More pitching science

Not to be confused with Perry Husband's concept of "effective velocity".

Looks like it makes more of a difference than I would have anticipated but I wonder if Robertson is simply an exception, as in general you are going to find that the taller pitchers release closer to the plate, i.e. Weaver and Hendrickson. Then the question becomes is it downward plane or being closer to the plate that makes the difference? Take Lincecum as an example. He gets closer to the plate than many but also has an extreme overhand release point and a lot of deception in his motion. Is it being closer to the plate or the downward plane?

It turns out that the average height of the group listed in the article is almost 6'5" while the average height of an MLB pitcher is just under 6'2-1/2".

There are other studies however showing very little correlation between height and strikeout rate.

Although I'd have to agree overall with the conclusions of the article my guess is that much of Robertson's "hop" on his fastball is due to his being a shorter pitcher who throws hard. Shorter, hard throwing pitchers, tend to be able to work up in the zone more effectively because the ball is dropping less as it approaches the plate than pitchers throwing from a higher release point. The extra foot closer doesn't hurt that either of course.

As far as the increased spin on the curve conclusions all I can say is D'oh.

quote:

Originally posted by CADad:
Then the question becomes is it downward plane or being closer to the plate that makes the difference?

Just one data point...

6'10" Randy Johnson's release point was lower than 5'10" Billy Wagner's so, in Johnson's case, it was clearly about getting the release point closer to the plate.

That's a show me. I've seen clips of both and given that they are both fairly upright at release, with Wagner having more forward tilt, and both throw nearly sidearm I can't see how Johnson's release could be lower than Wagner's.

BTW, sidearm pitchers may tend to release more out front. Lincecum gets so much forward tilt that he has to release a bit early to keep from throwing the ball into the ground since he's throwing overhand. A sidearmer could get the same forward tilt and it wouldn't mean having to release early. By the same token, Weaver has to release out front a bit more because he strides so closed and has to get the ball across his body to throw strikes. If you want to release out front the way to do it is to stride very closed and throw sidearm or underhand. It is more about geometry than anything else.

In Johnson's case it was about finding a slot where he had control and where he could take advantage of the leverage he got from the long arms. Since Johnson didn't tilt forward all that much his release probably wasn't as far out front as one might think. I'd have to see the numbers and they probably didn't track that, or at least not with the same methodolgy back when he was throwing.

So who came up with the false statement about Johnson having a lower release point than Wagner? Pitchfx data shows that Johnson's release point was more than a foot higher than Wagner's. In fact, just based on a quick look Wagner probably had the lowest release point of anyone in baseball who didn't throw underhand. That must have really added a lot to the effectiveness of his high fastball.

Some guys are just sneaky fast. I think most of it has to do with at what point a batter picks up the ball. We have a local HS pitcher around where I live and he is tall and very lengthy and gets a long stride. But, you can watch the entire arm action and see the ball coming. Batters don't really struggle with him . Then there is another HS kid who is not very tall, throws a bit slower than the tall guy and has a normal stride. But, because of his deception he appears really sneaky fast- the ball appears to jump right on you. You don't really pick it up until it is coming out of the hand. Everyone says how fast he throws but in reality he is just average. Batters struggle against him.

I do love the sound of a ball that a pitcher puts a lot of spin on though. There is nothing sweeter sounding than the vvvvvvvvvvvv'' of a ball with a lot of spin.

Lot's of interesting stuff with the release points. Jared Weaver has the most off-center release point imaginable on one hand, almost 4 ft off center, yet has an incredibly tight grouping amongst all his different types of pitches. No wonder he's so deceptive.