FiveFrameSwing
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At release .....
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At release .....
Bruce, take a look at where her right foot is going as she comes into release. If she was closing the hip in an attempt to generate power it would be going to the right side. Instead, it's going behind her left foot -- just like every other elite pitcher. I will agree she looks to be past 45 degrees with her hips, but she is not closed at release either. She is still open -- probably more like 30 degrees. If you look at the whole sequence, to me it looks like she's trying not to close her hips but is doing it somewhat anyway. But that's just an opinion.
As for the "hip closing myth" going out the window, I again go back to the scientific method. Even if her hips are the source of her speed (and I still don't believe we can really say they are or are not) one data point does not change everything. Could just be a statisical anomaly.
- May 12, 2010
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Japan's Ueno, 70mph:
Closed delivery from the hip?
It is a curve.
IMO, she is one of the most "closed" at release of the elite pitchers that I have ever seen. Certainly her significant closing of the upper AND lower body help contribute to SOME speed on her pitch. She also seems to have narrower hips than some of the other elite pitchers in which the closing of the hip does not imped her pitching hand at release (i.e. she does not have to go "around" her closing hip).
While you might not want to teach this style of pitching, you cannot argue that she generates a tremendous amount of speed using this pitching technique.
I will say she generates a tremendous amount of speed, and she uses this technique. I don't think you can really draw the conclusion that her tremendous amount of speed is BECAUSE she uses this technique. It could be in spite of it. The only way to know would be for her to work diligently at a more open style and see if has an affect on her speed. Which I doubt she's willing to do just to settle our thread. 
For those interested in the whole cause-effect argument, check out this site. It may help you separate what you want to be true from what you can prove. It's also a fun read if you're into logic.
For those interested in the whole cause-effect argument, check out this site. It may help you separate what you want to be true from what you can prove. It's also a fun read if you're into logic.
Agree. And most pitchers swing around on curves, even if they don't close the hips on any other pitch.
- Oct 22, 2009
- 1,780
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In watching these videos I see;
She is open at release, with the exception of the curve.
She is narrowed hipped, Asian genetics.
She has tremendous strength combined with flexibility. She gets a enormous amount of energy through her push off and rotation, and stays --not sure of the a proper term, but I'll use the word "collected". Where her extremities stay down her power line, nothing is wasted. She leads with her hip very strongly through the pitch.
I see her body finishing, expelled energy like a follow through.
She is open at release, with the exception of the curve.
She is narrowed hipped, Asian genetics.
She has tremendous strength combined with flexibility. She gets a enormous amount of energy through her push off and rotation, and stays --not sure of the a proper term, but I'll use the word "collected". Where her extremities stay down her power line, nothing is wasted. She leads with her hip very strongly through the pitch.
I see her body finishing, expelled energy like a follow through.
I believe this is an example of her fastball and she still looks very closed to me at release. Maybe as Ken suggests that she throws 70mph "in spite of" these mechanics but I'm sure she has tried pitching being more "open" at some point in her career but through experiementing with this more "closed" technique, realized it was the most effective for her. "Slamming the door" may not be good on your body and she may have (or will have) health issues because of it but there is little doubt in my mind that once her stride foot comes to a dead stop, she forces her whole right side to transfer the stored energy to the ball at release producing world class speed.
Excuse me for jumping into you'all's discussion of Ueno, but are you folks telling me that in post#105, the video shows her pitching a curve????
I beg to differ -- the ball is CLEARLY spinning from left to right, or away from the batter, and that is the direction the ball is moving. It is a SCREWBALL.
And I think that is largely why (at least in this video) she is turning her hip into the pitch as much as she is.
jim
I beg to differ -- the ball is CLEARLY spinning from left to right, or away from the batter, and that is the direction the ball is moving. It is a SCREWBALL.
And I think that is largely why (at least in this video) she is turning her hip into the pitch as much as she is.
jim
