In between games at the PG Qualifier myself and another coach had a great discussion which left me thinking---if swimmers, track stars etc can continually break records why cannot we have baseball players who continually break the barriers in terms of velocity foot speed and arm strength have we taken the body as far as we can in terms of pitching velocity et al ?

If you have read any of Rick Peterson's stuff he would say we have taken the body as far as you can go. If you can find the SI issue that has Tim Lincecum on it you can read the whole article. Peterson states that in a conversation with a Physicist he was told that the body is placing so many G forces on itself that if it could perform the pitching motion continuous for 60 seconds that the force is so great you would die. Peterson goes on to discuss that there are no new frontiers in pitching that now it is about mechanics that won't cause injury.

More pitchers are now throwing 98-99, more hitters hit longer long balls. I read the SI article, intersting. Don't see how much more one can push the envelope. IMO, it's not about how hard you should work to throw harder, but how you should work harder to prevent injury (improving mechanics better conditioning). This is why we see so many injuries on the youth level.

Also have to remember, baseball is a sport where you play 80% of the time and train 20% (some less). Swimming and track you train 80% of the time and compete 20%. There's rarely needed downtime and more time for better conditioning.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
In between games at the PG Qualifier myself and another coach had a great discussion which left me thinking---if swimmers, track stars etc can continually break records why cannot we have baseball players who continually break the barriers in terms of velocity foot speed and arm strength have we taken the body as far as we can in terms of pitching velocity et al ?

Yeah, Sports Illustrated had a very interesting article on this!

And in a physics compilation journal at school in AP Physics also stated and supported the assertions in the SI article.

But still, physics has been defied before, and for sure it will be defied again. Thats why its so interesting.

Lets compare apples to apples here...

Sprinting, swimming, etc are single, specific skills done in a mostly controlled environment where baseball is not...

If baseball was a pitcher just winding up and throwing a fastball with no batter to see how fast he throws, we would see higher mph being done. But, obviously, the pitcher has to face a hitter and repeat his athletic skill over and over again while trying to be deceptive. A sprinter never has to be deceptive.

Same with hitting. Something more comparable to a sprint would be a guy hitting off a tee for distance. If this was the case we would likely have seen gradualy records in this over the years and the best at this may or may not have been the hitters who we view as great.

Overall the talent pool in baseball is greater than its ever been. And that is where we have to look as far as improvements.

a VERY interesting topic however and certainly fun to think about.