Category
Applied
Description
In today’s modern age of analytics, fans have more information than ever before about anything in the world of sport. Starting with the introduction of Statcast to Major League Baseball, the push toward analytics has reached new heights in the last decade. One such analytical addition is new metrics for pitching mechanics, specifically a comprehensive understanding of things like release point, spin, rotational axis, and arm angle. This initial study examined the factors that contributed to the success of qualified pitchers from the 2025 MLB season with unique arm angles, specifically below 30°, compared to their counterparts with a more traditional arm angle. Using public data available on BaseballSavant.com, a dataset for the study was collected that contained a variety of different factors that were believed to be indicative of pitcher success. These factors included some traditional metrics, such as handedness, velocity, and physical size, as well as new certain attributes that have recently surfaced as valuable measures of success, such as horizontal and vertical break, spin rate, and strike zone metrics. After an initial study, the research has since been expanded to other areas of pitching and biomechanical analysis. The initial study has been conducted by using linear regression and other high-level statistical analysis techniques, primarily through the open-source coding language R. The current study has the same goal, aiming to determine the factors that lead to success for pitchers, but contains a heavier focus on biomechanical and physiological factors after finding in the initial study that success cannot be measured simply by an athlete’s pitch profile. It is predicted that other factors alongside arm angle will be more indicative of pitcher success, including external shoulder rotation, wrist pronation or supination, and peak braking force in the plant leg.
The Beauty of Uniquity: A Biomechanical and Statistical Analysis of Pitchers with Anomalous Arm Angles
Applied
In today’s modern age of analytics, fans have more information than ever before about anything in the world of sport. Starting with the introduction of Statcast to Major League Baseball, the push toward analytics has reached new heights in the last decade. One such analytical addition is new metrics for pitching mechanics, specifically a comprehensive understanding of things like release point, spin, rotational axis, and arm angle. This initial study examined the factors that contributed to the success of qualified pitchers from the 2025 MLB season with unique arm angles, specifically below 30°, compared to their counterparts with a more traditional arm angle. Using public data available on BaseballSavant.com, a dataset for the study was collected that contained a variety of different factors that were believed to be indicative of pitcher success. These factors included some traditional metrics, such as handedness, velocity, and physical size, as well as new certain attributes that have recently surfaced as valuable measures of success, such as horizontal and vertical break, spin rate, and strike zone metrics. After an initial study, the research has since been expanded to other areas of pitching and biomechanical analysis. The initial study has been conducted by using linear regression and other high-level statistical analysis techniques, primarily through the open-source coding language R. The current study has the same goal, aiming to determine the factors that lead to success for pitchers, but contains a heavier focus on biomechanical and physiological factors after finding in the initial study that success cannot be measured simply by an athlete’s pitch profile. It is predicted that other factors alongside arm angle will be more indicative of pitcher success, including external shoulder rotation, wrist pronation or supination, and peak braking force in the plant leg.
