O's to utilize biomechanical testing again this spring

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

SARASOTA, Fla. -- For the second consecutive spring, the Orioles will take part in biomechanical analysis testing, with the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) mapping some of the organization's pitchers using wires.

Manager Buck Showalter said some of the pitchers who underwent the testing last year will be retested depending on the results and whether the organization felt they had a good enough baseline already.

"It's good that it's cool, because we had some trouble with the magnets slipping off with the sweat and everything [last spring]," Showalter said. "They are a lot more prepared, organized with it this year. They are going to work out of the auxiliary locker room, and then they just go right to the [covered batting] cages. Should take about 15 minutes."

The Minor League pitchers will undergo the testing -- which was brought in by director of pitching development Rick Peterson -- on Monday, with the big leaguers going the following three days depending on their work day schedule.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

MLB teams divided on biomechanics | MLB | Sports | National Post

When the Baltimore Orioles opened spring training last February in Sarasota, Fla., they barred their hitters from an indoor batting cage for four days. A research team from the American Sports Medicine Institute took over the cage, set up their computers and eight high-speed cameras, then summoned 40 Orioles pitchers, one by one, for biomechanical testing.

Festooned with silver-toned reflective markers and wearing only Spandex shorts and turf shoes, each pitcher threw off a mound as the technology charted 32 elements of his delivery.

“You don’t get that opportunity too often to get that in-depth of a view of your delivery and some of the things needed to help with it,” right-hander Steve Johnson said before a September game in Baltimore. “We went over my video. It kind of tore apart my delivery. It just basically said my delivery wasn’t as efficient as it could be.”

Right-hander Chris Tillman said repair work started immediately.

“We changed the tempo in my delivery and started adding some hand movement so I was able to be more consistent, more efficient — being able to do that every time instead of just every now and then,” Tillman said. “It definitely helped.”

Tillman said he believes the testing not only improves effectiveness but also prevents injury by flagging flaws that can lead to risky stress on the elbow and shoulder.

Johnson was not as receptive. He still does some of the drills prescribed by Rick Peterson, the Orioles’ director of pitching development. But other than that, Johnson decided to leave well enough alone.

“It’s tough to change things during the season, even if they say they might help,” Johnson said. “Especially, at the time, I wasn’t a huge prospect and I was throwing well. I just thought I didn’t want to mess with anything right now.”

After starting the season in the minors, both Tillman and Johnson made important contributions to Baltimore’s playoff drive. Tillman went 9-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 15 starts. Johnson was 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 12 games, including four starts.

 

[ThruTheEyesOfRuby]

I can see both sides. It's one thing to isolate things that can cause undue wear-and-tear and extend a pitcher's effectiveness (and career). On the other hand the first person I think of who had his mechanics "fixed" was Dontrelle Willis.. and he was never the same pitcher after that.