Short Versus Long Arm Action- Which is Better?

 Short Versus Long Arm Action

By: Adam Jeannette

Joe Kelly with a short arm action


What is a Short Arm Action?

    -The term short arm action can be a bit confusing to pitchers around the world. Almost any pitcher has heard the phrase "stop short arming the ball" at some point in their career. This leads you to think that a short arm action is not what is ideal off the mound. However, a short arm action does not mean "short arming" the ball. Having a short arm action is actually not a negative way of throwing. For some, it can be a career saver while for others it doesn't make a difference. Now on to the question at hand, what is a short arm action? Short arm action is simply an arm action that takes a minimal, or short, path from glove break to the fully cocked position where the arm is up before layback. Below is an example of a pitcher, Lucas Giolito, who made a drastic change to his arm action over the course of a year and as a result, has had incredible success with a shorter arm action. Giolito even threw a no-hitter in this year's MLB season.

Lucas Giolito long (left) short (right) arm action

What is a Long Arm Action?

    -A long arm action is simply the opposite of a short arm action. What I mean by this is a longer arm action is as simple as it sounds; a longer arm action. The arm takes a longer path from hand break to the fully cocked position in a long arm action versus the short path taken in a short arm action. In the GIF above, Lucas Giolito demonstrates both types of arm actions in this side by side comparison. For him, the shorter arm action is the one that works best for him, but is shorter always better when it comes to arm actions? The answer to this is not necessarily. For some pitchers like Lucas Giolito, changing to a shorter arm action has been followed with great success. Some pitchers are able to have success with longer arm actions. However, most pitchers have relatively shorter arm actions nowadays, leading to the thought that short arm actions are superior to long arm actions. My opinion on this topic is that 90% of the time a shorter arm action is superior to a longer arm action. The reasoning behind this is I believe with a shorter arm action, the delivery simplifies itself. This helps the pitcher think less and move more efficiently down the slope. Efficiency and sustainability are the keys to success in the game in order to have a successful career at the next level.

Why are More Pitchers Changing to Short Arm Actions?

     -It is becoming a trend in Major League Baseball these days to shorten up the arm action of pitchers across the league. The reasoning for this is pretty simple as well. With a shorter arm action, there are fewer moving parts that have to sequence perfectly in the upper-half mechanics. Pitching is all about mechanical efficiency for both velocity and sustainability. With a shorter arm action, the arm takes a shorter path to the cocked position, allowing for less movement from the initial glove break. This allows for the arm to be on time and fully-loaded into the "scap" before going into layback. The simpler arm path of a short arm action can be the difference in a pitcher having an efficient, sustainable mechanics or having mechanics. that are not efficient and inconsistent. 

Conclusion

    -Whether a pitcher's arm action is short or long, one thing remains constant. This is the goal of mechanical efficiency. If a pitcher is efficient with a long arm action, there is not a need to change it to a short one. With that being said, most pitchers with longer arm actions are not as efficient as those with shorter arm action. Therefore, they could most likely benefit from some sort of shortening in their arm action. Baseball is a very individualized sport and arm action for pitchers should be viewed in the same manner. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Conditioning For Pitchers

Image
Conditioning For Pitchers by: Adam Jeannette Old School Conditioning What is it?     -It was common practice up until the last few years to have pitchers run long distances as a form of "conditioning" and "recovery." Coaches would tell players to jog a few miles the day after an outing to "flush the system" or "get rid of lactic acid." Most coaches even believed that running long distances would help pitchers increase their stamina on the mound, leading to longer starts. All of this is complete nonsense and has been proven wrong in recent years across all levels of baseball.    Why does it not work?      -I will start with the reasoning why running long distances is not an effective method of conditioning pitchers. The reason for this is pitching is a max effort movement performed over the course of a few seconds with anywhere from 15-20 seconds of rest between pitches. This gives the athlete time to catch their breat...
Read more

Does Mass = Gas For Pitchers?

Image
Does Mass = Gas For Pitchers? By: Adam Jeannette Intro     -The saying "mass equals gas" has been around the game of baseball for quite some time now.  What is meant by this saying is the more mass a pitcher carries, the harder it is believed they will throw. To most people, this seems way too simple to work. I mean can just gaining weight increase fastball velocity? That is what I am going to discuss here today to find out if there is any merit to the saying: Mass = Gas. Examples of Mass = Gas      -Some pitchers that come to mind that fit the narrative, mass equals gas, are Noah Syndergaard, Michael Lorenzen, and Jos é Alvarado. Noah Syndergaard is listed at 6'6" 242 pounds. These are the dimensions of a mass monster. Is it a coincidence his average fastball velocity was 97.9 mph in 2017 ( 1 )? Moving on, Michael Lorenzen is listed at 6'3" 220 pounds. Pictures of him demonstrate that he is a mass monster as well. This ma...
Read more