Grip Strength Symmetries in Division I College Baseball Pitchers and Hitters

Integrating strength and conditioning coaches and programs for baseball athletes has yielded positive performance outcomes for both hitting and throwing. Among a variety of baseball-specific testing batter, grip strength has shown to significantly correlate with increased swing and throwing velocity. However, no investigations have examined grip strength asymmetries for hitters and pitchers. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine differences between right and left arm grip strength of baseball pitchers and hitters. METHODS: Division I collegiate baseball players (n = 45, height. (183.52 ± 11.77 cm) weight. (85.96 ± 17.73 kg.) performed dominate and non-dominate maximal grip strength at position specific arm and forearm orientation utilizing the Jamar Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer. Hitters (n = 22) performed grip strength assessments at 90-degree elbow flexion, neutral forearm orientation (NDN). Pitchers (n = 23) performed grip strength assessments at 90-degree elbow flexion, pronated forearm orientation (NDP). Three attempts were permitted to exert maximal force, recorded in kilograms (kg) – highest exerted force was recorded and used for analysis. An independent samples t-test (p \u3c .05) was employed to assess dominate and non-dominate grip strength differences. RESULT: The results indicated no significant differences between pitchers’ dominate NDP (57.39 ± 7.49 kg) and non-dominate NDP (56.0 ± 7.63 kg), t(44) = .624, p = .966. Likewise, hitters presented no significant difference between dominate NDN (60.68 ± 10.15 kg) and non-dominate NDN (55.27 ± 11.31 kg) t(42) = 1.669, p = .264. CONCLUSION: Contrary to common belief, these results suggest baseball players do not present significant grip strength asymmetries. While baseball skills (i.e., throwing, hitting) require adequate grip strength to produce favorable performances outcomes, these single arm/hand movements do not place baseball players in a concerning asymmetrical grip strength state. Utilization of both hands during hitting provides reasonable explanations for the results of hitters. For pitchers, glove movement and skill, along with typical strength and conditioning may contribute to improvements in non-dominate grip strength. Furthermore, these results suggest equivalent bilateral strength may be a necessity of collegiate baseball players

Correlation Between Grip Strength at Various Arm Orientations and Hitting Performance Metrics of Division I Collegiate Baseball Players

Dominate and non-dominate grip strength (GS) significantly correlated with bat speed (BS) in the sport of baseball. Various arm orientations occur throughout the swing; moreover, additional metrics beyond BS are indicative of baseball hitting performance. The correlation between various GS and hitting outcomes have not been empirically examined. PURPOSE: The aim of the current investigation was to examine the relationship of GS at various arm angles to various hitting performance metrics. METHODS: Division I collegiate baseball players (n = 17; height: 180.92 ± 5.61 cm; weight: 82.1 ± 11.12 kg) performed dominate and non-dominate maximal GS at five different arm and forearm orientations utilizing the Jamar Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer: 90-degree elbow flexion with (1) neutral (NDN), (2) supinated (NDS), and (3) pronated (NDP) forearm placement, as well as 120-degree elbow extension with 90-degree shoulder abduction with (4) supinated (AS) and (5) neutral (AN) forearm grips. At each angle, three attempts were permitted to exert maximal force, recorded in kg. Hitting metrics were gathered via Blast Motion Bat Sensors and Yakkertek Ball-Tracking System - metrics included: BS, peak hand speed (PHS), vertical bat angle (VBA), time to contact (TTC), attack angle (AA), power (PW), on plane efficiency (OPE), plane score (PS), rotational acceleration (RA), early connection (EC), connection at impact (CAI), as well as average exit-velocity (AEV), peak exit-velocity (PEV), hard hit percentage (HHP), damage percentage (DP), and average launch angle (ALA). A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (p \u3c .05) was employed to assess the relationship between GS and hitting performance. RESULT: Positive significant correlations were recognized between the following variables: dominate NDN and HHP (r = .559, p = .02), DP (r = .647, p = .007), and BS (r = .515, p = .034); non-dominate NDP and HHP (r = .497, p = .042), DP (r = .664, p = .005), and TTC (r = .519, p = .033); and non-dominate NDS and DP (r = .770, p \u3c .001), PS (r = .515, p = .035), OPE (r = .510, p = .036). A negative significant relationship was identified between non-dominate NDS and EC (r = -.629, p = -.007), and CAI (r = -.587, p = -.013). CONCLUSION: Supporting previous investigations, these results suggest dominate NDN, non-dominate NDP, and non-dominate NDS yielded the greatest influence on hitting performance among the tested GS positions; thus, potentially providing coaches with arm orientation specific GS training recommendation for baseball hitters

The Relationship between 60-yard sprint, 30-yard sprint, Standardized Base Stealing Sprint, and Offensive Baseball Performance

Athletic performance testing protocols strive to accurately predicting or gain better understanding of an athlete’s performance within a particular sport or game. Regarding baseball, Wolfe and colleagues (2012) examined the predictive validity of the 60-yard shuttle run on pitching performance and concluded that strikeouts and innings pitched were significantly related to elevated kinetic energy factors of pitchers obtained from the shuttle run performance. Concerning for baseball position players, the 60-yard sprint (60YS) is traditionally utilized to showcase “baseball speed”, with minimal empirical evident supporting predictability to baseball specific performance outcomes. PURPOSE: The aim of the current investigation was to have examine the relationship between 60YS and offensive baseball performance outcomes, as well as the 30-yard sprint (30YS) test, and newly created standardized 1st to 2nd sprint (STS) test relationship to offensive baseball performance outcomes. METHODS: Division I baseball position players (n = 17; height: 180.92 ± 5.61 cm; weight: 82.1 ± 11.12 kg) performed three sprinting tests: 60YS, 30YS, and STS. Each test was recorded using the Brower Timing Gate System, with sprint time recorded in second. All testing was completed prior to the first game of the team’s college baseball season. Offensive baseball performance measures were recorded throughout 61 regular season games. The following baseball performance data was collected from the university’s official NCAA game performance website: total stolen bases (SB), stole base attempts (AT), stolen base percentage (SBP), at bats (AB), hits (H), doubles (DB), triples (TR), homeruns (HR), runs (R), base-on-balls (BB), hit by pitch (HBP), on base percentage (OBP), slugging percentage (SLP), touched bases (TB), runs batted in (RBI), and batting average (AVE). Pearson’s product-moment correlation (p \u3c .05) was employed to examine the correlation between sprint tests and offensive baseball performance. RESULTS: The statistical analysis revealed significant correlations between STS (p = .002, r = -.762), 30 yd sprint (p = .048, r = -.556), and 60 yd sprint (p = .038, r = -.578) and SB. Additionally, a significant correlation was identified between OBP and STS (p = .022, r = -.625), 30YS (p = .027, r = -.609), and 60YS (p = .020, r = -.633). Aside from these two baseball performance metrics, 30YS and 60YS had no significant correlation with baseball performance. However, STS, additionally, significantly (p \u3c .05) correlated with AT, AB, H, TR, HR, R, BB, SLP, TB, RBI, and AVE. CONCLUSION: The STS, 30YS, and 60YS had a significant relationship with offensive baseball performance. However, the results of 30YS and 60YS only correlated with two offensive measures, while STS had a significant correlation with all but 3 offensive performance metrics. These findings suggest STS may be a more relevant measure for predicting offensive baseball performance than the traditional 30YS and 60YS tests

The Influence of Various Grip Strength Orientations on Throwing Velocity of Division I Baseball Pitchers

Baseball specific testing battery includes various assessments designed to produce a performance profile of baseball players. Among these tests, the grip strength (GS) assessment has shown reliability in predicting one aspect of pitching performance, pitch velocity. However, various arm orientations occur throughout the pitch, and to the best of our knowledge, no study has investigated the relationship between various grip strength arm orientations and pitch velocity. PURPOSE: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of grip strength at various arm orientations on baseball pitching velocity. METHODS: Twenty-one collegiate Division I baseball pitchers (mean ± SD, age = 21.1 ± 1.8, height = 187.3 ± 5.0 cm, weight = 92.6 ± 8.9 kg) volunteered as participants for this investigation. Using the Jamar Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer, pitchers completed three attempts to exert maximal GS in kilograms (kg) at the following dominate arm position: 90-degree elbow flexion with neutral (NDN), supinated (NDS), and pronated (NDP) forearm placement, as well as 120-degree elbow extension with 90-degree shoulder abduction with supinated (AS) and neutral (AN) forearm grips. Average pitching velocity (APV) was collected via Yakkertek Ball-Tracking System across the fall intersquad season consisting of 20 games. Participant inclusion criteria required a minimum of five pitched innings or 100 total pitches. A backwards multiple linear regression (p \u3c .05) was run to assess the influence of GS on APV. RESULTS: The regression results recognized AS to statistically influence APV, f(1,21) = 8.178, p \u3c .05, r2 = .280. These results suggest AS accounts for 28% of the variance in APV, yielding the following predictive equation: APV = 70.251 + 0.253(NDP). CONCLUSION: The result of this investigation supports previous investigation - GS significantly influences pitching velocity. Moreover, specifically, as 120-degree elbow extension with 90-degree shoulder abduction with supinated GS contributes the greatest influence on APV over other arm orientations. At pitch release and throughout the follow-through phase of the pitching motion, shoulder abduction, elbow angle, and forearm supination appear constant within all pitch variations (i.e. fastball, curveball, change-up) with slight variance between pitchers, respectively. These stride phase through arm acceleration phase biomechanics may explain the influence of AS strength on pitch velocity. Furthermore, strength and conditioning specialist, sport scientists, and coaches should greatly considerate AS GS when testing, training, and tracking baseball pitchers