I was scratching my head at this point. That’s a BAD thing? You see, every high level thrower (yes, this includes outfielders and anyone else who throws at least mid 90s) that I have ever seen, not to mention nearly all amateur players as well (to varying degrees) exhibit this mechanical trait. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me first present you with the definition of “reverse forearm bounce” that the website provided, and explain why it was called a “flaw.”

Logan Verrett

Reportedly coined by Mike Marshall, this “bounce” refers to “the downward motion of the pitching forearm caused by the inertial mass of the ball, pitching hand, and pitching forearm.”

That is, the “forearm layback” that every high level thrower exhibits. I’m not really sure how many examples I need to supply our readers with to prove this point, so I’ll just include some synchronized clips of a diverse assortment of both active and retired high level throwers (some have been flipped to appear as lefties). These throwers range in peak velocity from mid 90s to in excess of 100 mph.

**Note that I did not use photos as evidence for my claim. Although photos are far better than nothing, and in this specific case may have sufficed, when it comes to illustrating a point that has to do with mechanics, photos can be taken way out of context. For example, a player reaches landing position with their hips open, shoulders closed, throwing arm vertical – the classic “high cocked” position…but how did they get to that position? Unless you have a very trained eye, it can be hard to tell much from just a photo of a player at landing position unless you know how to look for subtle cues that give away how they got there (elbows pinched back, back foot turned over, etc.) So to better make a point when it comes to mechanics, do yourself a favor and learn to use clips to illustrate this kind of thing (maybe this will be the topic of a future post if there is sufficient interest).**
So what reasons did the website give as to why “Reverse forearm bounce” was a flaw? And, additionally, is this something that can (or should) be fixed, or is it just an inherent, albeit stressful, part of throwing hard?

This particular website cites various studies showing that the more extreme the “bounce” and the closer the throwing elbow is flexed to 90, the greater the stress will be on the UCL. Is this true? Yes, I have no reason to doubt the studies – in fact, I would have been surprised if this was not what the studies had concluded. My point though, is that high level throwing is inherently stressful on shoulder and elbow – this is apparent from looking at ANY 95 mph thrower, noting the elbow flexed to 90 degrees during acceleration, and the ridiculous amount of external rotation (near 180 degrees) at the glenohumeral joint. To go a step further, I’m asserting that the very mechanical traits that allow a player to hit such high velocities are the same traits that place the most stress on the throwing arm. That is, the “bounce” is necessary because it

1.    increases the range of motion over which force is applied to the baseball.

If we’re trying to maximize velocity (v= distance traveled/time) then one way to do it is increasing distance traveled over which force is applied to the ball while holding time constant. Thus, a player with a full 180 degrees of external rotation is going to throw harder than a player with 160 degrees of ER if all other variables are held constant.

2.    increases the reflexive action and thus strengthens the following concentric contraction of the internal rotators of the shoulder due to the Stretch Shortening Cycle.

The SSC basically says that when you eccentrically lengthen a muscle under tension (in this case all the internal rotators) it will store elastic energy (like a rubber band) which can then be used to strengthen the following concentric contraction. The quicker and more powerful the “Stretch” the more powerful the resulting contraction has the potential to be (provided all of it can be harnessed).

What though, is the significance of this conclusion? What should you do with this knowledge? Should you stunt your potential as a pitcher by focusing solely on reducing the stress to your UCL? (see marshall video) That depends on your goal. If you’re attempting to reach the highest levels of the game, it’s pretty much a given that you need a good fastball. Like it or not, scouts don’t care about 85 mph fastballs unless you’re absolutely flawless in every other aspect of your performance. Even Greg Maddux had a low 90s heater out of high school…without it he may not have ever been given a shot at professional ball. If, however, you just want to have fun, allegedly improve your chances of staying healthy and in all likelihood not make it past high school ball then by all means, reduce your “reverse forearm bounce,” stop trying to throw hard and follow the advice of this scouting report and of Dr. Marshall (see video). Otherwise, keep throwing the crap out of the ball, making sure to manage as best as possible the inherent risk that accompanies these throws. Guys like Eric Cressey have figured this part out pretty damn well.

Dr. Marshall showing how to allegedly reduce UCL wear and tear while simultaneously stunting velocity:

Marshall

I don’t even know where to start on this video, so I’ll leave it to you to decide what to make of it for now. I look forward to hearing your comments and opinions!

I got a kick out of this man Elliot  running around calling everyone a “beautiful rotational athlete.” Interesting guy.

Now, I DO think he knows what he is doing, but he acts like his new program is a whirlwind of modern science – it isn’t. Good trainers have been doing for years what he is now introducing as revolutionary, and the training isn’t nearly as complex as he makes it out to be…case in point: he pulls out a chart of Dustin Ackley’s power curve, then a minute later shows one of their players doing lateral hops.  Wow! All that technology boils down to…..lateral hopping. Lateral hopping is a good plyometric for pitchers but lets, please, not act like it’s never been done before. That could have been prescribed without dropping a dime on sophisticated software.

And take a look around this “bare” weight room. Little equipment? Hardly; they just removed the superfluous machines that no good trainer would keep around. The good things (and heavy, at that) are still there – squat racks and a lot of dumbbells. And the pulley systems are pretty expensive, despite being minimalistic, so I don’t like them pretending like it’s the gym Rocky trained in.

But Hooray for the Mariners, they do seem to have found someone who at least knows something, even if he is playing it up a bit too much.

So, today we’re going to discuss the main upper torso and shoulder muscles that accelerate and decelerate the baseball…

Anatomical Terminology

Anterior: in or toward the front of the body (when divided by the coronal plane)

Posterior: in or toward the rear of the body (when divided by the coronal plane)

Internal Rotation: to bring toward the body’s midline by  joint rotation. (When the arm is abducted, this brings the hand forward)

External Rotation: to carry away from the body’s midline by joint rotation (When the arm is abducted, this brings the hand backward)

Adduction: to bring toward the body’s midline on the coronal plane (ex: bring hands to your sides

Abduction: to move away from the body’s midline on the coronal plane (ex: raise arms to the side)

Medial: (describing the position of a bodypart) toward the midline of the body

Lateral: (describing the position of a bodypart) away from the midline of the body

Showing the 3 planes of movement

The Accelerators

Most of the upper body and shoulder muscles that accelerate the arm are internal rotators. They take the arm from…

1. Subscapularis

Subscapularis (Anterior View)

The most powerful muscle performing a given movement is called the prime mover, or agonist. The prime mover of internal rotation is the subscapularis, which is a member of the “rotator cuff” group.  This muscle covers the anterior portion of the scapula (shoulder blade) and inserts on the lesser tubercle of the humerus (upper arm).  The subscapularis, along with all of the rotator cuff, contributes in stabilizing the shoulder joint which helps prevent injury.

2. Teres Major

The Teres Major is another internal rotator, which originates on the posterior aspect of the scapula and inserts on the medial lip of the intertubercular groove of the humerus.

Muscle action can be figured out by knowing the origin and insertion, as they act just like hydraulics – lengthening and shortening to create movement.  Since the teres major inserts on the front of the humerus, when it contracts the arm will rotate internally.

3. Anterior Deltoid

Anterior Deltoid and Serratus Anterior

The anterior portion of the deltoid (anterior and middle deltoid shown) originates at the clavicle and inserts on the deltoid tuberosity of the humerus. Because the insertion point is on the more lateral aspect of the humerus, the anterior deltoid is a relatively weak internal rotator, but does assist nonetheless.

4. Latissimus Dorsi

The Mighty Latissimus Dorsi

The “Lats” originate from a large fascial attachment extending from the posterior illiac crest, to a few ribs and up to the thoracic vertebrae.  The lats are huge, powerful mucles that connect the hips to the core to the arm, and snake around the teres major to insert on the medial aspect of the humerus.

Most people are unaware of the lats’ role as an internal rotator, but as an extremely influential muscle, its incredibly important to have strong lats to aid in the acceleration of the throwing arm.

When you perform a chin-up you will feel your arms’ natural inclination to pronate inward as the lats attempt to internally rotate the humerus as it brings the body upward.

5. Pectoralis Major

Stronger Pecs… Stronger Fastball

The “Pecs” originate from the sternum and clavicle to insert on the lateral aspect of the humerus.

When the arm is abducted, as in the cocked throwing position, the lateral insertion point on the humerus allows the lower fibers of the pectoralis to aid in accelerating the arm forward.

Exercises that strengthen and develop the chest are often thought of as unnecessary vanity exercises, but this is far from the truth.  The pitcher who wishes to reach his velocity potential should be as strong and flexible as possible in all of the muscles that assist in internal rotation, which is a major factor in pitch speed as well as injury prevention.

6. Serratus Anterior

The serratus muscles are so named because of their sawtoothed appearance, and act to pull the scapula toward the anterior part of the body.  The serratus anterior originates on the upper ribs and inserts on the anterior portion of the scapula’s medial border.  In throwing, the feeling of fully extending and “really reaching out toward the target” is the serratus anterior pulling the scapula forward.

The Decelerators

These muscles are responsible for cocking the arm back and slowing it down after the ball is released.  Make note that there are more muscles performing internal rotation than external rotation, which makes strengthening the external rotators crucial to preventing injury.

1. Infraspinatus

The Infraspinatus originates on the medial aspect of the scapula and inserts on the posterior of the humerus.  It is the prime mover of external rotation. It is a member of the rotator cuff group along with the Supraspinatus, Subscapularis and Teres Minor.

2. Teres Minor

The Teres Minor originates on the lateral aspect of the scapula and inserts on the posterior aspect of the humerus.  It sits right next to, and strongly assists, the infraspinatus in performing external rotation.  Both the teres minor and infraspinatus also help in maintaining posterior shoulder stability.

3. Posterior Deltoid

The posterior deltoid originates on the spine of the scapula and inserts on the lateral aspect of the humerus.  The deltoid is subdivided anatomically into three parts: the anterior, middle, and posterior.  This is because all three divisions perform different actions depending on the position of the humerus and the plane in which they are active.

Supporting Roles in Deceleration

The trapezius, rhomboids, biceps, levator scapulae all attach to the scapula and help stabilize and slow it during follow-through.  While the infraspinatus, teres minor and posterior deltoid are the main muscles slowing the arm down, throwing is a whole body motion and recruits a very large amount of muscles in varying degrees.

Part II of this anatomy series will discuss the lower arm muscles, including the hand, forearm, triceps and all the interactions between them.

But in the meantime, start strengthening these muscles! Learn how in my articles on the LYTP Shoulder Circuit and The Pitcher’s Complete Shoulder & Rotator Cuff Prehab Circuit.

Throwing is the same way: throw sparingly and you won’t develop your arm to its potential.  Throw often and your arm will be strong and durable.  Ever see an infielder, especially a catcher, go down with arm problems?  Probably not too often. But if you’ve been around baseball long enough, you’ve surely noticed that outfielders complain about their arms hurting as much as anyone.  The reason for this is that outfielders infrequently throw, both in practice and in games, and when they do it is often with maximum effort.

Why, physiologically, does throwing a ton make you throw harder?  Your body just recognizes the need to build strength because the muscle group is consistently stimulated.  This is why climbers have incredible hand strength, and cyclists have monster calves and thighs.  They’re both just doing what they do for hours a day, and their bodies respond by sending the muscular reinforcements.

Pitchers should not consistently go hard and rest on alternate days.  It’s stressful, the arm doesn’t learn to recover quickly, and the repetition needed for growth isn’t there with too many off days. Off days are needed every week, but limiting them to 1 or 2 is ideal, and the other days should be filled with high volume, low intensity throwing to keep your muscles working.

The Repetition Recommendation:

-Add more high-repetition, low-intensity throwing days into your weekly workload.  As long as one’s arm is without pain and deadness, then throwing 5 or 6 days per week should have a very positive effect.

What does one of these high-rep days look like, you ask?  

100-140 very light but crisp throws from 45-75 feet.  This is the time to work on mechanics and pitches, all without stressing the arm. If done at the correct intensity, you should breeze through the 100+ throws without fatigue, and feel fresh the next day.  This is going to get your body used to throwing often, making it able to recover faster.  Additionally this will give you tons of reps to perfect mechanics, arm slot, pitches, etc, all of which add up to better pitching performance aside from velocity.

These high-volume days should be combined with regular bullpen sessions, as well as long toss, which is extremely important and is another huge contributor to throwing that cheese.

By giving a late hitter an offspeed pitch, or something away in the zone, you’re doing him a favor by accommodating his inferior (in respect to your velocity) batspeed.  By throwing offspeed to the early hitter, however, you are exploiting the fact that he is not keeping his hands back long enough in the zone.

However, there is more to it than just this early or late judgment.  One has to watch the hitter and ask himself, is this batter truly showing that he has a fast bat, and is waiting til the ball gets deep in the zone before he swings, or is he just cheating, and jumping at the pitch to cover up slower hands? 

A jumping, cheating hitter will shift his weight forward early and often pull his head and stride foot toward the line. If you see this, its time to make that hitter prove himself, which is best accomplished by busting him in as hard as possible.

Throwing offspeed would work if he jumps again but chances are, if you’re pitching against good competition, this hitter knows not to jump, but does it on occasion anyway to try to steal an extra base hit.  Throwing offspeed to this hitter would be a favor.  I would rather err on the side of aggression here, especially if this hitter isn’t in the heart of the lineup.  Being aggressive and making a hitter prove his worth on the inside part of the plate is something I like to do if it looks like a hitter is trying to cheat against me.

But the hitter who pulls you foul who waits til the ball is deep in the zone, keeps his head on the ball, and strides straight or in to the plate is one with a good bat, who has you well timed.  This hitter would be farther out in front of offspeed, and would have trouble keeping his very quick hands back.  Its a good idea to challenge these types of hitters in with fastballs as well, as long as you get it in far enough.  The farther in a pitch is, the farther out in front of the plate a batter must hit it to put it in play, if he is to get barrel on it.  A good inside fastball can be impossible to hit in play with authority.   They might rip it foul again, but if they do they are only further setting themselves up to for failure against a good offspeed pitch, and if they are late they will hit a 15 foot nubber back to you.

Reading hitters takes sharp perception, but it’s an essential skill to learn.  Pitch selection is not always black and white, so take what information the batter provides and use it against him.  If all else fails and you’re not sure, don’t be afraid of contact, be aggressive, and make a hitter prove himself.

The article of interest here is on the “Inverted W,” which is explained in the original article here.  O’Leary claims to not like the Inverted W, in terms of a pitcher’s health, by way of three premises:

1. “It’s not what great pitchers do”

2. “It is what frequently injured pitchers do”

3. “It can create a timing problem [in a pitcher's delivery]”

Premises 1 and 2

In order to isolate a variable, which is necessary to conclude anything about causation or correlation, proper samples must be taken from the population in question.  The population in question is pitchers, obviously, and the variable of interest is the Inverted W.

Now, finding causation in this situation is impossible, and I will grant O’Leary the charity that he is NOT making the case that the Inverted W CAUSES injury, but rather just correlates with it.  Problem is, his design is still flawed…

O’Leary’s fault in methodology is in that he did not use a random sample, but rather specifically chose two populations to compare: 9 non-Inverted W pitchers who he considers great, and 6 Inverted W pitchers he considers injury-prone.  Comparing these two samples tells us nothing about the Inverted W as correlating with injury, because the variable of interest is not isolated in any way.  Multiple random samples are needed: a random selection of pitchers with Inverted W mechanics, a random sample from the entire pitching population (as a control group) and a random sample from the non-Inverted W group.

To isolate the Inverted W as the correlational variable, he would need to use a random sample of pitchers, the larger the better, and from that sample pick out those who throw with the Inverted W. From there he would have a population of Inverted W pitchers.  Next, a random sample from the entire population of pitchers, or a random sample from all the pitchers who do NOT Do the Inverted W would be taken to use as a control and additional comparison group, respectively.  He could then compare the injury rates of Inverted W pitchers to the rates of injury in the pitching population as a whole, or to the rates of injury for the non-Inverted W population.  Then he could analyze the differences, to see if there exists a statistical significance between the groups in terms of injury rate.  Finding a few percentage points difference in injury rates, would not be statistically significant, which would mean the findings could be attributed to chance as much as the variable.  I would be amazed if there would be found any statistically significant difference between any grouping of pitching mechanic types.

I’ll give you an example of an experiment or argument using O’Leary’s design:  One takes 5 injured submarine pitchers, and 5 healthy 3/4 armslot pitchers.  O’Leary’s claim to the Inverted W being bad is analogous to making the claim that throwing sidearm in this example increases likelihood of injury, while throwing 3/4 does not.  One can make ridiculous claims like this when you start with improper sampling.

Chances are, if one took a sample of 50 pitchers who throw with an Inverted W, we would get a wide variety of frequencies of injuries reported in their careers.  One just cannot take a non-randomly sampled healthy group and compare them to an injured group and claim anything about the comparison.  Its INVALID, and does not give any data as to causation or correlation (and correlation is not even a strong measure).

Language in Premises 1 & 2

On top of his methodological problems, O’Leary uses overly strong language which makes dangerous implications.

“It’s not what great pitchers do” – This statement is universal, and tells us that ALL, not SOME, great pitchers DO NOT do the Inverted W.  O’Leary provides us with 9 (yes, 9!) pitchers he deems great and who do not use the Inverted W.  If I counted correctly, there are currently 59 pitchers in the hall of fame.  What of them?  What of the other Cy Young Award winners and countless pitchers who have had strong 20 year careers?

The bottom line here is that he has not analyzed all these pitchers’ mechanics, and has no right to his claim that “it’s not what great pitchers do.”  He also has not addressed whether or not great pitchers have pitched with the Inverted W, as I can almost guarantee that they have.  Of the thousands and thousands of quality major league pitchers in the history of the game, undoubtedly every different type of mechanics have been used to achieve success.  To take 9 pitchers, purposefully selected for their fit to his argument, and claim that from them we can generalize that all great pitchers do not do the Inverted W, is absolutely ludicrous.

Conversely, he gives us 6 Inverted W pitchers who are frequently injured and from that makes his argument that because these 6 have been injured, that all pitchers with the Inverted W will be injured.  It’s a completely superficial and baseless argument.

Premise 3

The claim that timing is altered by the Inverted W, which is why it is inherently dangerous, is backed up by ZERO empirical data.  No biomechanical analysis, no experiments, nothing.  He takes what he feels is commonly held as proper timing, compares it to Inverted-W timing, and concludes that there is more distance for the arm to travel in external rotation, which increases chance of injury.

OK, so maybe that intuitively makes sense, but wheres the proof?  Where is the data?  Why should anyone believe that, when we have already shown that AT LEAST 2 of 3 premises leading to the conclusion that the Inverted W is evil, are completely baseless and invalid?  I don’t have a problem with arguing from intuition, as long as the argument is done with soft enough language to let the reader know that he shouldn’t be interpreting the argument as fact or as causal.  The problem is just that he isn’t backing up any part of his argument with fact.  It’s just a bunch of pseudoscience, which unfortunately is leading pitchers to alter the way they throw, which may be leading them astray.

Go to Chris O’Leary’s website and look around, thinking critically.  You’re going to find a lot of unsubstantiated claims dressed up in the fancy garb of analogies, comparisons, and bad experimental design.  Whatever choice you ultimately make regarding pitching mechanics, make sure it is an informed one.

UPDATE: I want my readers to understand what I am putting forth here.  I’m not a biomechanics expert, nor am I projecting my own view of the nature of the Inverted W.  I don’t know what effect, if any, the inverted W has on a pitcher’s arm.  This article is a review of his literature, and is presented to show the holes in his claims. I’m not here to make counterclaims, but rather to bring light to the fact that O’Leary’s argumentation and research is very poor.  Do some additional research, and make an educated decision if you are looking to make mechanical changes.