Angular analysis of the index and middle fingers during fastball and curveball pitching - a case study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to expand the knowledge by quantifying and comparing finger angle between curveball (CB) and fastball (FB) pitching. One division II college pitcher was participated in present study. A VICON Motion capture system were used to collect 3-D kinematic data (500Hz). Three successful trials for each FB and CB were collected. The metacarpal phalangeal joint (MCP), proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) and distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) angle was analysed. There were several differences in MCP, PIP and DIP angle for CB and FB. But similar patterns were found between index finger and middle finger. This information may beneficial to conduct thefurther study to explore the mechanics of pitching.