It's a very interesting variation on the mechanics.
If you watch the elbow of the pitcher in the video, you'll notice that the modification actually respects the design of the elbow for generating force.
So the days of Tommy John Surgery could be behind us because it appears the shear force on the medial collateral ligament in the elbow is drastically decreased.
The wind up, or lack thereof, is necessary to create the arm slot that takes the pressure off the elbow.
Velocity wise, with there being a much more sound movement at the elbow and actually involving more muscles in the throwing motion, the loss in weight transfer may be mitigated.
Also, bare in mind that the use of body weight and momentum can put more strain on the structures of the elbow. Take away that 'external' force and you may also get a better indication of actual arm strength.
Where that leaves guys like Schilling and Clemens, who use their lower bodies to increase velocity, I don't know. But I understand the inventors thought process and I think he's definitely on to something.
It looks to me like these kids are gaining velocity because they are getting much stronger because of Marshall's workout regime, not his delivery. Pitchers often gain velocity after TJ because of the workout regime they have to go through makes them so much stonger.
However I am definatly rooting for some of Marshall's underdogs to make the majors. Even if there is nothing to his delivery (there could be something there), i respect how much dedication these kids have.
"I do not think baseball of today is any better than it was 30 years ago... I still think Radbourne is the greatest of the pitchers." John Sullivan 1914-Old athletes never change.
there COULD be something to the delivery IF it allows them to get stronger (by working them like dogs) with less chance of injury. It seems like it would do its job well then.
Nomarrrrrrrrrr wrote:Getting a PhD is by no means difficult
I am by no means defending Mike Marshall's theories, but your statement without any supporting evidence is baseless and patently ludicrous!
I'm glad you said it, cause I was about to.
And you just said what I was about to.
I'm not too familiar with Marshall's work, however this is intriguing. The first thing I noticed was the pronation right after release, and the modified follow through as a result. No doubt in my mind that it substantially reduces the strain on the UCL right there, and probably several structures within the shoulder (due to how the arm is decelerates more efficiently). I'm not sure about the no leg kick, but his reasoning is entirely correct, and since most of the force generated in pitching is rotational in nature, removing a linear component shouldn't affect it to badly. It's the same with hitting - I teach kids to hit with more emphasis on rotation, and less on taking a step towards the pitcher with that traditional linear weight transfer. The power and bat velocity gains are significant.
I think he is on to something. However, one of the previous posters did bring up a good point regarding deception.
The pitching in that movie is very easy to pick up. Speed and accuracy aren't the only things that matter.
Yeah, that was my first thought too. You pick up the ball immediately as the pitcher starts into his "windup". There is no lead hand or anything to give you problems picking up the ball.
And yeah the guy pitching in the low 80s (that argues the gun is slow) not understanding why he's not a ML pitcher... and the fact that Seanez showed improvement "after working with" Marshal sounds like it's the training - not the kickless motion - that's doing the most good.
I think that this is very intriguing. It's easy to see that this motion pushes a lot less stress on the arm. Add the increased velocity and it seems like this is a good discovery Marshall made. However, you won't see this in the major leagues because no one wants to risk sending a pitcher there and coming back better because then, pitching coaches jobs are on the line because they wouldnt know the technique, and it would make Marshall a rich, famous man. Very interesting read though.
I agree with several posts above, that hitters will have no problem picking up pitches. To put it this way, his players may last longer and stay healthier, but they won't be effective without the element of deception.
I think ball clubs rather have a dominant pitcher for 3-5 years, than to have a mediocre pitcher for 10-15 years. If a pitcher busted his elbow or shoulder, they can always call up young arms from the farm system to replace him. So as long as there is no shortage of young and willing arms, who cares about the health of major league pitchers?
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by stomperrob » Fri May 11, 2007 1:26 am 
