Posts Tagged baseball
Advanced Baseball Injury Database: Release Point Corrections Implemented
Posted by Kyle in Injuries, Sabermetrics on March 13, 2011
The Advanced Baseball Injury Database has had a major problem since it’s debuted – the release point PITCHf/x metrics were uncorrected. They needed to be corrected because the PITCHf/x cameras were not properly synchronized between each team’s home park, and even game-to-game adjustments were necessary to get relatively accurate data. This has been a project I mostly gave up on until I started up work on it last month, and my fellow writer at The Hardball Times, Max Marchi, has graciously provided me with a set of release point corrections based on his methodology partially outlined in this article.
He sent them to me last night, and I implemented them in our database as of this evening. You can check out the Advanced Injury Baseball Database and search for a player you’re interested in – for example, Tim Lincecum – and see the new results.
Advanced Baseball Injury Database - Tim Lincecum
I hope to perform some statistics-based work on the corrected data and see if we can find a meaningful link between PITCHf/x values, injuries, and data about a player’s anthropometry (height, weight, age).
The Dreaded Radar Gun
I’ve seen it more times than I can count – a coach is working with a pitcher, showing him a mechanical technique or something to focus on in today’s bullpen workout, and after a few pitches to the backstop, the coach yanks out the dreaded radar gun and says “Let’s get some velocity readings!”
The kid tenses up and starts muscling the ball up there, losing all focus of what he was supposed to work on. His velocity drops like a rock and the coach starts reminding him about “staying tall” or whatever mechanical cue he issued at the beginning of the workout.
Your end result? A wasted pitching lesson and a sense of frustration from both the coach and the pitcher in question.
Don't abuse this.
It can get worse, too. Using the radar gun on younger pitchers who are highly competitive can cause injury. By getting them on a mound to throw their very hardest, you expose them to a lot of stress on the arm they may or may not be ready for.
Sure, we use a radar gun in our Pitching Program when our athletes are throwing bullpens. However, I make it clear before it ever comes out of the bag that we’re only using a radar gun to get their entry velocities as a starting point – and that like anything else, we hope to see improvement down the line. Just like you would not try to squat 300 pounds if you were only able to capably handle 200 lbs on the bar, you wouldn’t try to throw the ball 90 mph if you are only sitting 78 mph. There’s nothing wrong with that! The whole point of training is to have some accountability in the form of a log so you can continually improve across all the skills you’re developing, like strength (1RM in squat and deadlift), speed (60 yard dash time, 20 yard shuttle time), power (vertical leap / broad jump distance), and finally, sport-specific raw measurements (fastball velocity, bat speed).
Don’t just bring out the radar gun for every bullpen and hope to see them light it up. It’s more likely that your athlete will set an opening fastball velocity and continue to improve if you put him on a good workout program – but only over time! If you have a pitcher that comes in at 71 mph, he may be as low as 65 mph on bad days and as high as 77 mph on other days.
As long as that trend line is going up, something is going right. Don’t sweat the session to session results – it’s all about the long-term development of the athlete.
This Week in Workouts: 9/26/10
Here’s a few videos from our YouTube channel that show what we’re all about!
Some light back squats (365 lbs) done by yours truly:
Short medball rotational throws by Jack:
Chin-ups in the power cage by Eli:
And everyone’s favorite conditioning exercise, the sled push/pull cycle:
Come train with us and become the best athlete you can be! Slots filling up fast in our semi-private training groups, so don’t delay!
News: Strength and Conditioning Coming to NSBA Facility!
Great news: Driveline Baseball will be moving all of its strength and conditioning equipment into the NSBA facility at 8512 20th Ave NE in Seattle! There is ample room in the facility to set up our full suite of equipment, and we’re extremely excited to announce the start of what will be an excellent partnership between Driveline Baseball and North Seattle Baseball Association.
What you can expect from this partnership:
- The lowest rates for batting cage time in the Seattle area – as low as $20/hr without bulk purchasing plans required!
- Use of a fully-equipped strength and conditioning facility.
- Free classes being offered to Seattle-area coaches and instructors on how to set up proper resistance training programs for youth athletes.
- On-site computers that track your workout progress and allow you to review your standard and high-speed video files.
- Low-cost weight training sessions and workout programming assistance.
We’ll also be permanently setting up our kinematic analysis equipment at the NSBA facility to improve turnaround times when developing high-speed video and finishing your kinematic reports.
Here’s a comprehensive list of the strength and training equipment you will soon find at the NSBA / Driveline Baseball facility:
- Full power cage with straight chin-up / pull-up bar (appropriately knurled)
- Deadlift / Olympic lifting platform (rubberized surface)
- High-quality barbells and dumbbells
- Kettlebells in varying weights
- 1000+ pounds of iron plates
- Bumper plates in varying weights for Olympic and “quick” lifts
- Medicine balls in various sizes and weights
- Weight sleds, sledgehammers, tires, push-up bars, and other general physical preparedness (GPP) equipment
- SPRI resistance bands in all tensile strengths (including O-bands for specific scapular work)
- Jumpstretch bands for X-band walks, assisted chin-ups/pull-ups, Pallof presses, other core work
- Inflatable swiss exercise balls for core and mobility work
- Foam rollers for self-myofascial release
- Massage table for initial assessment use and stretching demonstrations
We’ll be sure to keep you updated with progress (and pictures!) of the facility as it’s coming along. If there’s strength and conditioning equipment that you want but don’t see, please leave us a comment and we’ll definitely take a look into it!
It’s an exciting time to be working with or training at Driveline Baseball. Off-season and in-season training programs are available, though room is running out as we partner with the NSBA and sign up their athletes! Contact us today to get started immediately.
Find Us on the Web!
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Kyle’s Hardball Times Articles- Fastball mechanics: The hardest and softest throwers October 7, 2011
- Jason Vargas, the twist, and the intent to throw hard September 13, 2011
- How baseball failed Steve Delabar September 12, 2011
- A pitcher breaking the mold August 13, 2011
- The science of scouting: A biomechanical look at Gerrit Cole August 11, 2011
