Ground reaction forces in baseball pitching: temporal associations with pitch velocity among high-velocity pitchers

Abstract

ABSTRACT How baseball pitchers interact with the ground is an important aspect of pitching technique and performance. Previous studies on ground reaction forces in baseball pitching have largely been limited to pitchers at the youth or adolescent level, with only a few studies examining higher velocity pitchers. Additionally, previous studies have limited their analyses to only peak kinetic values, neglecting any temporal importance of when these peak values occur. Therefore, our purpose was to provide normative ground reaction force values and examine the associations between pitch velocity and ground reaction forces in high-velocity pitchers. We retrospectively extracted pitch velocities as well as rear and lead leg ground reaction force data from internal databases for 105 high-velocity pitchers. We analysed the associations between the full ground reaction force time series and pitch velocity using statistical parametric mapping regression. Regression analysis revealed pitch velocity significantly predicted lead leg braking ground reaction force from approximately 27% to 35% of the period between front foot contact and ball release. These data reinforce the importance of effective braking forces for achieving maximal pitch velocities. Additionally, our observed peak ground reaction force values were considerably higher than those previously reported.