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Impact of Grip and Friction on Baseball Pitching Performance
Before June 3, 2021, the dynamics of pitching in Major League Baseball (MLB) were significantly influenced by the way baseballs were treated. On that date, MLB announced a crackdown on the use of unapproved substances, like pine resin, which pitchers frequently applied to enhance grip. Following this announcement, data indicated that average revolutions per minute (RPM) for pitchers declined—around a 4% decrease to approximately 86 RPM. This shift seemed to correlate with an increase in batting performance, raising questions about the interplay between grip and pitching effectiveness.
This phenomenon captured the attention of researchers in Japan, who embarked on a study to uncover the mechanics behind these alterations in pitching performance. Utilizing high-speed cameras, the team analyzed six seasoned pitchers throwing fastballs at speeds close to 130 kilometers per hour. They investigated how various treatments of the baseball affected the slip distance of fingers on the ball during release. The four-seam fastball, standard in MLB, was the focal point of their examination. The study revealed that a stickier ball led to reduced finger slip, which in turn resulted in faster pitches with increased RPM and improved directional control.
“This research marks the first thorough examination of the slip dynamics between the pitcher’s fingertips and the ball during the pitching action,” explained Takeshi Yamaguchi, a professor at Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Engineering and the study’s lead author. Published in Scientific Reports on March 27, the findings are poised to deepen our comprehension of ball release mechanics under different friction scenarios, potentially enhancing pitching performance, injury prevention, and the development of better baseball equipment.
The pitching motion involves the ball accelerating while rolling off the thumb and around the fingertips before it is fully released. The timing of this transition from thumb to fingertips is crucial regarding slip dynamics, Yamaguchi noted. In the study, the pitchers tested baseballs with one of four different surface treatments: no coating, a water coating, a rosin powder coating, and a pine resin coating. The goal was to discern how these varying treatments influenced the slip dynamics during release.
“We devised a method to calculate slip distance between the fingertip and the ball throughout the release phase, providing a quantitative measure of how friction conditions alter this distance,” Yamaguchi stated.
The findings indicated that when using water-coated baseballs, the slip distance through the release process averaged 22 millimeters, which was significantly greater than the 8 millimeters observed with the rosin or pine resin coatings. The researchers also found that the velocity of pitches significantly decreased with the water-coated baseballs, particularly when compared to those treated with rosin.
“This unexpected outcome may stem from pitchers’ sensitivities to finger slip, leading them to adjust their pitching mechanics accordingly,” Yamaguchi remarked. “Moving forward, we intend to further explore how different surface treatments influence overall pitching movements by analyzing complete body mechanics and muscle activity. Our long-term objective is to identify techniques that can help pitchers maintain their performance while also minimizing injury risks associated with slippery balls.”
In addition to Yamaguchi, the research team included Souta Suzuki, Shinnosuke Suzuki, and Toshiaki Nishi from Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Engineering, along with Takehiro Fukuda and Daiki Nasu from NTT Communication Science Laboratories.
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