Well, the height of the mound wasn't the primary point; the point was the steepness (or lack thereof) of the front of the mound. With a steeper falloff, the lower body absorbs more energy of throwing a pitch. The more level the mound, the more energy is transferred up into the shoulder.
As the article points out, the higher mound tended to force a steeper slope, while the lower mound tends toward a shallow slope.
While certainly not physiologists or biophysicists, Rich Honeycutt and Nolan Ryan pitched on both the higher and lower mounds, with and without the steep falloff. They know how throwing a lot of pitches over time affected them under those conditions. They make an interesting point and it deserves further study.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoOne
i would bet a slight change in degree from which a pitcher throws is less of an affect than how much harder pitchers throw now than 30 years ago
|
Quote:
|
On Aug. 20, 1974, Ryan entered The Guinness Book of World Records with a 100.9 mph pitch. That speed was measured by a laser radar when it was 9-10 feet from the plate; if measured at the standard distance of 50 feet from the plate (as PITCHf/x does), that extrapolates to an astounding 108.1 mph. Even his high-80s curveball was frighteningly fast. "At that speed, the curve would break so hard that it'd take your stomach away," wrote umpire Durwood Merrill in his autobiography, You're Out and You're Ugly Too. -- Jay Jaffe
|
Just to point out that pitchers weren't exactly throwing softly 30 years ago. Ryan isn't the only pitcher over history to throw like that, either.
Again, though, Ryan isn't saying that the lower mound in and of itself is causing a higher rate of injury, it's the slope at the front. It's an important distinction, I think.