attack in elite and non-elite wrestlers. Twenty light-weight male wrestlers were divided by skill level: Elite group ( = 11) who participated in international-level competitions and Non-Elite group ( = 9) consisting of college-level wrestlers. Each wrestler performed the double-leg attacks against a defender.

Head-eye movement of collegiate baseball batters during fastball hitting.

Successful baseball hitting involves a combination of highly trained perceptual skills and forceful bat swing motions. The purpose of the present study was to quantify the horizontal movement of the head and eyes while baseball batters hit a fastball to clarify a visual strategy for this highly trained interceptive task. Six collegiate baseball players hit a fastball that was launched from a pitching machine.

Contribution of Visual Information about Ball Trajectory to Baseball Hitting Accuracy.

The contribution of visual information about a pitched ball to the accuracy of baseball-bat contact may vary depending on the part of trajectory seen. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between hitting accuracy and the segment of the trajectory of the flying ball that can be seen by the batter. Ten college baseball field players participated in the study.

Relation Between Lift Force and Ball Spin for Different Baseball Pitches.

Although the lift force (F(L)) on a spinning baseball has been analyzed in previous studies, no study has analyzed such forces over a wide variety of spins. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between F(L) and spin for different types of pitches thrown by collegiate pitchers. Four high-speed video cameras were used to record flight trajectory and spin for 7 types of pitches.

Disturbance in hitting accuracy by professional and collegiate baseball players due to intentional change of target position.

The present study investigated bat control of skilled baseball batters during tee batting, faced with an intentional change in target position. Twelve, skilled, male baseball players (M age = 24 yr., SD = 4) participated in the study.

Relationship between performance variables and baseball ability in youth baseball players.

The present study investigated the relationship of performance variables and anthropometric measurements on baseball ability in 164 youth baseball players (age: 6.4-15.7 years).

The acute and chronic effects of isometric contraction conditioning on baseball bat velocity.

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the acute change in bat velocity (BV) following three types of warm-up procedures for baseball hitting (experiment 1), and (b) the effect of an 8-week training program of isometric contraction conditioning (ISO) on BV (experiment 2). In experiment 1, the BV of 24 collegiate baseball players was measured before and after one of the three warm-up procedures; five standard bat (mass = 850.5 g) dry swings (SBS), five weighted bat (mass = 850.

The effect of fastball backspin rate on baseball hitting accuracy.

The effectiveness of fastballs of equivalent speed can differ; for example, one element of this difference could be due to the effect of rate and orientation of ball spin on launched ball trajectory. In the present experiment, baseball batters' accuracy in hitting fastballs with different backspin rates at a constant ball velocity of 36 m/s was examined. Thirteen skilled baseball players (professionals, semiprofessionals, and college varsity players) participated in the study.

Spin on fastballs thrown by elite baseball pitchers.

Purpose: In this study, we analyzed the direction of the spin axis angles and the spin rate of baseballs pitched by elite collegiate and professional pitchers.

Method: The video image of a ball being pitched was taken from the period just before release until 200 ms after release with a high-speed video camera at a rate of 1000 frames per second. A custom-made device was used to analyze the spin axis angle and the spin rate.