Blog
Arm Stress from Consecutive Long Innings
An understudied aspect of the stress placed on a pitcher’s arm over the course of a game is the effect of pitching consecutive long innings in which the pitcher has limited time to recover from the additional stress of the long innings. This paper will explore some of the initial research involved in attempting to quantify stress and discuss future research opportunities.
Smile Before You Sweat: The Mental Flow of B.F.S.
As athletes, we often hear that mental performance is just as crucial as physical training. But how can you optimize your mental game? By focusing on three key areas: Body Language, Focus, and Self-Talk—what I like to call the B.F.S. method.
How Do High School Stats Compare to the MLB?
Ernie and I found an article in Sports Illustrated by the great Tom Verducci back in 2016 entitled “New data results show high school baseball similar to MLB”. This article caused some serious discussion.
Some Thoughts On Data And Data Sources For TJS Analysis
I’m planning a series of posts that have to do with where I get data and some of the things I’ve done with it to come to various conclusions. You may find some of these more interesting than others but I believe it is important to share thought processes and sources so that others may dive in to the depth of their level of interest.
We Can Be Deceived About The Seriousness Of The Epidemic Of Tommy John Surgeries If We Are Only Looking At MLB Pitcher Outcomes
An easy misunderstanding, of which our company hopes to rid the baseball community, is that the rates at which things happen at the MLB level are always the same rates at which those things happen at lower levels of baseball. When there is an absence of data and research at the lower levels, we usually just hope that the rates at which things happen at the MLB level, and which we can prove thanks to the greater availability of data, must also be happening at the same rate at the high school level. Our company is working toward gathering more data, particularly at the high school level, to see what conclusions can be drawn.
What Kind of Performance Results Have You Been Getting?
As we get older, stronger, and as we put in more work, we should expect some level of improved performance when throwing. The previous post discussed general results in terms of arm health and performance gains. In this post I’m going to point out a few success stories from the perspective of impact.
Update from the Illinois Baseball Edge, Ltd.
With the grand opening of our new academy a little over a month in the rearview mirror, with high school baseball tryouts in progress, and with summer baseball getting closer every day, our staff thought it would be a good time to provide an update on training activity and performance results.
How Does One Go About Developing Velocity?
In a prior post I’ve described that almost all velocity development programs involve some form of long toss and weighted balls. But are you aware that there are ways to enhance velocity that have nothing at all to do with long toss or weighted balls?
What Can We Do To Help Prevent Injuries?
Throwing athletes need regular assessments that look at physical constraints such as strength, mobility, and physical imbalances. How much strength is “enough” and how much mobility is “enough” for your sport and position? Without regular assessments with a physical trainer or physician that are familiar with the unique demands of the throwing athlete, we are launching darts at a target with a blindfold on rather than addressing specific physical constraints that could be holding a player back or putting him or her at risk of injury.
What Causes Throwing Arm Injuries?
At the MLB level the thoughts behind why pitchers get injured have changed over the years. In the 1980’s it was thought that the splitter was a culprit. In the 1990’s this changed to the curve ball. In the late 1990’s mechanics came under scrutiny. While these things may all be contributors, on a logical level we recognize that age, size, strength, mobility, and training techniques also are part of the equation. The one thing we know correlates directly with injury is overuse. Injured players pitch more months, games, and pitches per year. They pitch more innings, pitches, and warm-ups per game.
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