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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Forty-One Questions that the American Sports Medicine Institute AsksThe following forty-one questions are in the protocol that the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) uses to evaluate the biomechanics of baseball pitchers. To explain how they measure their variables, ASMI provides still photographs with lines drawn on them. In addition, on the last page of the report, they provide a list of scientific publications. In short, ASMI puts two dozen reflective markers on the athlete and use 8 high-speed cameras to videotape the motion in all three dimensions. Lastly, their computer program determines the values of each variable. The best references for explaining the equations are: 01. Zheng N, Fleisig GS, Barrentine S, Andrews JR. Biomechanics of Pitching. In Hung GK, Pallis JM (eds), Biomedical Engineering Principles in Sports, Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York, pp 209-256, 2004. 02. Fleisig GS. The Biomechanics of Baseball Pitching. (PhD dissertation) The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1994. The best reference for explaining the ranges for their elite pitchers is: 01. Fleisig GS, Barrentine SW, Zheng N, Escamilla RF, Andrews JR. Kinematic and kinetic comparison of baseball pitching among various levels of development. Journal of Biomechanics 32(12):1371-1375, 1999. ASMI believes that those baseball pitchers capable of throwing fastballs faster use the best baseball pitching motion. Therefore, when, to eliminate pitching injuries, they biomechanically analyze baseball pitchers, they compare their numbers with the numbers that their Elite group of baseball pitchers. To assign baseball pitchers to their Elite group of baseball pitchers, ASMI relies on the release velocity that these baseball pitchers achieved when they threw in the ASMI laboratory. Only baseball pitchers that threw 84 to 89 mph fastballs are members of their Elite group. In addition, their Elite group baseball pitchers must have been injury-free for 12 months preceding their evaluation. Before everybody thinks that almost all major league baseball pitchers can easily throw 84 to 89 miles per hour, we have to understand the difference between the laboratory and competitive situations. In the laboratory setting at the American Sports Medicine Institute, baseball pitchers throw baseballs in their gym shoes off a plastic mound with reflective balls sticking to the moving parts of your body without catchers and batters and only the ASMI crew watching. In the competitive setting, baseball pitchers pitch in spike shoes off dirt mounds in grand stadiums to catchers against highly-skilled baseball batters with enthusiastic crowds cheering them on and their adrenaline surging. We estimate that, when baseball pitchers throw 84 to 89 miles per hour in the ASMI lab setting, then, in highly-competitive settings, they would throw at least 94 to 99 miles per hour. ------------------------------------------------- For years now, I have criticized the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) for believing that the best major league baseball pitchers use perfect baseball pitching technique. We see major league baseball pitchers that throw 94 to 99 miles per hour regularly suffer serious baseball pitching injuries. ASMI counters that, for 12 months prior to ASMI evaluating their baseball pitching motion, their Elite group were injury-free. Unfortunately, ASMI does not provide the names of their Elite group for us to determine their long term injury report. Baseball pitching injuries take time to manifest themselves. The first time that baseball pitchers perform the injurious flaws inherent in the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion, they do not suffer injuries. Pitching injuries take from months to years to break down their bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. To design the best, injury-free baseball pitching motion, I believe that researchers should use Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws of force and the applied anatomy of the human body. The first question that the protocol that the American Sports Medicine Institute’s computer programs asks to biomechanically analyze baseball pitching motions relates to how far forward baseball pitchers move their hips while they are in the ‘balance position’ of the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion. However, before they assume the ‘balance position’ of the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion,‘traditional’ baseball pitchers perform several movements. 01. With the wind-up competitive baseball pitching motion, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers simultaneously step backward with their glove foot and raise both arms over their head. 02. Next, they lift their pitching foot off the ground and turn it to parallel with the pitching rubber. 03. Next, they lift their glove foot off the ground and start to reverse rotate their hips and shoulders backward over their pitching leg. 04. Next, they simultaneously start to lift their glove knee upward and lower their hands to waist high. At this point, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers are in the ‘balance position’ of the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion. With Step #1, baseball pitchers move the center of mass of their body backward to between the distance of the backward step with their glove foot and the pitching rubber. If baseball pitchers continuously move the center of mass of their body forward through release, then the farther behind the pitching rubber that they start increases the forward momentum that they can generate. When, in Step #2 baseball pitchers turn their pitching foot to parallel with the pitching rubber, they guarantee that, when they move their pitching knee forward and downward, they will injure the lateral aspect of their pitching knee. When, in Step #3, baseball pitchers reverse rotate their hips and shoulders backward, they guarantee that, by taking their hip line well beyond second base from where they will powerfully forwardly rotate their hip line, they will injure their pitching hip. With Step #4, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers move the center of mass of their body forward to over the pitching rubber and stops its forward movement. Therefore, before the computer program determines how far forward ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers allow their hips to drift, it should determine how far beyond second base baseball pitchers reverse rotate their hip and shoulder lines. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-heading of ‘Pelvic Drift’ under the main heading of ‘Balance Point,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q01: Are the baseball pitchers balanced when their knee has reached its maximum height? To determine whether baseball pitchers are balanced after they raise their glove knee to its maximum height, ASMI measures how much their hips move forward. The report says that, while in the 'balance position,' their Elite group moved their hips forward between 6 and 9 inches. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, while in the 'balance position' where they maximally raise their glove knee, all baseball pitchers should move their hips forward between 6 and 9 inches. ------------------------------------------------- This question shows that ASMI believes that, when baseball pitchers lift the glove foot off the ground, they achieve higher release velocities. It also shows that ASMI assumes that all baseball pitchers use the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion. However, when ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers have fast base runners on base, they frequently use the ‘slide step’ technique, which means they do not raise their glove foreleg. Yet, they still achieve the same release velocity. On a bulletin board in the ASMI lab, I saw a photograph of a baseball pitcher with his raise glove foreleg highlighted to indicate that it contributes to the Kinetic Chain of baseball pitching. In the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion, the glove foreleg does not contribute to the Kinetic Chain of baseball pitching. To demonstrate, I offer the high-speed film that I took of myself in 1967 that I include in the Research Begins section of my Baseball Pitching Instructional Video. When we stop the action at the point where the glove foot lands, we can see that the baseball is actually moving backward. Therefore, whatever force I applied with my glove leg did nothing to accelerate the baseball toward home plate. However, when the glove foot of my baseball pitchers contacts the ground, the baseball is already moving toward home plate. Therefore, in my baseball pitching motion, the glove foreleg does contribute to the Baseball Pitching Kinetic Chain.’ Therefore, because this question fails to provide any useful information, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the heading of ‘Balance Point,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q02: Are your hands in front of your chest at this point? Some person answered this question. Therefore, the answer is subjective, not objective and can vary from person to person. ------------------------------------------------- Because the computer program does not determine this variable, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the heading of ‘Stride,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q03: Do your hands break apart as your stride knee starts to move down and towards home plate? Some person answered this question. Therefore, the answer is subjective, not objective and can vary from person to person. ------------------------------------------------- Because the computer program does not determine this variable, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the heading of ‘Stride,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q04: Do both arms smoothly break down, swing apart and then up? Some person answered this question. Therefore, the answer is subjective, not objective and can vary from person to person. ------------------------------------------------- Because the computer program does not determine this variable, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Between the ‘balance point’ and when their glove foot lands, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers move their glove arm forward and their pitching arm backward. Because ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers reverse rotate their hips and shoulders backward over their pitching foot to well beyond second base before they start to stride forward with their glove foot, they move their glove arm forward in a direction that is well behind the pitching arm side batter and move their pitching arm in a direction that is well beyond second base. Therefore, the computer program should determine how far behind the pitching arm side batter that baseball pitchers move their glove upper arm line and how far beyond second base that baseball pitchers move their pitching upper arm line. The director of the American Sports Medicine Institute, Dr. Glenn Fleisig agreed with me when he said, “It only makes sense for baseball pitchers to drive the baseball in straight lines toward home plate.” If Dr. Fleisig believes this, then, relative to the ankle of the pitching foot on the pitching rubber, the computer program should determine the position, from which baseball pitchers first move the baseball toward home plate. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Stride Length Ratio’ under the main classification ‘Stride Length,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q05: Is your stride length slightly less than your height? To determine ‘stride length ratio,’ ASMI measures the distance from the front of the pitching rubber to the ankle of their glove foot and divided that value by the standing height of the pitchers. The report says that the ‘stride length ratio’ of their Elite group ranged between 77 and 87 percent of their standing height. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should stride forward with their glove foot 77 to 87 percent of their standing height. ------------------------------------------------- When baseball pitchers stride forward farther than when they power walk, they cannot continuously move the center of mass of their body forward. Therefore, before they release their pitches, they stop the forward movement of their body. Because the glove knee has to absorb the force of the forward movement of their body, baseball pitchers unnecessarily stress the ligament that prevents the Femur bone of the glove upper leg from sliding forward over the Tibia bone of the glove foreleg, the Anterior Cruciate Ligament. When baseball pitchers stop their body from moving forward, to continue to move their pitching arm forward, they have to bend forward at their waist. Therefore, after they release their pitches, they have to stop bending forward. Because the lower back has to absorb the force of decelerating the trunk, head and pitching arm from moving forward after release, baseball pitchers unnecessarily stress the L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk and extensor muscles of their lower back. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should stride 77 to 87 percent of their standing height, ASMI injures the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of their glove knee, their L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk and the extensor muscles of their lower back. I teach my baseball pitchers to step forward only as far as they can continue to move the center of mass of their body forward until their pitching foot lands. Therefore, my baseball pitchers not only increase the length of their driveline, but they also protect the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of their glove knee, their L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk and the extensor muscles of their lower back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the classification ‘Lead Knee Angle,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q06: Is your lead knee properly bent at foot contact? To determine ‘lead knee angle’ when their glove foot lands, ASMI measures the angle between the glove upper leg line and the glove foreleg line. The report says that, when their glove foot lands, the angle between the glove upper leg and the glove foreleg of their Elite group ranges from 36 and 52 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have the glove upper leg to glove foreleg angle between 36 and 52 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- I think that the important measurement here is the angle of the glove upper leg and the ground, not the glove upper leg to glove foreleg angle. When baseball pitchers stride too far, the sudden stopping of their body places considerable stress on their glove knee. Therefore, with the glove knee bent, the Femur bone of the glove upper leg pushes forward over the Tibia bone of their glove foreleg. Only the Anterior Cruciate Ligament prevents the Femur bone from sliding forward over the Tibia bone. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have their glove upper leg to glove foreleg angle between 36 and 52 degrees, ASMI injures the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of the glove knee of baseball pitchers. When their glove foot lands, I teach my baseball pitchers to have their glove knee slightly bent in the same manner as though they were power walking. Therefore, they remove all unnecessary stress from the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of their glove knee. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the classification ‘Lead Foot Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q07: Do you step slightly across your body? To determine ‘glove foot position,’ ASMI measures the distance to either side of the straight forward line from the ankle on the pitching rubber that the glove ankle lands. (Positive values indicate to the pitching arm side of the line (closed)) The report says that glove foot of their Elite group landed 5 to 13 inches to the pitching arm side of the line. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have their glove foot land between 5 and 13 inches to the pitching arm side of this straight forward line. ------------------------------------------------- When ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers release their pitches, they have their pitching arm far to the pitching arm side of their body. Therefore, to throw the baseball into the strike zone, they already have to pull their pitching across the front of their body the distance that they release their pitches to the pitching arm side of their body. Now, when ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers stride closed between 5 and 13 inches, they add 5 to 13 more inches to the distance that they have to pull their pitching arm across the front of their body. ‘Pulling the Pitching Arm across the Front of the Body’ is an injurious flaw that injures the Anterior Deltoid muscle and the anterior portion of the Labrum of the pitching shoulder. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have their glove foot land between 5 and 13 inches to the pitching arm side of the straight forward line toward home plate, ASMI injures the Anterior Deltoid muscle and the anterior portion of the Labrum. With my Maxline pitches, to move the center of mass of their body outside of home plate, I teach my baseball pitchers step forty-five degrees to the glove arm side of the straight forward line. I also teach my baseball pitchers how to get their pitching forearm vertical at release. I also teach my baseball pitchers to drive their pitching hand straight toward home plate. Therefore, my baseball pitchers release their pitches outside of the glove side of home plate. As a result, to throw their pitches into the strike zone, my baseball pitchers do not have to pull their pitching arm across the front of their body. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the classification ‘Lead Foot Angle,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q08: Does your stride foot land with toes pointing in? To determine ‘glove foot angle,’ ASMI measures the angle between the glove foot and the straight forward line. The report says that, when their glove foot lands, the glove foot of their Elite group is closed between 7 and 26 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have their glove foot closed between 7 and 26 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- When baseball pitchers have their glove foot closed between 7 and 26 degrees, they prevent their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm from forwardly rotating any farther. Therefore, to throw their pitches into the strike zone, baseball pitchers can only pull their pitching arm across the front of their body. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have their glove foot closed between 7 and 26 degrees, ASMI injures the Anterior Deltoid muscle and the anterior aspect of the Labrum. With my Maxline pitches, when their glove foot lands, I teach my baseball pitchers to have their glove foot turned forty-five degrees toward their glove side. With their glove foot turned open, my baseball pitchers easily continue to forwardly rotate their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm over their glove foot through release. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Pelvis Rotation’ under the main classification ‘Pelvis and Trunk Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q09: Is your pelvis slightly open? To determine ‘Pelvis Rotation,’ ASMI measures the angle between the hip line and the straight forward line. The report says that, when their glove foot lands, the hip line of their Elite group has forwardly rotated between 20 to 41 degrees beyond straight forward. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have forwardly rotated their hip line to between 20 and 41 degrees beyond straight forward. ------------------------------------------------- When their glove foot lands, their Elite group has forwardly rotated their hip line 20 to 41 degrees beyond the straight forward line. However, from where did they start the forward rotation of their hip line? If their Elite group reverse rotated their hip line between 45 and 60 degrees behind the straight forward line, then they would have forwardly rotated their hip line between 65 and 101 degrees forward. Would this mean that if their Elite group had reverse rotated their hip line only as far as second base, then, when their glove foot landed, they would have forwardly rotated their hip line to 65 and 101 degrees in front of the straight forward line? Unfortunately, ASMI fails to provide this critical measurement. Therefore, we cannot answer these questions. Therefore, unless and until ASMI determines from where baseball pitchers start to forwardly rotate their hip line, we cannot determine the relevance of how far their Elite group forwardly rotated their hips. I teach my baseball pitchers to pendulum swing their pitching arm straight backward toward second base. Therefore, rather than actively reverse rotating their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm backward over their pitching leg, I teach my baseball pitchers to passively reverse rotate their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm straight backward toward second base. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Trunk Separation’ under the main classification ‘Pelvis and Trunk Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q10: Is your upper trunk still rotated slightly closed? To determine ‘trunk separation,’ ASMI measures the angle between the shoulder line and the pelvis (hip) line. The report says that, when their glove foot landed, the shoulder line of their Elite group only forwardly rotated between -59 to -38 degrees short of their hip line. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have their shoulder line forwardly rotated between -59 and -38 degrees short of their hip line. ------------------------------------------------- When their glove foot landed, the Elite group had forwardly rotated their hip line between 20 and 41 degrees in front of the straight forward line. When their glove foot landed, the Elite group had forwardly rotated their shoulder line between 59 and 38 degrees short of their hip line. Does this mean that, when their glove foot landed, the Elite group had forwardly rotated their shoulder line to between 39 degrees behind the straight forward line and 3 degrees in front of the straight forward line? Like with the hip line, we do not know from where the Elite group started the forward rotation of their shoulder line. Therefore, unless and until ASMI determines from where baseball pitchers start to forwardly rotate their shoulder line, we cannot determine the relevance of how far their Elite group forwardly rotated their shoulders. Nevertheless, it appears as though ASMI believes that, to be able to maximally forward rotate their shoulders, all baseball pitchers should first maximally forward rotate their hips. However, experience shows us that when baseball pitchers maximally forward rotate their hips before they start to maximally forward rotate their shoulders, they injure the Oblique Internus Abdominis muscle on the glove side of their rib cage. Therefore, I believe that separating the forward rotation of the hips and shoulders is an injurious flaw. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should sequentially rotate their hips and shoulders forward, ASMI injures the Oblique Internus Abdominis muscle on the glove side of the rib cage. To maximally forward rotate the entire pitching arm side of their body, I teach my baseball pitchers simultaneously powerfully contract all the forward rotational muscles of their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm. Therefore, my baseball pitchers not only do not unnecessarily stress their Oblique Internus Abdominis muscle and they are able to forwardly rotate their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm with greater rotational velocity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The computer program determined the positions of the hip and shoulder lines when the glove foot lands. That is good. However, we also need to know the positions of the glove and pitching upper legs lines and the positions of the glove and pitching upper arms lines when the glove foot lands. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Side Trunk Tilt’ under the main classification ‘Pelvis and Trunk Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q11: Are your shoulders level? To determine the ‘side trunk tilt’ of baseball pitchers when their glove foot lands, ASMI measures the angle between the shoulder line and the horizontal line. The report says that, when their glove foot landed, the Elite group tilted their shoulder line between -4 and 12 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should tilt their shoulders shoulder tilted downward between -4 and 12 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- I would re-label ASMI’s ‘side trunk tilt,’ ‘forward/backward shoulder line tilt.’ I can remember when baseball pitchers looked like Zeus posing with their glove arm pointing forward at forty-five degrees upward and their pitching arm pointing backward at forty-five degrees downward. Only the force that baseball pitchers apply straight toward home plate increases release velocity. Up and down forces not only do not contribute to release velocity, but they also decrease release consistency. I teach my baseball pitchers to only apply force straight toward home plate. Therefore, I want my baseball pitchers to have their ‘forward/backward shoulder line tilt,’ absolutely horizontal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Shoulder Abduction’ under the main classification ‘Throwing Arm Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q12: Is your upper arm even with your shoulders? To determine ‘throwing shoulder abduction,’ ASMI measures the angle between the shoulder line and the trunk line. The report says that, when their glove foot landed, the angle of the pitching upper arm of the Elite group ranged between 78 and 103 degrees to their trunk line. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have the angle of their pitching upper arm at between 78 and 103 degrees to their trunk line. ------------------------------------------------- With this question, ASMI is trying to determine whether baseball pitchers can raise their pitching upper arm to shoulder height. However, it appears as though, to make their shoulder line, they draw a line through the center of the Glenoid Fossas on the glove and pitching arm sides of the shoulders. I believe that this line is too low. Instead, I recommend that they draw a line across the top of the shoulders. Then, to determine whether baseball pitchers can raise their pitching upper arm to shoulder height, they would determine whether their pitching upper arm line was parallel with that shoulder line or intersected it medially or laterally. My research shows that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers cannot raise their pitching upper arm line above a line that is parallel with the line across the top of their shoulders. Therefore, I question that their Elite group raised their pitching upper line above 90 degrees of their trunk line. Nevertheless, I believe the best way for ASMI to present this information is in terms of how many degrees below to how many degrees above a line across the top of the shoulders that is perpendicular to the trunk line their Elite group raised their pitching upper arm line. In other words, instead of 78 to 103 degrees, ASMI should report this information as -12 to 13 degrees. I believe that, when baseball pitchers have their pitching upper arm below their shoulder line, they have already injured the back of their pitching shoulder and are trying to protect that injury. Therefore, non-injured ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers typically have their pitching upper arm line even with a line parallel with the line across the top of their shoulders. However, the most powerful movement of the shoulder joint is ‘Shoulder Joint Extension.’ If you watch professional wrestling, then you regularly see wrestlers that will raise their upper arm vertically in front and then, to deliver a powerful blow, they will extend their upper arm downward crashing into their opponent with great force. In the standing anatomical position, where baseball pitchers have their pitching upper arm vertically pointing downward, ‘Shoulder Joint Extension’ would have them move their pitching upper arm straight backward and upward behind their body. However, with their pitching upper arm vertically pointing upward, ‘Shoulder Joint Extension’ would have them move their pitching upper forward and downward in front of their body. Therefore, with my Maxline pitches, I teach my baseball pitchers to raise their pitching upper arm to as vertical as possible beside their head and point their pitching forearm straight toward home plate. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Elbow Flexion’ under the main classification ‘Throwing Arm Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q13: Is your elbow properly flexed? To determine ‘throwing elbow flexion,’ ASMI measures the angle between the pitching upper arm line and the pitching forearm line and subtract that value from 180 degrees. The report says that, when their glove foot landed, the angle of the pitching forearm line of their Elite group ranged between 74 and 107 degrees of their pitching upper arm line. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have their pitching forearm line 74 and 107 degrees of their pitching upper arm line. ------------------------------------------------- I recommend that ASMI presents this information relative to when the baseball pitchers bend their pitching elbow at 90 degrees. Therefore, I recommend that pitching forearm line ranged between 16 degrees outside of the 90 degree angle of the bent pitching elbow (74 degrees) to 17 degrees inside of the 90 degree angle of the bent pitching elbow (107 degrees). ASMI’s question implies that, when their glove foot lands, baseball pitchers should actively bend their pitching elbow. I disagree. Before their glove foot lands, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers move their pitching hand forward close to their pitching shoulder. Therefore, they lose toward home plate distance over which they can apply force to their pitches toward home plate. Instead, to maximize the distance over which they can apply force to their pitches toward home plate, when the pitching elbow starts toward home plate, they should have their pitching hand the full length of the pitching forearm behind the pitching elbow. I call this action, ‘Pitching Forearm Looping.’ ‘Pitching Forearm Looping’ is an injurious flaw that unnecessarily stresses the front of the pitching shoulder, the inside of the pitching elbow and back of their pitching shoulder. Therefore, when ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers ‘loop’ their pitching hand, backward and outward before it starts forward, they injure their Anterior Deltoid muscle, the anterior aspect of their Labrum, their Ulnar Nerve, their Teres Minor muscle and the posterior aspect of their Labrum. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers should have bent their pitching elbow between 74 and 107 degrees, ASMI injures the Anterior Deltoid muscle and the Ulnar Nerve. I teach my baseball pitchers to keep their pitching hand the full length of their pitching forearm in a straight line behind their pitching elbow. Therefore, when my baseball pitchers start driving their pitching elbow straight toward home plate, they also move their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball straight toward home plate. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Shoulder External Rotation’ under the main classification ‘Throwing Arm Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q14: Is your forearm rotated to a semi-cocked position? To determine ‘throwing shoulder external rotation,’ ASMI measures the angle between the pitching forearm line and the forward direction of the trunk. The report says that, when their glove foot lands, the degrees of outward rotation of the pitching upper arm of their Elite group ranged between 24 and 79 degrees to the forward direction of their trunk. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers have outwardly rotated their pitching upper arm between 24 and 79 degrees to the forward direction of their trunk. ------------------------------------------------- To understand throwing shoulder external rotation (outward rotation), we have to understand the position from which the pitching upper arm should be maximally outwardly rotated. 01. In the proper maximum outward rotation position for baseball pitching, baseball pitchers should have their pitching upper arm vertically beside their head, their pitching forearm horizontally behind their pitching elbow and their pitching forearm pointing straight toward second base. 02. In the maximum inward rotation position for baseball pitching, baseball pitchers should have their entire pitching arm pointed at home plate with their pitching hand aimed into the strike zone. ‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers take the baseball out of their glove with the palm of their pitching hand on top of the baseball. Therefore, when they take their pitching arm backwards, they raise their pitching upper arm to shoulder height before they raise their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball to shoulder height. With their pitching upper arm stuck at shoulder height and their pitching forearm pointing forward and downward, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers have to raise their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball straight upward. I call this actioin, ‘Late Pitching Forearm Turnover.’ At some moment during their ‘Late Pitching Forearm Turnover,’ their glove foot lands. ASMI reports that, when the glove foot of their Elite group lands, they have their pitching forearm between 24 and 79 degrees above the forward direction of their trunk. Therefore, before their glove foot lands, not one of the Elite group raised their pitching forearm to vertical. The maximum functional inward rotation range of motion starts with the pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball horizontally extended the full length of their pitching forearm behind their pitching elbow. Therefore, after their glove foot lands, those members of ASMI’s Elite group have outwardly rotated their pitching forearm to only 24 above horizontal. Therefore, to get their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball to vertical, they still have to outwardly rotate the Humerus bone of their pitching upper arm 66 more degrees. Then, to get their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball to horizontally behind their pitching elbow, they have to outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm 90 more degrees. As a result, after their glove foot lands, these Elite baseball pitches have to outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm total of 156 degrees more. However, when their glove foot lands, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers immediately start to forwardly rotate their shoulders and pitching upper arms. Therefore, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers very little time to properly reposition their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball horizontally behind their pitching elbow. During this brief moment in time, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers have two forces operating on their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball. 01. To reposition their pitching forearm horizontally behind their pitching elbow, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers actively outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm. 02. To accelerate their pitching hand toward home plate, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers also powerfully forwardly rotate their shoulders and pitching upper arm. Therefore, while their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball are moving upward and backward, their pitching upper arm is explosively moving forward. As a result, the force of the forward movement of their pitching upper arm forward accelerates the outward rotation of the pitching upper arm moving upward and backward. At the end of the outward rotation of their pitching upper arm, their pitching upper arm has to stop moving backward and downward and start moving forward. I call this moment, ‘Reverse Pitching Forearm Bounce.’ To actively outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers use their Teres Minor, Infraspinatus and Supraspinatus muscles. To move their pitching forearm with their pitching upper arm, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers use the Brachioradialis muscle. As a result, when their pitching forearm, wrist, hand, fingers and baseball suddenly stop moving backward and downward, their Ulnar Collateral Ligament receives the full force of the ‘Reverse Pitching Forearm Bounce.’ Unfortunately, during ‘Late Pitching Forearm Turnover,’ ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers leave their Ulnar Collateral Ligament unprotected by their Pronator Teres muscle. As a result, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers microscopically tear the connective tissue fibers of their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. When ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers tear sufficient numbers of the connective tissue fibers in their Ulnar Collateral Ligament, they rupture their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. Therefore, it is critical that the biomechanical analysis of the baseball pitching motion includes calculating the force of the ‘Reverse Pitching Forearm Bounce’ on the unprotected Ulnar Collateral Ligament. Unfortunately, the biomechanical analysis protocol that the American Sports Medicine Institute uses does not calculate this critical value. Force equals mass multiplied by acceleration. Therefore, to calculate the force of ‘Reverse Pitching Forearm Bounce,’ the biomechanical analysis protocol needs to determine the mass of the pitching forearm and the angle of the pitching forearm line to the pitching upper arm line, the final outward rotation velocity and the initial outward rotation velocity of the pitching arm when the glove foot lands divided by the time period for the changes in position to take place. Do you remember the example from their Elite group, where some of the Elite group have to almost instantaneously outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm an additional 156 degrees and they have to do this almost instantaneously? During this instantaneous 156 degrees of outward rotation, the Ulnar Collateral Ligament is the only tissue holding the Ulna bone to the Humerus bone. Therefore, with every competitive pitch that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers throw, they microscopically tear the connective tissue fibers of their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. I have no idea how many connective tissue fibers that these Elite baseball pitchers microscopically tear with every competitive pitch that they throw. I also have no idea how much time their body needs to repair these tears. I also have no idea how many connective tissue fibers need to tear before they rupture their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. However, I do know that eventually all ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers with ‘Reverse Pitching Forearm Bounce’ will rupture their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers have outwardly rotated their pitching upper arm between 24 and 79 degrees above horizontal, ASMI injures the Ulnar Collateral Ligament. I teach my baseball pitchers to take the baseball out of their glove with the palm of their pitching hand under the baseball. I teach my baseball pitchers to smoothly and continuously pendulum swing their pitching arm downward, backward and upward to driveline height to arrive at the same time that their glove foot lands. As a result, when their glove foot lands, my baseball pitchers are moving the baseball straight forward toward home plate. Because, when their glove foot lands, my baseball pitchers are moving the baseball straight forward toward home plate, they are contracting the muscles that inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm. To move with their pitching upper arm, my baseball pitchers are also contracting the five critical baseball pitching muscles that attach to the medial epicondyle of the Humerus bone of their pitching upper arm. The Ulnar Collateral Ligament holds the medial epicondyle of the Humerus bone of the pitching upper arm to the coronoid process of the Ulna bone of the pitching forearm. Therefore, when these five critical baseball pitching muscles that arise from the medial epicondyle contract, they protect their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. In fact, when they contract these five muscles, even baseball pitchers without Ulnar Collateral Ligaments can pitch. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Shoulder Horizontal Abduction Rotation’ under the main classification ‘Throwing Arm Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q15: How much does your elbow go behind your back? To determine ‘throwing shoulder horizontal abduction rotation,’ ASMI measures how far baseball pitchers move their pitching upper arm line behind their shoulder line. The report says that, when their glove foot lands, the distance behind their shoulder line that the Elite group moved their pitching elbow ranged between 13 and 34 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers have their pitching elbow between 13 and 34 degrees behind their shoulder line. ------------------------------------------------- The acromial process is the lateral-most structure of the Scapula bone on the back of the shoulders. Therefore, the acromial line is an imaginary line that, from the overhead view, researchers draw through the acromial processes of the Scapula bones. ASMI determined that, when their glove foot lands, their Elite group moved their pitching elbow between 13 and 34 degrees behind their acromial line that. I call this action, ‘Scapula Loading.’ ‘Scapula Loading’ is an extremely serious injurious flaw. When baseball pitchers ‘Scapula Load,’ they maximally lengthen the attachment of the Subscapularis muscle on the front of their pitching shoulder and they move the head of the Humerus bone anteriorly to rub against the anterior aspect of the Labrum. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, when their glove foot lands, all baseball pitchers have their pitching elbow between 13 and 34 degrees behind their shoulder line, ASMI injures the attachment of the Subscapularis muscle and the anterior aspect of their Labrum. Those who regularly read my Question/Answer files know that, of the injuries that baseball pitchers suffer, tearing their Labrum is the one from which baseball pitchers have the lowest rate of over-coming. Therefore, when I read that ASMI recommended 'Scapula Loading,' I knew that the members of their Elite group that moved their pitching elbow 34 degrees behind their acromial line, had to suffer Labrum tears. I teach my baseball pitchers to pendulum swing their pitching arm straight backward toward second base. Therefore, my baseball pitchers never take their pitching elbow behind their acromial line. As a result, my baseball pitches do not injure the attachment of their Subscapularis muscle or the anterior aspect of their Labrum. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Maximum Pelvis Rotation Velocity’ under the main classification ‘Pelvis Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q16: How fast does your pelvis rotate? To determine pelvis velocity, ASMI measures the rotation of the pelvis (hip) line between each pair of consecutive camera pictures, and divides by the time between the pictures (0.004 seconds). Maximum velocity occurs for the pair of consecutive pictures with the biggest change of position. The report says that their Elite group forwardly rotated their hips at velocities between 522 and 675 degrees per second. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should forwardly rotate their hips at between 522 and 675 degrees per second. ------------------------------------------------- Whenever researchers measure anything, they have measurement error. The sophistication of their measurement equipment influences the size of the measurement error. High-speed 16 millimeter cameras that stop every frame of film to take a photograph are very sophisticated. Video cameras do not stop every frame of film to take a photograph. Therefore, they have large displacement measurement errors. To insure that they can determine the time intervals between photographs, high-speed film researchers place high-speed timers in the field of vision. Therefore, if their high-speed cameras do not achieve the expected film speed for whatever reason, they can look at the high-speed timers. ASMI does not place independent high-speed timers in their field of vision. Instead, ASMI relies on the 8 high-speed video cameras to operate at precisely 250 frames per second. When we combine the lack of clarity of video cameras continuously pulling the film through the aperture and the uncertainty of the time periods between any consecutive frames of film, I question the accuracy of the acceleration values that they achieve. However, even if ASMI’s numbers are correct, these numbers represent the maximum rotational velocity. During the acceleration phase, the hips start and end their rotational velocity at zero. A more important question is: In what direction are the baseball pitchers forwardly rotating their hips? When ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers reverse rotate their hips well beyond second base, until they forwardly rotate their hips back to point at home plate, they apply force sideways, not toward home plate. The force that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers direct to the pitching arm side of their body does not contribute to the force toward home plate. Instead, these actions generate force toward the pitching arm side of the body that, before they can apply force toward home plate, they have to overcome. Not only are these forces inefficient, they are injurious. ASMI says that those Elite baseball pitchers with the highest maximum velocity of forward rotation of their hips achieve the highest release velocity. In 1971, when I did the first biomechanical analysis of the baseball pitching motion, I calculated the displacement, velocity and acceleration graphs of the baseball. I found that, after my glove foot landed, which is after I forwardly rotated my hips, my pitching hand and baseball were moving backward. Therefore, I seriously question ASMI’s statement that release velocity relates to hip rotational velocity. To determine where in the acceleration graph that baseball pitchers accelerate the baseball the fastest, I want to see the X-axis acceleration graph for the baseball. In this way, instead of some coefficient correlation between maximum hip rotational velocity and baseball pitch release velocity, we can precisely determine how much the forward rotation of the hips contribute to release velocity. Unfortunately, because ASMI does not place a reflective ball on the baseball and on the back of the tip of the middle finger of the pitching hand of the baseball pitchers, they cannot determine the instant that the tip of the middle finger leaves the baseball. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Percent of Time for the Maximum Pelvis Rotation Velocity’ under the main classification ‘Pelvis Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q17: When does the pelvis rotate? (Where 0% is at glove foot contact and 100% is at baseball release.) To determine ‘the percent of time for the maximum pelvis rotation velocity,’ ASMI measures at what moment between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches that baseball pitchers maximally forward rotate their hips. The report says that their Elite group maximally forward rotated their hips when they were between 17 and 41 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they released their pitches. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should maximally forward rotate their hips when they are between 17 and 41 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches. ------------------------------------------------- Their Elite group maximally forward rotated their hips between 17 and 41 percent of the way from when their glove foot lands and when they released their pitches. How do these baseball pitchers use their body to accelerate their baseball pitches over the 49 to 73 percent of the distance from when their glove foot lands and they release their pitches? The answer is: They bend forward at their waist. Compared with standing tall and rotating, bending forward at their waist provides very little acceleration toward home plate force. However, it places considerable stress on the L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk and the extensor muscles of the lower back. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should maximally forward rotate their hips between 17 and 41 percent of the way from when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches, ASMI injures the L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk and the extensor muscles of their lower back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Maximum Upper Trunk Rotation Velocity’ under the main classification ‘Upper Trunk Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q18: How fast does your upper trunk rotate? To determine upper trunk velocity, ASMI measures the rotation of the shoulder line between each pair of consecutive camera pictures, and divides by the time between the pictures (0.004 seconds). Maximum velocity occurs for the pair of consecutive pictures with the biggest change of position. The report says that their Elite group forwardly rotated their shoulders at velocities between 522 and 675 degrees per second. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should forwardly rotate their shoulders at between 522 and 675 degrees per second. ------------------------------------------------- In my comments about Q16, I expressed my concerns with the reliability of the maximum rotational velocity numbers that ASMI provides. I also said a more important question is: In what direction are the baseball pitchers forwardly rotating their hips? With regard to the forward rotation of the shoulders, I have the same question. If baseball pitchers reverse rotate their shoulders well beyond second base, then, until they forwardly rotate their shoulders to point at home plate, they are applying force sideways, not toward home plate. Therefore, the force that they direct to the pitching arm side of their body does not contribute to the force toward home plate. Instead, it generates a toward the pitching arm side of the body force that, to generate force toward home plate, baseball pitchers have to overcome. Not only is this sideways force inefficient, it is also injurious. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Percent of Time of Maximum Upper Trunk Rotation Velocity’ under the main classification ‘Upper Trunk Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q19: Does your upper trunk rotate slightly after your pelvis rotates? Is it slightly after your pelvis rotates? (Where 0% is at glove foot contact and 100% is at baseball release.) To determine ‘the percent of time for the maximum upper trunk rotation velocity,’ ASMI measures at what moment between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches that baseball pitchers maximally forward rotate their shoulders. The report says that their Elite group maximally forward rotated their shoulders when they were between 39 and 58 percent of the way between when their glove foot landed and when they released their pitches. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should maximally forward rotate their shoulders when they are 39 and 58 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches. ------------------------------------------------- ASMI call this action, ‘Trunk Separation’ and believes that baseball pitchers should maximally forward rotate their hips well before they maximally forward rotate their shoulders. I disagree. I believe that ‘Trunk Separation’ not only unnecessarily stresses the rotational muscles of the hips and upper body, but it also decreases the rate at which baseball pitchers can rotate their body forward. Instead, I believe that, when baseball pitchers maximally rotate their hips and shoulders forward together, they not only do not unnecessarily stress the rotational muscles of the hips and thorax, but they also rotate their body forward faster. Their Elite group maximally forward rotated their shoulders when they were between 39 and 58 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they released their pitches. How do these baseball pitchers use their body to accelerate their baseball pitches over the 32 to 51 percent of the distance between when their glove foot lands and they release their pitches? The answer is: They bend forward at their waist. Compared with standing tall and rotating, bending forward provides very little acceleration toward home plate. However, it places considerable stress on the L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk and the extensor muscles of the lower back. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should maximally forward rotate their shoulders when they are between 39 and 58 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches, ASMI injures the L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk and the extensor muscles of their lower back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Without stating a main classification for the purpose of the questions, the ASMI protocol asks: Q20: Does your trunk lean forward with your chest causing your back to arch? Some person answered this question. That means that the answer is subjective, not objective and can vary from person to person. ------------------------------------------------- Because the computer program does not determine this variable, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Shoulder Maximum External Rotation’ under the main classification ‘Throwing Arm Positions,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q21: How far back does your arm rotate? To determine the finish position, ASMI finds side view photograph at which the pitching forearm lays backward as far as it does and measures the angle between the pitching forearm line and a horizontal line. The report says that their Elite group outwardly rotated their pitching shoulder between 173 and 191 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm 173 to 191 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- In Question #14, I discussed why ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers rupture their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. Clearly, how many degrees that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm contributes to this serious injury. ‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers take the baseball out of their glove with the palm of their pitching hand on top of the baseball. Therefore, to properly position their pitching forearm to accelerate their pitches toward home plate, they have to move their pitching forearm upward and backward to horizontally behind their pitching upper arm. When their glove foot lands, ASMI’s Elite group has already outwardly rotated their pitching forearm to 24 to 79 degrees above horizontal, such that they have 156 to 101 more degrees to go, respectively. I believe that the technique that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers use to position their pitching upper arm and pitching forearm from which they will accelerate the baseball through release is not only very, very inefficient, but it is also injurious. Conversely, to get their pitching upper arm to shoulder height and their pitching forearm to driveline height, with my Maxline force application technique, I teach my baseball pitchers to: 01. Take the baseball out of their glove with the palm of their pitching hand under the baseball. 02. Vertically, smoothly and continuously pendulum swing their pitching arm downward, backward and upward straight toward second base to forty-five degrees behind their body with the palm of their pitching hand facing toward home plate. 03. At forty-five degrees behind their body, simultaneously outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm 90 degrees, such that the palm of their pitching hand faces away from their body and step forward with their glove foot at 45 degrees to the glove side of their body. 04. Vertically, smoothly and continuously pendulum swing their pitching upper arm to shoulder height and their pitching hand to driveline height pointing straight toward second base at the same time that their glove foot lands. In this way, without any unnecessary stress, my baseball pitchers have already outwardly rotated their pitching upper arm 90 of the required 180 degrees to properly reposition their pitching arm for the start of the acceleration phase of the baseball pitching motion. To outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm the required additional 90 degrees, such that they will have their pitching forearm horizontally behind their pitching upper arm, upon the arrival of their pitching hand to driveline height, I teach my baseball pitchers to immediately raise their pitching upper to driveline height. If my baseball pitchers learn how to raise their pitching upper arm to driveline height without moving their pitching hand forward, then, when their pitching upper arm reaches driveline height, they will have their pitching hand the full length of their pitching forearm behind their pitching elbow in line with home plate. This is the perfect position from which baseball pitchers should maximally inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm through release. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Maximum Throwing Shoulder Horizontal Adduction’ under the main classification ‘Throwing Arm Positions,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q22: Does your elbow get only slightly in front of your trunk? To determine ‘maximum throwing shoulder horizontal adduction,’ when their baseball pitchers had their pitching upper arm maximally outwardly rotated, ASMI measured the angle between the shoulder line and the pitching upper arm line. The report says that their Elite group had their pitching elbow 9 to 22 degrees in front of their shoulder line. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should have their pitching elbow 9 to 22 degrees in front of their shoulder line. ------------------------------------------------- In Q15, to determine ‘throwing shoulder horizontal abduction rotation,’ at the moment when their glove foot lands, ASMI measures how far their Elite group moves their pitching upper arm line behind their shoulder line. ASMI found that, when their glove foot lands, the distance behind their shoulder line that their Elite group moved their pitching elbow ranged between 13 and 34 degrees. Now, ASMI wants to know, when their pitching upper arm has maximally outwardly rotated, relative to their shoulder line, where does their Elite group have their pitching elbow. ASMI found that, at the moment of maximal outward rotation of their pitching upper arm, their Elite group has their pitching elbow between 9 and 22 degrees in front of their shoulder line. Because, when their glove foot landed, the Elite group had their pitching elbow between 13 and 34 degrees behind their shoulder line, by the time that their pitching upper arm maximally outwardly rotated, they have moved their pitching elbow to between 9 and 22 degrees in front of their shoulder line. However far their Elite group move their pitching elbow forward during this time period, it is clear that, from some degrees behind their shoulder line, they move their pitching elbow forward. When baseball pitchers move their pitching elbow behind their acromial (shoulder) line, they unnecessarily stress the attachment of their Subscapularis muscle, the anterior aspect of their Labrum and other front of the pitching shoulder tissues. Therefore, however far they move their pitching elbow moves thereafter is meaningless, they have already microscopically damaged the involved tissues. Therefore, this question provides irrelevant information and I would drop it from the protocol. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Elbow Flexion’ under the main classification ‘Throwing Arm Positions,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q23: What is the maximum amount that your elbow bends? To determine ‘throwing elbow flexion,’ when the pitching forearm was at its closest to the pitching upper arm, ASMI measures the angle between the pitching upper arm line and the pitching forearm line and subtracted that value from 180 degrees. The report says that their Elite group flexes their pitching elbow 88 to 116 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should flex their pitching elbow 88 to 116 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- ASMI subtracts the angle between their pitching upper arm line and pitching forearm line from 180 degrees. Therefore, when ASMI says that their Elite group flexes their pitching elbow 88 to 116 degrees, the angles of the pitching elbow is 92 to 64 degrees, which is just short of at a right angle to tightly bent, respectively. The position from which baseball pitchers can maximally inwardly rotate their pitching upper requires that they have their pitching hand the full length of their pitching forearm horizontally behind their pitching elbow. Therefore, when baseball pitchers move their pitching hand closer to their pitching elbow, they no longer have their pitching hand the full length of their pitching forearm behind their pitching elbow. I call this action, ‘Grabbing.’ Therefore, every member of ASMI’s Elite group ‘Grabs.’ When baseball pitchers ‘Grab,’ they do not have their pitching hand in a straight line behind their pitching elbow. Instead, their pitching hand is laterally behind their head. Therefore, when ASMI’s Elite group pulls their pitching upper arm forward, to move to the full length of their pitching forearm behind their pitching elbow, their pitching hand has to move backwards. Because their pitching hand is laterally behind their body, to align with their pitching elbow’s movement toward home plate, their pitching hand also has to move laterally away from the pitching arm side of their body. I call this action, ‘Looping.’ ‘Looping’ is an injurious flaw that unnecessarily stresses the front of the pitching shoulder. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should flex their pitching elbow 88 to 116 degrees, ASMI injures the front of the pitching shoulder. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Maximum Throwing Shoulder Inward Rotation Velocity’ under the main classification ‘Shoulder Rotation,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q24: What is the maximum speed is your arm rotating forward at the shoulder? To determine velocity, ASMI measures the changes in shoulder rotation between each pair of consecutive camera pictures and divides by the time between the pictures (0.004 seconds). Maximum velocity occurs for the pair of consecutive pictures with the biggest change of position. The report says that their Elite group inwardly rotated their pitching upper arm at between 6,558 and 8,536 degrees per second. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm at 6,558 and 8,536 degrees per second. ------------------------------------------------- In my comments about Q16, I expressed my concerns with the reliability of the maximum rotational velocity numbers that ASMI provides. I also said a more important question is: In what direction are the baseball pitchers forwardly rotating their hips? I have the same more important question regarding the rotation of the shoulders. I also have the same more important question regarding the rotation of the pitching upper arm. If baseball pitchers reverse rotate their pitching upper arm well beyond second base, then, until the forwardly rotate their pitching upper arm back to pointing at second base, they are applying force sideways, not toward home plate. Therefore, the force that they direct to the pitching arm side of their body does not contribute to the force toward home plate. Instead, it generates a toward the pitching arm side of the body force that, to generate force toward home plate, baseball pitchers have to overcome. Not only is this sideways force inefficient, it is also injurious. In an April 13, 2008 article in the Washington Post about the fictitious Sid Finch throwing a 168 mile per hour fastball (I wrote the baseball pitching motion that Plimpton used in that article), the writer quoted Dr. Glenn Fleisig as saying: The answer, according to Glenn Fleisig of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala. -- in a nutshell -- is that while the muscles of the body can become stronger and more explosive, the tendons and ligaments upon which pitchers rely most heavily can only take so much torque before they snap. And that limit appears to be somewhere just north of 100 mph, no matter the height, weight and strength of the pitcher. “The problem with baseball pitching is that it's a balance between throwing as fast as you can and not getting hurt," said Fleisig, an expert in the biomechanics of pitching. "If the muscles get too big and strong, it leads to more overwhelmed tendons and ligaments, and before it will lead to greater performance, it will lead to more injuries. In other sports, the athletes aren't in danger of getting hurt every time they perform. “Our biomechanics studies show the tendons and ligaments [in pitchers] are just about at the maximum in terms of how much they can take." In a July 01, 2008 article in Sports Illustrated about Tim Lincecum, the writer quoted Dr. Glenn Fleisig as saying: Throwing a baseball is an act of violence that has been graphically defined by Dr. James Andrews, Dr. Glenn Fleisig and the other doctors and clinicians at the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) in Birmingham. From the loaded position, the shoulder, at its peak speed, rotates forward at 7,000 degrees per second. "That," Fleisig says, "is the fastest measured human motion of any human activity." While in the loaded position, the shoulder and elbow bear the equivalent of about 40 pounds of force pushing down. When the ASMI biomechanists wanted to know how much more force an arm could take, they brought cadavers into the lab and pulled and pushed upon the elbow joint to find the breaking point. The cadavers' ligament blew apart just after 40 pounds of force. "So a pitcher is just about at the maximum," Fleisig says.” Cadavers are the bodies of dead people. After death, the tissues of the bodies of dead people dehydrate and weaken. After death, baseball pitchers cannot contract any muscles to protect their Ulnar Collateral Ligaments. We do not know how many baseball pitches the cadaver that ASMI brutalized threw. With these concerns and others that I do not know about, I do not put any credibility in Dr. Fleisig’s statement that, to rupture their Ulnar Collateral Ligament, baseball pitchers only need to apply 40 pounds of force. Of greater concern to me is the statement that Dr. Fleisig believes that when baseball pitchers inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm at 7,000 degrees per second, they are in jeopardy of rupturing their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. I strongly disagree that, when baseball pitchers powerfully inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm, they rupture their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. When baseball pitchers inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm, to go along with the movement of the pitching upper arm, the pitching forearm contracts the five critical baseball pitching muscle that attach to the medial epicondyle of the Humerus bone of the pitching arm; the Pronator Teres, Flexor Carpi Radialis, Palmaris Longus, Flexor Carpi Ulnaris and a slip of the Flexor Digitorum Superficialis muscles. Because these muscles lie directly over top of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament, such that, when they contract, they hold the Ulna bone of the pitching forearm tightly against the Humerus bone of the pitching upper arm, they remove all stress from the Ulnar Collateral Ligament. As I thoroughly explained in my comments about Q14, baseball pitchers injure their Ulnar Collateral Ligament at the moment of the ‘Reverse Pitching Forearm Bounce’ injurious flaw that is inherent in the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion. That Dr. Fleisig does not understand this shows that he has no understanding of the stresses that the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion places on the pitching arm. Certainly, contrary to the April 13, 2008 article in the Washington Post, Dr. Fleisig is not an expert in the biomechanics of pitching. Baseball pitchers inwardly rotate the Humerus bone of their pitching upper arm from horizontally behind their pitching elbow to horizontally in front of their pitching elbow. Therefore, the functional maximum that baseball pitchers can inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm is only 180 degrees. ‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers do not drive their pitching hand in straight lines toward home plate. Instead, the pitching hand of ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers moved as far sideways to their pitching arm side as they do toward home plate. Therefore, through release, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers have their pitching elbow almost or full straightened. In these positions, for them to inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm, they have to inwardly rotate almost all or all of their entire pitching arm. If ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers actually inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm between 6,558 and 8,536 degrees per second, then their pitching upper arm would inwardly rotate 180 degrees, 36.43 and 47.42 times per second. To inwardly rotate 36.43 and 47.42 times per second, the pitching upper arm would have to start at zero velocity and end at zero velocity and still inwardly rotate 180 degrees in 0.027 and 0.021 seconds, respectively. Therefore, I question the validity of these values. I also question the significance of these values. When I was an adolescent, we played a game where one person held both hands out in front of them with the palms of their hands facing upward and another person placed the palms of their hands lightly on top with their palms facing downward. Then, without warning, the person with their palms facing upward would try to slap the back of the hands or hand of the person with the palm of their hands facing downward. This game tests the ability of athletes to quickly pronate the forearms. To be able to pronate their forearms as fast as they could, the person initiating the action quickly learned that they needed to have their elbows bent at 90 degrees. Therefore, when baseball pitchers have their pitching elbow almost or completely straightened, they could not pronate their pitching forearm as quickly as when they and their pitching elbow bent at 90 degrees. For athletes to pronate the forearm very fast from palm up to palm down is not stressful. We used to play this game at full intensity for up to an hour without any discomfort. However, for athletes to inwardly rotate their upper arm from the anterior surface of the pitching upper arm facing upward, to the anterior surface of their pitching upper arm facing downward requires considerably more effort and, thereby, more time. When I watch high-speed film of baseball pitchers, I see where, just before they release their pitches, they have their pitching hand facing forward, which means that they have their pitching upper arm facing forward. Then, I see where, just after they release their pitches, they have their pitching hand facing away from their body, which means that they have their pitching upper arm facing downward. While I agree that this action takes place in a very, very short time period, I do not agree with the idea that, even were these values true, when baseball pitchers inwardly rotate the pitching upper arm at these high degrees per second, they injure their Ulnar Collateral Ligament. With my baseball pitching motion, I teach my baseball pitchers to powerfully pronate their pitching forearm before, during and after they release their pitchers. When my baseball pitchers powerfully pronate their pitching forearm, they activate the Teres Major and Latissimus Dorsi muscles to powerfully inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm. The Teres Major and Latissimus Dorsi muscles not only inwardly rotate the pitching upper arm, they also horizontally extend the pitching upper arm, which means that they also decelerate the forward movement of the pitching upper arm. In most action/reaction high-intensity movements, athletes powerfully contract one set of muscles to accelerate some movement, they have to equally contract the opposite set of muscles to decelerate that movement. However, because the Teres Major and Latissimus Dorsi muscles accelerate inward rotation of the pitching upper arm, baseball pitcher do not need to then activate the muscles that outwardly rotate their pitching upper arm. Instead, when their Teres Major and Latissimus Dorsi muscles decelerate the forward movement of the pitching upper arm, they also decelerate the inward rotation of the pitching upper arm. Therefore, my baseball pitchers do not unnecessarily stress the muscles that outwardly rotate the pitching upper arm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Maximum Throwing Elbow Extension Angular Velocity’ under the main classification ‘Elbow Extension,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q25: What is the maximum speed of straightening out your elbow? To determine maximum velocity, ASMI measures the change in elbow angle between each pair of consecutive camera pictures and divides by the time between the pictures (0.004 seconds). Maximum velocity occurs for the pair of consecutive pictures with the biggest change of position. The report says that their Elite group extended their pitching elbow at between 2,146 and 2,680 degrees per second. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should extend their pitching elbow at 2,146 and 2,680 degrees per second. ------------------------------------------------- In my comments about Q16, I expressed my concerns with the reliability of the maximum rotational velocity numbers that ASMI provides. However, when ASMI calculates the maximum throwing elbow extension angular velocity, they do not have the same problem as when they calculated the maximum values for hip rotational velocity, shoulder rotational velocity and pitching upper arm rotational velocity. With hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm velocity, ASMI measured rotational velocity that was the result of muscles contracting to cause those actions. With pitching elbow extension, the muscles that extend the pitching elbow are not contracting. ‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers take their pitching upper arm well beyond second base. Therefore, before they can throw their pitches toward home plate, they have to return their pitching hand and baseball back to the pitching arm side of their body. Therefore, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers generate considerable horizontal force toward the pitching arm side of their body. This horizontal force toward the pitching arm side of their body causes the pitching elbow to straighten, not muscle contraction. When outside forces cause joint actions, the muscles that cause that action do not contract. Instead, the muscles that cause the opposite joint action contract. Therefore, rather than, as ASMI says, extending the pitching elbow, during this phase in the ‘traditional’ baseball pitching motion, the muscles that flex the pitching elbow are contracting. The Motor Cortex is trying to prevent the olecranon process in the back of the pitching elbow from slamming into its fossa. As a result, for ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers, this question is absolutely without meaning. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Percent Time of Maximum Throwing Elbow Extension Angular Velocity’ under the main classification ‘Elbow Extension,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q26: When do you reach the maximum speed of straightening out your elbow? (Where 0% is at foot contact and 100% is at ball release) To determine ‘the percent of time for the maximum Throwing Elbow Extension Angular velocity,’ ASMI measures at what moment between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches that baseball pitchers have maximum elbow velocity. The report says that their Elite group maximally extended their pitching elbow between 89 and 94 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they released their pitches. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should maximally extend their pitching elbow when they are 89 to 94 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches. ------------------------------------------------- Whether ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers eccentrically (plioanglosly) flex their pitching elbow or my baseball pitchers concentrically (mioanglosly) extend their pitching elbow, these actions take place very close to release. Therefore, that baseball pitchers maximally extend their pitching elbow when they are 89 to 94 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release the baseball is obvious. So, who cares? This is an absolutely meaningless question and I would get rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Maximum Pelvis Deceleration’ under the main classification ‘Pelvis Deceleration,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q27: How much does your pelvis slow down? Slowing down is measured by deceleration. ASMI calculates pelvis (hip) deceleration as the second derivative of position. Maximum pelvis deceleration was the maximum deceleration of the mid-point of the pelvis. The report says that the Elite baseball pitchers decelerate their pelvis at between 22 and 38 meters per second squared. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers should decelerate their hips at between 22 and 38 meters per second squared. ------------------------------------------------- The formula for calculating deceleration is exactly the same as the formula for calculating acceleration. Researchers subtract the velocity at some finish position from the velocity at some starting position and divide by the time period between these two positions. When the value is positive, they measured acceleration. When the value is negative, they measured deceleration. Before they release their pitches, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers completely stop forwardly rotating their hips. Therefore, who cares how fast they decelerate the forward rotation of their hips to a stop? I teach my baseball pitchers to forwardly rotate their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm over their glove foot through release. Therefore, when my baseball pitchers stop forwardly rotating their hips actually means something. I want my baseball pitcher to stop forwardly rotating their hips after they release their pitches. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Percent of Time of Maximum Pelvis Deceleration’ under the main classification ‘Pelvis Deceleration,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q28: When does your pelvis slow down? (Where 0% is at foot contact and 100% is at maximum shoulder inward rotation) The percent of time was calculated as the time of maximum pelvis deceleration, scaled from the time of foot contact to ball release. The report says that their Elite baseball pitchers maximally decelerate their hips to a stop at between 30 and 72 percent of the time between when their glove foot lands to when they release their pitches. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers maximally decelerate their hips to a stop between 30 and 72 percent of the time between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches. ------------------------------------------------- I find the range of this variable amazing. Some of their Elite group stops forwardly rotating their hips at 30 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches. That is about one-third of the way. I believe that all baseball pitcher that reverse rotate their hips over their pitching foot, forwardly rotate their hips the same total number of degrees. Therefore, when some of the Elite group stop forwardly rotating their hips at 30 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches, they have to have reverse rotated their hips very far beyond second base. Some of their Elite group also stops forwardly rotating their hips 72 percent of the way between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches. That is about three-fourths of the way. To do this, they have to not reverse rotated very much beyond second base and must have forwardly rotated some over their glove foot. I teach my baseball pitchers not to actively reverse rotate their hips at all, such that they point their hip line at second base. Therefore, when they powerfully forwardly rotate their hips over their glove foot through release, I would expect that they would have would still be forwardly rotating their hips after release. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Lead Hip Flexion’ under the main classification ‘Hip and Knee Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q29: What is the angle between your trunk and your front thigh? To determine the ‘angle between the trunk and the glove upper leg,’ ASMI measures the angle between the glove upper leg line and a line up the trunk. The report says that, at release, relative to their trunk, their Elite group has their glove upper leg at between 89 and 109 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers should have glove upper leg at 89 to 109 degrees from the line up the trunk. ------------------------------------------------ If baseball pitchers stand upright, then the angle between their trunk and glove upper leg would be 180 degrees. If baseball pitchers were to bow horizontally forward, then the angle between their trunk and glove upper leg would be 90 degrees. However, if baseball pitchers have their glove upper leg at 45 degrees behind vertical, when the angle between their trunk and glove upper leg is 90 degrees, then the angle between their trunk and vertical is 45 degrees. When we do not know how they relate to vertical, I am not sure what significance the angle between the trunk line and glove upper leg line has. When the glove foot of ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers lands, the angle of their glove upper leg line and the vertical line approximates 45 degrees behind vertical and the angle of their trunk line and the vertical line approximates 0 degrees. When ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers release their pitches, the angle between their glove upper leg line and the vertical line approximates 45 degrees behind vertical and their trunk line and the vertical line approximates 45 degrees in front of vertical. Is this question really asking how much many degrees forward do baseball pitchers bend their trunk between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches? Nevertheless, when ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers should have glove upper leg at 89 to 109 degrees from the line up their trunk, ASMI injures the L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk of the lower back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Lead Knee Flexion’ under the main classification ‘Hip and Knee Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q30: Is your lead knee slightly flexed at ball release? To determine whether, at release, baseball pitchers have their glove knee slightly flexed, ASMI measures the angle between their glove upper leg line and their glove foreleg line. The report says that, at release, their Elite group flexes their glove knee at between 20 to 46 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers flex their glove knee at between 20 and 46 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- With the angle of the glove foreleg line toward home plate at release, baseball pitchers are not using the muscles that flex their glove knee. Instead, to prevent the center of mass of their body from continuing to move forward, they are contracting the muscles that extend their glove knee. Therefore, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers drive the baseball forward with their pitching arm and drive the center of mass of their body backward with their glove leg. When athletes apply forces in parallel, but opposite directions on either side of a fulcrum, they are using a phenomenon called, ‘force-coupling.’ ‘Force-Coupling’ can be a very important force application technique. However, with baseball pitching, I believe that this type of ‘force-coupling’ not only decreases release velocity, but also injures the glove knee. With regard to injuring the glove knee: When baseball pitchers jump forward with their glove foot, like in a long one foot standing long jump, they generate considerable toward home plate force. Then, when they land on their glove foot, they powerfully extend their glove knee to suddenly stop the forward movement of the center of mass of the body. As a result, their glove knee has to absorb and stop all that body weight momentum. Therefore, when their glove foot lands, the Femur bone of the glove upper leg drives forward over the Tibia bone of their glove foreleg. Only the Anterior Cruciate Ligament prevents the knee joint from ripping apart. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers flex (extend) their glove knee at between 20 and 46 degrees, ASMI injuries the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of their glove knee. With regard to decreasing release velocity: When baseball pitchers apply force toward home plate with their glove leg, they violate Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, the Law of Reaction, which states: for every action force that baseball pitchers generate, they also generate an equal and oppositely-directed reaction force. Therefore, if baseball pitchers want to increase the force that they apply to baseballs toward home plate, then they have to increase the force that they apply toward second base. This is ‘rocket science.’ Rockets only fly toward outer space as fast as the propellants fly back toward earth. Therefore, to achieve their maximum release velocity, baseball pitchers have to apply all the force that they can toward second base. When baseball pitchers push off the pitching rubber with their pitching leg, they apply force toward second base. When baseball pitchers pull their glove arm straight backward toward second base, they apply force toward second base. However, when baseball pitchers apply force with their glove leg toward home plate, they decrease the force that they apply toward second base. With my force application techniques, I teach my baseball pitchers to step forward as far as they can and still continue to move the center of mass of their body toward home plate through release. When they learn how to move the center of mass of their body in front of their glove foot to arrive at the same time that they are in position to powerfully extend their pitching elbow, pronate their pitching arm and inwardly rotate their pitching upper arm, they can also powerfully push backward toward second base with their glove foot. This is the proper way for baseball pitchers to use ‘force-coupling.’ Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers flex (extend) their glove knee at between 20 and 46 degrees, ASMI not only decreases the equal and oppositely-directed force required to achieve maximum release velocity, but they also injure the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of their glove knee. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Lead Knee Flexion at Foot Contact to Lead Knee Flexion at Ball Release under the main classification ‘Hip and Knee Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q31: How much does your lead knee extend from foot contact to ball release? To determine how much baseball pitchers extend their glove knee from when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitchers, ASMI used the glove knee angle value determined in Q06 and the glove knee angle determined in Q30. The report says that, between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches, their Elite group extended their glove knee from between 0 to 21 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches, all baseball pitchers extend their glove knee between 0 and 21 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- When ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers extend their glove knee, whether they change the angle of the glove knee or not, they increase the unnecessary stress on the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in their glove knee. However, when they extend their glove knee by 21 degrees, they place considerable more unnecessary stress on this ligament. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches, all baseball pitchers extend their glove knee between 0 and 21 degrees, ASMI injures the Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Conversely, to be able to forwardly rotate their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm through release over their glove foot, like ballerinas spin on their front leg, I teach my baseball pitchers to land with their glove knee bent and completely extend their glove knee at release. Therefore, instead of pushing toward home plate with their glove foot, by rotating over their glove foot, my baseball pitchers not only are able to forwardly rotate their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm faster and farther, but they also remove all unnecessary stress from their glove knee. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Shank Angle’ under the main classification ‘Hip and Knee Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q32: Is your lead calf tilted slightly back toward second base? To determine whether baseball pitchers tilt their glove foreleg slightly backward toward second base, ASMI measures the angle between the glove foreleg line and the vertical line. The report says that the angle at which their Elite group tilted their glove foreleg backward toward second base at between 8 and 22 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers tilt their glove foreleg backward toward second base at between 8 and 22 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- If baseball pitchers have their glove foreleg tilted backwards toward second base, then they are applying force with their glove leg toward home plate. This unnecessarily stresses the Anterior Cruciate Ligament of their glove knee. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that all baseball pitchers tilt their glove foreleg backward toward second base at between 8 and 22 degrees, ASMI injures the Anterior Cruciate Ligament. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q33: Is your glove tucked at ball release? Some person answered this question. That means that the answer is subjective, not objective and can vary from person to person. ------------------------------------------------- Because the computer program does not determine this variable, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Forward Trunk Tilt’ under the main classification ‘Trunk Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q34: Is your trunk tilted forward at ball release? To determine the forward trunk tilt, ASMI measures the angle between vertical and a line up the trunk projected into the side view plane (that is, in the view of the pitcher from first or third base). The report says that, at release, their Elite group tilted their trunk forward between at between 19 and 28 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers tilt their trunk forward at between 19 and 28 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- When ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers release their baseball pitches, because they took strides that were too long for them to be able to move the center of mass of their body continuously forward through release, they have no choice but to bend their trunk forward at their waist. In addition, because ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers stride closed with their glove foot angled toward their pitching arms side, after their glove foot lands, they cannot continue to forwardly rotate their hips, shoulders and pitching upper arm. As a result, the only way that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers can continue to move their pitching arm forward is to bend forward at their waist. Unfortunately, baseball pitchers cannot bend forward at their waist as fast as they can stand tall and rotate. Therefore, when baseball pitchers bend forward at their waist, they not only cannot move their pitching arm forward as fast as were they to stand tall and rotate, but they also unnecessarily stress the L5-S1 intervertebral disk in their lower back. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers tilt their trunk forward at between 19 and 28 degrees, ASMI injures the L5-S1 inter-vertebral disk in their lower back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Side Trunk Tilt’ under the main classification ‘Trunk Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q35: Is your trunk tilted sideways at ball release? To determine whether baseball pitchers tilt their trunk sideways at release, ASMI measures the angle between the vertical line and a line up the trunk in the frontal plane (that is, in the view of the pitcher from home plate). The report says that, at release, their Elite group tilts their trunk sideways to the glove side of their body at between 14 and 31 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers should lean their upper body toward the glove side of their body at between 14 and 31 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- ‘Traditional’ baseball pitchers do not powerfully pronate their pitching forearm before, during and after they release their pitches. Therefore, except by the loss of the extension range of motion in their pitching elbow due to injuring the hyaline cartilage of the olecranon fossa of the Ulna bone in the back of their pitching elbow, they cannot separate their pitching forearm line from their pitching upper arm line. To pull their pitching arm forward, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers horizontally flex their shoulder joint, which means that they use the Pectoralis muscle on the front of their chest. Therefore, they cannot use the Trapezius I muscle on the back of their pitching shoulder to upwardly rotate the Scapula bone on the back of their pitching shoulder, which would enable them to move their pitching upper arm above their shoulder line. Without the Trapezius I muscle, baseball pitchers have to use the Middle Deltoid muscle of their shoulder joint to raise their pitching upper arm laterally away from their body to shoulder height. However, the Middle Deltoid muscle arises from the acromial process and inserts into the Deltoid tuberosity halfway down the lateral side of the Humerus bone of the pitching upper arm. Therefore, the Middle Deltoid cannot laterally raise the Humerus bone above a line that is parallel with the line across the top of the shoulders. As a result, it is impossible for ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers to raise the Humerus bone of their pitching upper arm above a line that is parallel with the line across the top of their shoulders. As ASMI determined in Question 12: 'Is your upper arm even with your shoulders?,' the angle of the pitching upper arm of the Elite group ranged between 78 and 103 degrees, which actually means that the pitching upper arm line ranged between 12 degrees below to 13 degrees above parallel with the line across the top of the shoulders. While I question that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers can raise their pitching upper arm line above a line that is parallel with the line across the top of the shoulders at all, we can see that, in general, the pitching upper arm line stays very close to a line that is parallel with the line across the top of the shoulders. Therefore, to throw pitches overhand where their pitching forearm becomes any where near vertical, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers have to dramatically lean the line across the top of the glove side of their body. The report says that, at release, their Elite Group tilts their trunk sideways at between 14 and 31 degrees. Therefore, at release, the angle of their pitching forearm is also between 14 and 31 degrees, which means that their pitching forearm is between 59 and 76 degrees short of vertical. The report says that, at release, when he threw my Maxline Fastball, Jeff tilted his trunk 45 degrees. To get their pitching forearm vertical, I teach my baseball pitchers to lean the line across the top of their shoulders to 60 degrees with my Maxline pitches. Then, by powerfully pronating their pitching forearm before, during and after release, at release, the pitching elbow flexion action that their Pronatus Teres muscle achieves can separate the pitching forearm line from the pitching upper arm line the additional 30 degrees that they need to get their pitching forearm vertical. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Shoulder Abduction’ under the main classification ‘Arm Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q36: Is your elbow slightly above your shoulder line at ball release? To determine whether baseball pitchers have their pitching elbow slightly above their shoulder line at release, ASMI measures the angle between the upper arm and the trunk. The report says that, at release, their Elite group has their pitching elbow at between 83 and 103 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers should have their shoulder line at between 83 and 103 degrees from the front midline of their upper body. ------------------------------------------------- In Question 12, ASMI found that, when their glove foot landed, the angle between the pitching upper arm line and the shoulder line of their Elite group ranged between 78 and 103 degrees, which means 12 degrees below to 13 degrees above the shoulder line. In Question 36, ASMI found that, when baseball pitchers release their pitches, the angle between the pitching upper arm line and the shoulder line is between 83 and 103 degrees, which means 7 degrees below to 13 degrees above the shoulder line. I do not agree that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers can raise their pitching upper arm line at all above a line parallel with the line across the top of their shoulders. Nevertheless, this question shows that, between when their glove foot lands and when they release their pitches, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers cannot change the angle between their pitching upper arm line and a line parallel with the line across the top of their shoulders. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Throwing Elbow Flexion’ under the main classification ‘Arm Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q37: Does your elbow open to almost full extension at ball release? To determine how fully baseball pitchers extend their pitching elbow at release, ASMI measures the angle between the shoulder line and the pitching forearm line. The report says that, at release, the Elite group flexed their pitching elbow to between 19 and 26 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers flex their pitching elbow at between 19 and 26 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- As I explained in my comments about Question 13, ‘Is your elbow properly flexed,’ except for thousandths of seconds before release with their fastballs, ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers do not use their Triceps Brachii muscle to actively extend their pitching elbow. Therefore, how do I explain why their report says that, at release, the Elite group flexed their pitching elbow to between 19 and 26 degrees? First, ASMI does not determine the extension range of motion in the pitching elbow of their subjects. Therefore, by slamming the olecranon process of their pitching elbow into its fossa, they could have already lost significant degrees of the extension range of motion of their pitching elbow. Second, when most ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers throw fastballs, near the end to the acceleration phase, they do powerfully contract the Pronator Teres muscle in their pitching forearm. While too little too late, when they contract their Pronator Teres muscle, in addition to pronating their pitching forearm, the Pronator Teres muscle also flexes their pitching elbow. I question that ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers can achieve between 19 to 26 degrees of pitching elbow flexion at release. That number is way too large. Without having lost significant degrees in the extension range of motion in the pitching elbow due to slamming their olecranon process into its fossa, for ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers to achieve these numbers is impossible. Nevertheless, if their Elite group actually actively uses their Pronator Teres muscle to flex their pitching elbow through release, then, near the end of their pitching elbow straightening, they could use their Triceps Brachii muscle to actively extend their pitching elbow. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Forward Trunk Tilt’ under the main classification ‘Follow-Through Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q38: Does your trunk become approximately horizontal? To determine whether baseball pitchers have their trunk approximately horizontal at release, ASMI measures the angle between vertical and a line up the trunk projected into the side view plane (that is, in the view of the pitcher from first or third base). The report says that their Elite group bends their trunk forward at between 40 and 57 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers bend forward at between 40 and 57 degrees. ------------------------------------------------- In Question 34, ‘Is your trunk tilted forward at ball release,’ ASMI found that their Elite group tilts their trunk forward between at between 19 and 28 degrees. Now, presumably at the end of the deceleration phase, ASMI finds that their Elite group bends their trunk forward at between 40 and 57 degrees. Because, after ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers release their pitches, they cannot apply any more force to their pitches, they must be using the continuing forward bend of their trunk to decelerate their trunk. Therefore, they are eccentrically (plioanglosly) using the muscles of their lower back to keep from falling forward on their face. This action unnecessarily stresses the muscles of the lower back. Therefore, when ASMI recommends that, at release, all baseball pitchers bend forward at between 40 and 57 degrees, ASMI injures the muscles of the lower back. I teach my baseball pitchers to stand tall and rotate. Therefore, not only do my baseball pitchers not unnecessarily stress the muscles of their lower back, but they also generate more forward rotational velocity than ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers could possible achieve. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a sub-classification ‘Lean Knee Flexion’ under the main classification ‘Follow-Through Position,’ the ASMI protocol asks: Q39: Does your front knee straighten after release? To determine whether baseball pitchers extend their glove knee after release, ASMI measures the angle between the glove upper leg line and the glove foreleg line. The report says that, after release, their Elite group straightens their glove knee at between 11 and 36 degrees. Therefore, ASMI recommends that, after release, all baseball pitchers straighten their glove knee at between 11 and 36 degrees. In Question 31, ‘How much does your lead knee extend from foot contact to ball release,’ ASMI says that their Elite group extends their glove knee from between 0 to 21 degrees. Now presumably, at the end of the deceleration phase, ASMI finds that their Elite group straightens their glove knee at between 11 and 36 degrees, which means 11 to 15 degrees more. After ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers release their pitches, the momentum of the forward tilt of their trunk, shoulders, pitching arm and head again moves the center of mass of their body forward. For ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers to be able to stand upright, they have to extend their glove knee. While this action shows why ‘traditional’ baseball pitchers injure the extensor muscles of their lower back, this action has nothing to do with release velocity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q40: Does the back of your shoulder appear? Some person answered this question. That means that the answer is subjective, not objective and can vary from person to person. ------------------------------------------------- Because the computer program does not determine this variable, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q41: Do you leave yourself in a balanced position? Some person answered this question. That means that the answer is subjective, not objective and can vary from person to person. ------------------------------------------------- Because the computer program does not determine this variable, I recommend that ASMI gets rid of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the past twenty years, the protocol that the American Sports Medicine Institute uses to biomechanically analyze the pitching motions of baseball pitchers has increased and continues to increase pitching injuries. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- However, I believe that we can write a protocol that biomechanically analyzes pitching motions that will enable baseball pitchers to eliminates pitching injuries. Therefore, I will gladly work with the American Sports Medicine Institute to develop a protocol that will show baseball pitchers the injurious flaws that cause their pitching injuries and the mechanical flaws that decreases their release velocity, release consistency and pitch quality. Sincerely, Dr. Mike Marshall ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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