No advantage to leaping

[knightsb]

 

[29dad]

ouch- I don't know the distance but I started and landed on the same lines on my floor. I my have replanted a little on the drag trial though.

I freaking love science!! THANK YOU, JJ!!!! Diligent research, now published and peer reviewed. Ladies and gentlemen, the science is settled.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I freaking love science!! THANK YOU, JJ!!!! Diligent research, now published and peer reviewed. Ladies and gentlemen, the science is settled.

I know right? Next up is global warming. It's a little cold outside right now so I can conclusively say that global warming does not exist. This science stuff is so easy I don't know why everyone makes such a fuss over it.

 

[riseball]

Obviously there is no advantage for leaping. In the mens game it is only done to garner style points.

 

[IR a Pitching Dad]

The only advantage that I see to the leap is the secondary push off point that a pitcher has on the landing. It places the pitcher about 3 feet closer to the batter when the second push off occurs. In those cases, after the leap, the foot remains in contact with the ground when the ball is released. IMHO it seems as though the energy transfer from the legs through the arm whip is diminished when contact with the ground is lost and the ball is released. To illustrate, jump (or leap) in the air (both feet off the ground) and throw the ball, then throw the ball again keeping your drive foot in contact through delivery and see which one throws faster.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Obviously there is no advantage for leaping. In the mens game it is only done to garner style points.

I would say that it's not natural to drag your toe or foot. When faced with a choice would you drag it or not?

Your stance seems to be that they are gaining some unfair advantage in either speed or reaction time (distance).

I am not seeing it or if it is present it's trivial.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I would say that it's not natural to drag your toe or foot. When faced with a choice would you drag it or not?

Your stance seems to be that they are gaining some unfair advantage in either speed or reaction time (distance).

I am not seeing it or if it is present it's trivial.

Agreed-100%- maybe it is a small advantage, but not enough to really make a difference or justify a baserunner advancing. The one sticking point I have is that the fastest pitcher in the world, the one that has gone on record that she very much wants to be the first woman to throw an 80mh pitch does not leap when competing in organizations that allow it. She managed to find that a little gym step helped her speed but somehow missed that a leap would help more? I don't buy it.

 

[JAD]

What about the release being that much closer to the batter reducing reaction time? A reduction of reaction time has the same result as a speed increase.

I would love to see a side-by-side comparison of a top level pitcher with and without the leap. For someone who practices the toe drag on a regular basis I would guess the difference will be minimal. The secret is dragging your toe with minimal resistance vs. dragging a boat anchor.

 

[JAD]

Agreed-100%- maybe it is a small advantage, but not enough to really make a difference or justify a baserunner advancing. The one sticking point I have is that the fastest pitcher in the world, the one that has gone on record that she very much wants to be the first woman to throw an 80mh pitch does not leap when competing in organizations that allow it. She managed to find that a little gym step helped her speed but somehow missed that a leap would help more? I don't buy it.

A "gym step" or "leap" will not increase the pitch speed, but could shorten the distance of the pitch and lessen the batters reaction time.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

The only advantage that I see to the leap is the secondary push off point that a pitcher has on the landing. It places the pitcher about 3 feet closer to the batter when the second push off occurs. In those cases, after the leap, the foot remains in contact with the ground when the ball is released. IMHO it seems as though the energy transfer from the legs through the arm whip is diminished when contact with the ground is lost and the ball is released. To illustrate, jump (or leap) in the air (both feet off the ground) and throw the ball, then throw the ball again keeping your drive foot in contact through delivery and see which one throws faster.

Ya new guy here "IPD" is on to how I stongly believe this all is.

Leaping, by itself, with NO replant, I feel is actually a disadvantage, regardless of the additional leap distance stated about long-jumping. A throw of a ball is so much more complex than just a plain long jump. You cannot equate leap distance with speed of the ball at hand-exit. But yes it's being released those inches closer - I will give ya that. But I think extra speed/spin of a non-leap pitch is better.