The pitcher is throwing the ball with the exact same amount of force on both mounds, and pitching to the exact same point in the strike zone. We're only looking at the height of the pitcher's mound (not the slope, that's a different can of worms), and we're making everything else about the pitch the same. This gif shows the relationship between torque, linear momentum (p) and angular momentum (L). Torque looks for the force rotating around an axis - exactly what we’re looking for when consider the elbow of a pitcher. Pitchers don’t really throw this way, but for an estimation it can help us get the general idea. When we’re considering this problem we’re going to assume that the forearm is pivoting (along one axis) around the elbow. It happens after the wind-up, and is when an over-handed pitcher brings the arm around until right before the ball is released. The one we’re most interested in is seen in the third frame of the picture above.
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Image Credit: WikipediaĪccording to a study published in 2010, Correlation of Torque and Elbow Injury in Professional Baseball Players, there are four ‘events' in the pitching cycle. Since our original question was specifically focused on the elbow, we’re going to ignore shoulder rotation and only focus on the torque on the elbow.Ĭincinnati Reds pitcher, Rick Dikeman, in 2004. The shoulder and elbow both experience different amounts of torque at different parts of the throw. There are several factors that can contribute to elbow injuries, and there are two major points of torque on a pitcher’s arm. Pitchers have adjusted since then, and as they are pushed to throw faster and harder, elbow injuries are becoming more common. In it, he mentioned that many pitchers were unhappy with the change and felt unbalanced when they had to adjust their pitching. In 1969, William Leggett wrote an article for Sports Illustrated Magazine: From Mountain to Molehill. 1968 was a a particularly abysmal year in hitting, and MLB changed the rules to lower the pitcher’s mound to 10 inches. From the early 1900s until 1968, the pitcher’s mound was 15 inches (depending on the park). Image Credit: Wikipedia.Īltering the height of the pitcher's mound is an interesting idea, especially given that the height of the pitching mound hasn't been consistent in the history of Major League Baseball. But in practical application? Probably not." At dinner recently a friend asked, “With pitchers having more Tommy John Surgeries, would making the pitcher’s mound higher change the torque on their elbows?” The fast answer: "In theory.
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