Hashimoto Yasuhiro, Nagami Tomoyuki, Yoshitake Shinji, Nakata Hiroki
Faculty of Sustainable System Sciences, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Japan.
Front Sports Act Living. 2023 Apr 24;5:1113069. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1113069. eCollection 2023.
The purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of pitches and to obtain basic knowledge about pitches by comparing 4-seam and other pitches in Major League Baseball (MLB).
We analyzed big data for 1,820 professional baseball pitchers of MLB on release speed, spin rate, release point 3D coordinates (X, Y, and Z axes), amount of change for 4-seam, and seven changing ball types (sinker, slider, changeup, cutter, curve, split finger, and knuckle curve), using PITCHf/x and TrackMan. We also evaluated three relationships: (1) between the release points and the ball types of pitch; (2) between the amount of change in the ball and the release speed; and (3) between the release speed and the spin rate.
The release speed was significantly slower in seven changing ball types than in the 4-seam ( < 0.01, respectively). The spin rate and the amount of change (ΔX and ΔZ) were significantly different between 4-seam and seven changing ball types ( < 0.01, respectively). Release point 3D coordinates (X, Y, and Z axes) were significantly different between 4-seam and slider, cutter, and curve ( < 0.01, respectively). Based on these findings, the eight pitch types were mainly divided into three groups: 4-seam, curve, and off-speed pitch types.
Seven changing ball types included specific characteristics for each parameter. The correspondence among the release speed, ΔX, and ΔZ at the 3D coordinates is an arch with 4-seam as the apex. Our results suggest an effective strategy for changing the release point and displacement of a ball's trajectory to improve the performance of baseball pitchers.
本研究的目的是通过比较美国职业棒球大联盟（MLB）中的四缝线球和其他投球方式，加深我们对投球的理解，并获取有关投球的基础知识。
我们使用PITCHf/x和TrackMan分析了MLB的1820名职业棒球投手的大数据，包括投球释放速度、旋转速率、释放点的三维坐标（X、Y和Z轴）、四缝线球的变化量以及七种变化球类型（伸卡球、滑球、变速球、卡特球、曲球、指叉球和指节曲球）。我们还评估了三种关系：（1）投球的释放点与球的类型之间的关系；（2）球的变化量与释放速度之间的关系；（3）释放速度与旋转速率之间的关系。
七种变化球类型的释放速度明显慢于四缝线球（均<0.01）。四缝线球和七种变化球类型之间的旋转速率和变化量（ΔX和ΔZ）有显著差异（均<0.01）。四缝线球与滑球、卡特球和曲球之间的释放点三维坐标（X、Y和Z轴）有显著差异（均<0.01）。基于这些发现，八种投球类型主要分为三组：四缝线球、曲球和变速球类型。
七种变化球类型在每个参数上都有特定特征。三维坐标下释放速度、ΔX和ΔZ之间的对应关系是以四缝线球为顶点的拱形。我们的结果表明了一种有效的策略，可用于改变球的释放点和轨迹位移，以提高棒球投手的表现。
