Sport Information and Communication Department, National Taiwan University of Sport, Taichung, Taiwan.
Department of Physical Therapy, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 17;17(3):e0265525. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265525. eCollection 2022.
Several studies have investigated factors influencing baseball pitching velocity. However, some measurements require expensive equipment, and some tests need familiarity to perform well. In this study, we adopted field tests executed using affordable equipment in a tryout event for a professional baseball team in Taiwan, 2019. We use half day to test 64 players, and the result of measurement are used to develop a model for predicting pitching velocity of amateur adult pitchers (age: 23.9 ± 2.8 years; height: 180.3 ± 5.9 cm; weight: 81.4 ± 10.9 kg). The measurements and tests in tryout settings should be easy to implement, take short time, do not need high skill levels, and correlate to the pitching velocity. The outcome measures included maximum external shoulder rotation, maximum internal shoulder rotation, countermovement jump (CMJ) height, 20-kg loaded CMJ height, 30-m sprint time, height, age, and weight tests. Multiple regression indicated a moderate correlation between these tests and pitching velocity (adjusted R2 = 0.230, p = 0.0003). Among the measures, the ratio of loaded CMJ to CMJ, ratio of first 10-m sprint time to 30-m sprint time, and height were significant contributors to pitching velocity. Overall, these measures explained 23% of the variance in the predicted pitching velocity. These field tests can be adopted in tryout events to predict a prospect's potential and to identify underestimated players. Coaches can obtain an expectation of a pitcher's performance by comparing his pitching velocity with the predicted value derived from the statistical model presented herein, and the room of growth by comparing his current strength to average strength growth after being drafted and trained with professional coaches.
多项研究调查了影响棒球投球速度的因素。然而，有些测量需要昂贵的设备，有些测试需要熟练才能得出良好的结果。在这项研究中，我们采用了在台湾一支职业棒球队选秀活动中使用经济实惠的设备进行的现场测试。我们用半天时间测试了 64 名球员，测量结果用于建立一个预测业余成年投手投球速度的模型（年龄：23.9±2.8 岁；身高：180.3±5.9cm；体重：81.4±10.9kg）。在选秀环境中的测量和测试应该易于实施，耗时短，不需要高技能水平，并且与投球速度相关。结果衡量标准包括最大肩部外旋、最大肩部内旋、反向跳跃（CMJ）高度、20 公斤负重 CMJ 高度、30 米冲刺时间、身高、年龄和体重测试。多元回归分析表明，这些测试与投球速度之间存在中度相关性（调整 R2=0.230，p=0.0003）。在这些测量指标中，负重 CMJ 与 CMJ 的比值、前 10 米冲刺时间与 30 米冲刺时间的比值和身高是投球速度的重要贡献因素。总的来说，这些测量指标可以解释预测投球速度的 23%的方差。这些现场测试可以在选秀活动中采用，以预测一个选手的潜力，并发现被低估的球员。教练可以通过将投手的投球速度与本文提供的统计模型预测值进行比较，来获得对投手表现的期望，并通过将他目前的力量与被选中后与职业教练一起接受训练的平均力量增长进行比较，来确定他的成长空间。
