|
Left
alone, pitchers will apply forces to their pitches with almost
as many techniques as there are pitchers. However, Newton's three
laws specifically dictate how pitchers must apply forces to their
pitches. Newton's Law of Inertia requires that pitchers apply
forces to their pitches in straight lines from leverage through
release toward home plate. Newton's Law of Acceleration requires
that pitchers uniformly apply their maximum forces for the maximum
time possible. Newton's Law of Reaction requires that pitchers
apply greater forces toward second base.
a. Transition
Transitions
begin when pitchers move baseballs backwards toward second base.
During transitions, pitchers must smoothly move their baseballs
in elliptical pathways backward and upward to leverage. During
transitions, pitchers move their baseballs with slow, controlled,
uniform velocities.
1. Training
Start Position
In
the training start position, pitchers stand with both feet on
or in front of the pitching rubber. They hold the baseball in
their gloves below their waist slightly toward their non-pitching
arm side with the elbows only slightly bent. They have their
weight shifted to their stride leg.
2. Vertical
Pendulum
To
begin transitions, pitchers remove the baseballs from their gloves
and permit their forearms to swing backward like a grandfather
clock's pendulum. Simultaneously, pitchers shift their body weight
backward to their rear leg by slightly bending their rear legs.
3. Downward
Forearm Head Pat
When
their vertical forearm passes the hip of their rear leg and starts
swinging upwardly, pitchers gently reverse rotate the hips and
shoulders until the acromial line drawn between the tip of their
shoulders point toward home plate. Pitchers swing their palm
forward forearms to about forty-five degrees from vertical as
though they were patting the head of a small child or a large
dog. Simultaneously, they slightly lift their stride legs off
the ground to counter-balance their rock-back weight shift.
4. Elbow Raise
At
the downward forearm head pat position, pitchers stop the backward
movement and initiate their forward movement. Pitchers start
the elbow raise maneuver. In the elbow raise maneuver, pitchers
continue to raise the forearm to horizontal without moving the
baseball behind their body. This is a critical skill to the success
of baseball pitchers. The elbow raise moves the upper arm upward
under the forearm to shoulder height. Simultaneously, while holding
the reverse rotation position, pitchers gently step forward.
In Chapter
19, I
mentioned how pitching coaches ruined the shoulders of pitchers
with their instruction to powerfully drive off pitching rubbers.
I said that they did not understand the anatomy of the shoulder.
The subscapularis muscle attachment to the humerus is the concern
(See Chapter
13 for
my discussion of the subscapularis muscle).
When
pitchers move their elbows behind their acromial lines, they
place their subscapularis muscle in a position of weak leverage.
If they then require the subscapularis to withstand great force,
such as powerfully driving off pitching rubbers, then they eventually
will injure the attachment of this muscle to the head of the
humerus.
Consequently,
pitchers must ALWAYS make certain that they place their subscapularis
muscle in a position of strong leverage. Strong subscapularis
leverage occurs when pitchers keep their elbows in front of their
acromial line. This is another critical skill in the Marshall
force application technique.
5. Shoulder
Lock Leverage
Transitions
end when pitchers raise their forearms to horizontal at shoulder
height. In this position, pitchers lock their upper arms (humerus)
with their thorax (rib cage). Pitchers have arrived at LEVERAGE!
They are in position to safely accelerate their pitches forward
from leverage through release.
b. Upper Arm
Acceleration
With
their forearms pronated or supinated the proper amount for the
desired pitch and properly aligned for the required driveline
from leverage through release and their stride foot just contacting
the ground, pitchers initiate the start of their forward rotation
with a strong push off the pitching rubber. While they drive
their body weight over their stride feet, pitchers start rotating
their shoulders and horizontal upper arms. When their body weight
is parallel with their stride foot, pitchers should have forwardly
rotated their hips and shoulders to perpendicular to their driveline.
The upper arm drive continues with the forearm remaining horizontal
until pitchers have forwardly rotated beyond their stride feet.
c. Forearm
Acceleration
While
pitchers continue to forwardly rotate, they simultaneously drive
off their stride foot and accelerate their forearms through release.
Pitchers should wait to accelerate their forearms until they
have reached as far forward toward home plate as possible in
the desired driveline. Pitchers powerfully drive their forearms,
wrists, hands and fingers through release while simultaneously
powerfully driving off their stride feet towards home plate.
This force-coupling summates the two parallel and oppositely
directed forces to achieve the pitchers maximum release velocity.
d. Deceleration
After
pitchers release their pitches, they have to safely decelerate
their arms. To extend the time over which pitchers have to decelerate
their arms, they continue to step toward home plate with their
rear legs. Pitchers have to safely stop their pitching arms before
their arms have reached the full limit of their length.
Plioanglos shoulder girdle, shoulder joint, elbow joint, forearm
joint, wrist joint, hand joint and finger joint actions sequentially
decelerate pitching arms to stops. The shoulder girdle has completely
stopped driving forward before the shoulder joint has finished
driving forward and so on. When the shoulder girdle stops, it
provides the platform for shoulder joint acceleration and so
on. After preceeding joint actions stop driving forward, mioanglos
joint actions snap back those joints to accelerate the next joint's
drive.
With
sequential shoulder girdle, shoulder joint, elbow joint, forearm,
wrist and hand decelerations, stops and snap backs, pitchers
sequentially accelerate their shoulder joints, elbow joints,
forearms, wrists, hands and fingertips to maximum release velocities.
This action imitates bullwhip tips that accelerate the tips of
bullwhips beyond sound barrier velocities.
e. Recovery
When
pitchers stop their fingertips from moving closer toward home
plate, the plioanglos joint actions change to mioanglos joint
actions. The deceleration muscles recover the pitching arm back
toward the body. When pitchers recover their pitching arms to
positions in which they can catch baseballs, the pitching motion
recovery phase ends.
To
pitch equally well against right and left handed batters, pitchers
need to throw pitches that move away from the center of home
plate toward both the first and third base corners. Therefore,
pitchers need to throw two types of four seam and two seam fastballs
that move toward both corners, slider and sinker pitches that
move oppositely and curve and screwball pitches that move toward
both sides of home plate as well as downward. To accomplish this,
pitchers require two distinctly different force application techniques.
I
teach two force application techniques. My MAXLINE force
application technique enables pitchers to drive pitches toward
the pitching arm side of home plate (See Chapter 21). My TORQUE force
application technique enables pitchers to drive pitches toward
the non-pitching arm side of home plate (See Chapter 22). Pitchers learn to
throw fastballs, curves, screwballs and sinkers with both the
Maxline and Torque force application techniques. However, they
should throw their sliders with only the Torque force application
technique. |
