Maximum Efficiency

[ksadad]

Rich B, Rick P, (and others with knowledge),
I pose these three questions...
1. Where is the most efficient place for arm/ball to be at toe touch? (I see best pitchers between 9 and 12.).
2. How much bend in elbow is most efficient at 12 and 9 o'clock? (Men seem to bend much more??)
3. How much rear hip thrust is most efficient?

 

[James Smith]

Doug Romrell’s recent post might answer some of your questions.

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/17028-finch-analysis-clip.html

 

[Rick Pauly]

I think that like anything in pitching there is range depending on pitcher. I can show you pics of DD and tell you I have also compared Abbott and Osterman in these same positions and they are relatively similar.

1. Arm/ball at toe touch......something I'd like to point out is that it is probably more important where the arm is at Heel Plant 'cause that is when the real energy transfer begins. See pics below of both TT and HP


2. Angle of arm.....IMO it is most important at the point in time that the upper arm is contacting the ribcage side....again, this is where the real energy transfer is beginning for the arm whip.


3. Hip rotation.....probably a big range on this one....no good measureable pics, but a guess would be a range of 25--45 degrees relative to the powerline......that's where the rotation temporarily stops until after release. Again, looked at Cat, DD and Abbott with Cat the least and Abbott the most.

 

[ksadad]

Finch very different. 9 oclock at heel plant. Apparently no arm bend prior to release.
Scarborough 11 oclock at heel plant with Pauly-like arm bend.
Pretty big range between the two. I wonder which makes more sense from a kinetics standpoint.
Saw earlier post that they claim 11 oclock is "best"...why?

 

[starsnuffer]

You can't look at just heel plant. You have to look at their deceleration factors as well. In order to power the pendulum timing is important, and that forward momentum generated by the drive needs to translate into whip speed. Pitchers height, core strength, leg length, and leg strength will factor into the optimal hand position here. Everyone will be different.

-W

 

[Ken B]

1) 9:55 PM (see starsnuffer's recommendation)
2) Loose and natural
3) Not generally addressed unless there's an issue. Like Rick already mentioned, 45 or more. Gascoine stays close to 90 on her CU.

 

[Rick Pauly]

This is splitting hairs but does make some difference in the perceived position at heel plant. Finch probably has a bit more spine tilt at heel plant which would make the ball appear to be at 9 o'clock......if you measured the angle relative to the spine it might be 9:30......like I said, very minor difference. Want to equalize these things as best as possible when doing comparisons.

As you can see there is quite a range and I think SS has described many of the things that affect the position.

Finch very different. 9 oclock at heel plant. Apparently no arm bend prior to release.
Scarborough 11 oclock at heel plant with Pauly-like arm bend.
Pretty big range between the two. I wonder which makes more sense from a kinetics standpoint.
Saw earlier post that they claim 11 oclock is "best"...why?

 

[cuzmail]

1) 9:55 PM

Please don't mislead the newbies trying to get information here to help their DD. The proper location is 9:48:32.
Back to serious programming......

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Finch very different. 9 oclock at heel plant. Apparently no arm bend prior to release.
Scarborough 11 oclock at heel plant with Pauly-like arm bend.
Pretty big range between the two. I wonder which makes more sense from a kinetics standpoint.
Saw earlier post that they claim 11 oclock is "best"...why?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]