3D Motion Analysis Applications

How do we know what good pitching mechanics are? Over the last thirty-seven years the computers at Bio-Kinetics Research & Development have revealed many things to us by breaking down and analyzing hundreds of the best hitters and pitchers in baseball. Hitting and pitching a baseball are three-dimensional activity, and therefore requires a three-dimensional measuring device. What makes our data so unique is that it was captured from live Major League Competition using multiple high speed / high resolution cameras in order to produce true three-dimensional motion analysis. Here are some of the most important areas of application for the knowledge and insight gained through this process.

Scouting / Amateur analysis for player evaluation:

We have already established that standard video (30 frames per second) cannot give evaluators the information needed to make an informed decision because the essential movements cannot be seen at these speeds. Only when players are captured at several hundred frames per second in high resolution using multiple cameras can we accurately evaluate their performance. Every movement can be measured to a high degree of scientific accuracy. An individual player’s hitting or pitching mechanics can then be compared to our Major League database of the best pitchers in the history of the game of baseball. Is that high school or college pitcher is simply out-muscling the competition or does he have the true efficiency in his delivery to play at the next level?

Bio Kinetics applies a numeric grading system similar to that employed by professional baseball to evaluate both amateur and professional players respective to their individual pitching mechanics. The Major League Baseball evaluation chart is shown below and is based on the most important hitting and pitching parameters. Bio Kinetics’ five evaluation parameters are the Kinetic Sequence, Balance & Posture, The Linear Engine, The Rotational Engine and Release & Follow Through. Emphasis is placed on the most important parameters as determined by Bio Kinetics’ thirty years of research of the best pitchers in the game of baseball.

MLB Position Player Scale

MLB Pitching Scale

Application Player Evaluation:

The first time we heard someone say “that player has perfect mechanics” was in reference to a pitching prospect back in the 1990’s that many thought might end up being the best pitcher of all time. I’ve only heard that phrase repeated a couple of times since. In each instance we asked “what made you come to that conclusion”? Answer,

“We watched him hit or pitch – in person and on video”. In other words, what they saw with their eyes, or simple two-dimensional observation. Each of these players were great armatures, but had very short careers. Compare that to Max Scherzer who was devalued and even traded because it was believed that his “max effort” delivery could only lead to injury, – something somebody THOUGHT they could see. No one thought it was necessary to perform a three-dimensional motion analysis to understand how he actually pitched! We all know now how well that observation turned out. The “trap” of believing what we think we see was revealed in a recent study showing that 73 percent of the 239 convictions overturned through DNA testing were based on eye witness testimony. One third of these overturned cases rested on the testimony of two or more eyewitnesses. And they were only trying to recognize someone’s face, not their body’s segments moving in a rapid, synchronized manner in three dimensions.

When we explain this, the usual reply is, “well we have fast cameras”. Fast cameras DO NOT turn two-dimensional video into three-dimensional metrics. The fact is, you cannot see force, not even from a high-speed video. Each of the players referred to above had, in baseball vernacular, “a clean delivery”. It was determined to be clean by someone’s eyes, simply by watching them pitch. And sadly, all of those “perfect” players ended up having Tommy John surgery at a very young age and one also had shoulder surgery. We were able to capture all but one of those players, and in each case that player’s body mechanics placed them at high risk of injury as determined by our process of KineMetrics that compared key aspects of their pitching delivery to what elite healthy, successful pitchers do biomechanically (comparison to our thirty-five-year database of live Major League competition).

In addition to injury risks, professional organizations must consider financial risks. Each of these players received millions in signing bonuses. We were once told that an organization would spend anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 in travel expenses to send several scouts to see a top prospect pitch. That way they would have several opinions as to what they believe they saw. In comparison, they could spend MUCH less on a single KineMetrics motion analysis to know exactly what that prospect does. We’ve always felt that the likely explanation for this is that these organizations simply did not understand the benefits of our technology. The baseball scout has a trained eye and can recognize many things. In addition, the scout plays a MUCH larger role than just identifying a player’s mechanics. With that said, a three-dimensional motion analysis, in the same manner as the much-used radar gun and the stopwatch, would be an extremely helpful tool for the baseball scout to have.

Show’s an amateur pitcher (Blue) who has had two Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) (Tommy John) Surgeries, superimposed over a healthy professional with ten years of Major League service (Red)

ARE YOUR PLAYERS GETTING BETTER, STAYING THE SAME, OR REGRESSING? “If you can’t measure it, you can’t teach it” according to Bob Boone. Once a player is captured by our multiple high-speed cameras, their video is digitized, and their analysis is completed, every aspect of their performance is available to evaluate. The ability to view three-dimensional computer images and graphs of key performance aspects takes the guess-work out of the often-asked question “is this player getting better, staying the same, or regressing?” This data, not visible on standard video, provides the coaching staff with essential information, giving them a REAL chance to improve the player. All coaches and scouts want to be better at what they do and, most importantly, they want to see their players get better. Three-dimensional motion analysis from Bio-Kinetics equips a coaching staff with precise information, based on the laws of physics and thirty-five years of research into what the best players in baseball do “biomechanically”.

Minor League farm systems have used 2D simple observation video for many years. On occasions when we’ve been asked to perform Minor League analysis, we’ve learned that pitching and hitting coaches have often given the same player conflicting advice. When Major and Minor league players come to us on their own, one common complaint we hear from them is, “everyone in the organization is telling me to do something different”. Pitching and hitting coaches are certainly knowledgeable about the game, but they must rely on their eyes to attempt to see in a two-dimensional image what happens in a matter of milliseconds in three dimensions. Their eyes are not “bad” – they’re just not the correct instrument for biomechanics! An initial KineMetrics report provides the hitting or pitching coach/coordinator with precise information, based on the laws of physics and over thirty years of research, comparing their player’s biomechanics to that of the best players in baseball. The analysis will provide specific and factual data placing the coaching staff and most importantly the player on the exact same page. Furthermore, the ability to perform a follow up analysis is even more valuable as it allows coaches and players to compare” before” and “after” biomechanical efficiency. This process arms the coaching staff with the information needed to truly improve player performance.

Show’s a graph comparing a pitcher’s segment rotational velocity from the first analysis (top), captured in the early spring, to the second analysis (bottom) captured at the end of the season in order to provide training goals for the upcoming off season.

Keeping even the best Major League pitchers performing at a high level is a difficult task. Capturing the top players when they are performing well, and then storing the data away for safe keeping, for the inevitable slow down, is a valuable tool provided by our technology! At a later time, when there is a concern about performance, an additional analysis is performed and the “before” and “after” analyses are compared to find out just what the differences are when the player was performing well, versus when the player is struggling. Experienced pitching coaches can recognize many things an untrained eye cannot see. However, identifying the most critical aspects of the pitching motion is often beyond human visual capacity because biomechanical data, such as described below, simply cannot be seen.

To be specific, a change in the kinetic sequence (timing), imbalances, a posture change, inconsistent stride length, rotational lag, weaker blocking or kinetic link and decreased trunk loading are just some the metrics we’ve discovered when performance was decreased. When corrective action is appropriate, we simply show the pitcher how to place his body segments BACK to where, when and in what order they were when he was performing well. This is not a mechanical “overhaul”, but rather a targeted “refresher” for a set of movements that the pitcher had already mastered, and we often see that pitcher get back to form quickly.

Shows a comparative performance analysis of a Major League pitcher over three seasons. Notice the difference in ball release timing – in this case, due to a breakdown in the kinematic sequence. The 2018 analysis showed the highest “performance index” representing the best on-field performance.

Another application for three-dimensional motion analysis is a comparison analysis, matching one player to another with a similar style/ body type, often comparing an amateur to a successful professional. This can be very helpful for a developing player to actually see and understand how much more efficient the professional player is with a similar body type and pitching style.

Several years back we had a prospect that became a real student of pitching and wanted to learn how to digitize and perform motion analysis. Nolan Ryan was his idol and this was right at the end of Nolan’s career. They were both the same height and body type and this prospect spent the better part of his career emulating Nolan’s delivery. After we taught him how to digitize, he would often come over to our baseball training facility and work in the lab for hours at a time. At the end of one of those days, he came running out to ask everyone to see the work he had just completed. He showed us his delivery superimposed over Nolan’s delivery in different colored stick figures, playing in slow motion. As we watched the beginning, you would have thought this was Nolan compared to himself during the same pitch. The movement patterns were virtually identical until just after foot strike when, to no one’s surprise, Nolan’s arm blew right by his, even in slow motion. He was able to copy everything except the gene pool. I will have to admit, however, that even though he could never match Nolan’s arm speed, the closer he emulated Nolan’s efficiency of movement, the healthier he was and the better pitcher he became.

Show’s a high school pitcher superimposed over Nolan Ryan.