noddy wrote:this just showed up on my feed, hideous quality but shows how a run up with straight arm and standing still with a bent arm can be awfully similar on a fastball.
this particular cricket player hit 100mph quite often but had rubbery elbows that always flirted with the edges of the straight arm rule.
That particular pitcher was affectionately nicknamed "The Freak" because his motion was not only unusual but he could hit 97-98 MPH with his fastball in his prime, and at his size. I think they officially listed his as 5'11" and a 170 lbs. but he was more like 5'8"-5'9" and probably weighed between 150 and 170.
He was a wonderful pitcher and quite a phenomenon for a few years. His father was a mechanical engineer or architect or something, and actually designed his son's pitching motion to get max efficiency (torque/extention etc.) out of his frame. In fact, one of the stipulations of drafting him was that the team had to agree to allow his father to have a say in his mechanics.
There have been a few instances of "stage-dad" interference in baseball- usually involving players who are unusual in a very specific ways; undersized, excelling at one very particular skill, doing something a bit revolutionary for hitting/fielding/pitching. One team always acquiesces because of this payoff. I bring this up because Lincecum
perè was convinced that he engineered a way for his son to not only compete at a high level, but to avoid major injuries to his arm&shoulder.
A lot of teams and scouts passed because they figured at his size and unusual motion, he'd burn out very quickly.
And for the first 5 years (22-27) it looked like he'd beat the assessments. He won 2 Cy Young Awards for being best pitcher in the National League during that period. When he pitched, you went to go see him; and he could innings upon innings without a problem.
Then 28 (when pitchers really start slowingly down) hit and hit him hard. He lost a good 5 mph off his fastball, his curveball was no longer as devasting, with a slower fastball, his change-up wasn't fooling hitters and considering how long he keeps the ball in view before he releases it, it was giving hitters long looks from his hand to the plate....he went from one of the top pitchers in baseball to mediocre very quickly. And he's never recovered or been able to adapt. Around 30, his shoulder went and he's been having usual shoulder injuries/problems since.
He's now a bad pitcher with a number of shoulder problems, trading on his name recognition to stay on the fringes of the major leagues. Last year, he statistically was worse than a replacement level player.
He has revolutionized the game though- after he was a hit, teams reassessed how they evaluated pitchers and started pouring money into mapping and optimizing pitching motions using available technology. Teams have become a lot more willing to give "strange" pitchers a chance to try to wring out a couple of years of effectiveness out of them instead of only going for guys with the potential for 15-20 year careers. And younger players who obviously were influenced by him when they were teens during his prime, are starting to show up in the league.