Pitching Mechanics Analysis
Joel Zumaya

8/19/2008

Joel Zumaya has recently been having shoulder problems. The root cause of his problems is revealed in the video clip below.

Joel Zumaya

What you see in Frame 32 is significant Hyperabduction, where Joel Zumaya's Pitching Arm Side (PAS) elbow gets both above and behind the level of his shoulders as in the two photos below.

Joel Zumaya

Joel Zumaya

This creates a significant timing problem (aka rushing) such that Joel Zumaya's shoulders start rotating well before his PAS forearm is vertical and in the high-cocked position.

Joel Zumaya - Frame 33

Joel Zumaya - Frame 34

Joel Zumaya - Frame 35

Notice in Frame 35 how Joel Zumaya's shoulders have rotated 20 or more degrees (notice how you can see the numbers on the back of his jersey) while his PAS forearm is not yet vertical. This significantly increases the load on both his elbow and his shoulder.