Pitching Mechanics Analysis
BJ Ryan

1/15/2008

BJ Ryan is currently on the Disabled List due to Tommy John surgery. This is due to BJ Ryan's extremely poor pitching mechanics. In particular, BJ Ryan may have the worst arm action and timing I have ever seen, even worse than Chris Carpenter, Mark Prior, or Kerry Wood.

Arm Action And Timing

A pitcher's arm action and timing are the primary determinants of the long-term health of their arm, so it's always the first thing I look at. BJ Ryan's arm action is terrible, as the clip below demonstrates.

BJ Ryan

The problem is that, like Chris Carpenter and Kerry Wood, BJ Ryan has a major Inverted L in his arm action. This completely destroys his timing and is the root cause of his elbow problems. It will also set him up for Rotator Cuff and Labrum problems in a year or two.

BJ Ryan

You can see BJ Ryan's Inverted L at Frame 21 of the clip above. 

BJ Ryan's Inverted L

BJ Ryan's Inverted L

BJ Ryan's Inverted L is a little bit easier to see in the side views above. The thing to notice is how his Pitching Arm Side (aka PAS) elbow is at the level of his shoulders and his PAS forearm is hanging down vertically beneath it. This will increase the distance over which, and the force with which, BJ Ryan's PAS upper arm will externally rotate, which will put significant stress on both his elbow and ultimately his shoulder.

Overall Pitching Mechanics

Now that I've given you an overview of BJ Ryan's arm action, let me get into the details of his overall pitching mechanics. 

BJ Ryan

I'll do this using some individual frames from the clip above.

BJ Ryan - Frame 10

BJ Ryan breaks his hands quite high, up around the letters. 

BJ Ryan - Frame 11

BJ Ryan - Frame 12

BJ Ryan - Frame 13

BJ Ryan - Frame 14

BJ Ryan - Frame 15

BJ Ryan - Frame 16

BJ Ryan - Frame 17

BJ Ryan then drops his PAS hand down to behind his PAS butt cheek. This is similar to what Greg Maddux does. However, what he does from this frame forward is very different than what Greg Maddux does, and that helps to explain their very different health histories.

BJ Ryan - Frame 18

BJ Ryan - Frame 19

BJ Ryan - Frame 20

The thing to notice in Frame 20 is how BJ Ryan is leading his arm swing with his PAS elbow.

BJ Ryan - Frame 21

In Frame 21, BJ Ryan is in the classic Inverted L position, with his PAS elbow at the level of his shoulders and his PAS forearm hanging down vertically beneath it. This isn't bad in and of itself. Instead, the problem is that this will destroy his timing and put his forearm in an improper position at the moment his shoulders start to rotate. This will increase the load on both his elbow and his shoulders.

BJ Ryan - Frame 22

BJ Ryan - Frame 23

Frame 23 is the smoking gun. The thing to notice is how BJ Ryan's shoulders have started to rotate -- notice how you can see his numbers in Frame 23 but couldn't see them in Frame 22 -- but his PAS forearm isn't vertical and in the high-cocked position as it should be. Instead, BJ Ryan's PAS forearm is extremely late. It's not even horizontal in this frame. This is the worst timing I have ever seen; worse than Kerry Wood or even Mark Prior. This is a problem because it will dramatically increase the load on BJ Ryan's elbow and shoulder.

BJ Ryan - Frame 24

In Frame 24, BJ Ryan's shoulders have continued to rotate but his PAS forearm is still extremely late (e.g. more than 90 degrees late). It's only now passing through the horizontal when it should be past vertical at this point.

BJ Ryan - Frame 25

BJ Ryan - Frame 26

BJ Ryan - Frame 27

BJ Ryan - Frame 28

In Frame 28, BJ Ryan has just released the ball. One final thing that BJ Ryan does that is bad is that he locks his Glove Side (GS) knee through the release point. This gives his a velocity boost but will certainly increase the risk of knee and hip problems and may increase the risk of arm problems.

BJ Ryan - Frame 29

Update 5/19/2008

The other day I came across two recent photos of BJ Ryan which tell me that he hasn't modified his mechanics since coming off Tommy John surgery. Instead, he still has a significant Inverted L in his arm action. As a result, he is at a significantly increased risk of shoulder and elbow problems.

BJ Ryan - Inverted L

BJ Ryan - Inverted L