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From the 1996 study of Olympic pitchers.
Pitching Performance Summary
As the stride foot touches down, the position of the throwing arm is important to pitching performance. Two of the parameters that were critical to injury prevention (shoulder extension and abduction) are also important to production of ball speed. The arm should be close to the body (in the plane) and should be near the top of the backswing as the stride foot comes into contact with the ground. If the arm is out of the windmill plane or not near the top of the backswing, ball speed will decrease. These two parameters, which indicate pitch timing and coordination, need to be optimized in the same manner for injury prevention and maximum ball speed. The angle at the knee joint is also important as the stride foot touches down. On average, the knee should be bent approximately 30 degrees short of full extension. A pitcher with a stride knee that is bent more than about 35-40 degrees will jeopardize ball speed.
In order to increase ball speed, it also appears that the angle of the stride should be in a forward direction and not too far right or left of the power line. Again, the knee angle of the stride foot and the stride placement can be optimized for performance and shoulder stress reduction in the same manner. Orientation of the stride foot also appears to be important in producing ball speed. A stride foot which is pointed toward third base (for a right-handed pitcher) at about a 10 to 30 degree angle is optimal for producing ball speed. Pitchers who tended to angle the stride foot too much (greater than 30 degrees) had slower release speeds. Another coordination factor which affects ball speed is the speed of the throwing arm as it circles through the windmill motion. At the instant of ball release, pitchers with great arm speeds tended to have lower ball velocities. Therefore, it appears that the arm circle needs to slow down prior to ball release for optimal ball speed. Two body segment contributions to ball speed also seem to be critical factors to ball velocity at the release point. The speed of the hand just prior to release should be maximal for increased ball speed. Also, those pitchers with high contributions from the elbow just prior to release tended to have lower ball speeds. Thus, proper sequencing of the segments (i.e., shoulder, then elbow, then wrist, then hand) appears to be important to pitching performance.
So somewhere between 30 and 45 would be optimal for not only throwing harder but keeping stress off the shoulder which is what this study was about. As for the question of drag it should be light as possible and should be as straight as possible.
Dana.
Pitching Performance Summary
As the stride foot touches down, the position of the throwing arm is important to pitching performance. Two of the parameters that were critical to injury prevention (shoulder extension and abduction) are also important to production of ball speed. The arm should be close to the body (in the plane) and should be near the top of the backswing as the stride foot comes into contact with the ground. If the arm is out of the windmill plane or not near the top of the backswing, ball speed will decrease. These two parameters, which indicate pitch timing and coordination, need to be optimized in the same manner for injury prevention and maximum ball speed. The angle at the knee joint is also important as the stride foot touches down. On average, the knee should be bent approximately 30 degrees short of full extension. A pitcher with a stride knee that is bent more than about 35-40 degrees will jeopardize ball speed.
In order to increase ball speed, it also appears that the angle of the stride should be in a forward direction and not too far right or left of the power line. Again, the knee angle of the stride foot and the stride placement can be optimized for performance and shoulder stress reduction in the same manner. Orientation of the stride foot also appears to be important in producing ball speed. A stride foot which is pointed toward third base (for a right-handed pitcher) at about a 10 to 30 degree angle is optimal for producing ball speed. Pitchers who tended to angle the stride foot too much (greater than 30 degrees) had slower release speeds. Another coordination factor which affects ball speed is the speed of the throwing arm as it circles through the windmill motion. At the instant of ball release, pitchers with great arm speeds tended to have lower ball velocities. Therefore, it appears that the arm circle needs to slow down prior to ball release for optimal ball speed. Two body segment contributions to ball speed also seem to be critical factors to ball velocity at the release point. The speed of the hand just prior to release should be maximal for increased ball speed. Also, those pitchers with high contributions from the elbow just prior to release tended to have lower ball speeds. Thus, proper sequencing of the segments (i.e., shoulder, then elbow, then wrist, then hand) appears to be important to pitching performance.
So somewhere between 30 and 45 would be optimal for not only throwing harder but keeping stress off the shoulder which is what this study was about. As for the question of drag it should be light as possible and should be as straight as possible.
Dana.
