How Chris Carpenter (Actually) Throws The Ball

Chris Carpenter vs. Greg Maddux

7/25/2007

I believe that there is a large, and significant, difference between the arm actions of Greg Maddux and Chris Carpenter. In order to make this difference absolutely clear, and because I think it is so important, I have put together this document which compares clips of Chris Carpenter and Greg Maddux.
Note that I had to drop every other frame from the Carpenter clip because it was taken at 60 FPS whereas the Maddux clip was taken at 30 FPS.

Frame 15

Frame 94

As you can see by comparing Frame 15 and Frame 94 of the two clips, both Chris Carpenter and Greg Maddux start their arm swing in a similar way; they break their hands and then drop their Pitching Arm Side (aka PAS) hand to their PAS butt cheek.

Frame 17

Frame 95

Frame 19

Frame 96

Frame 21

Frame 97

Starting in Frame 21 and Frame 97, the different arm actions of Chris Carpenter and Greg Maddux become apparent. In Frame 23, you can see that Chris Carpenter lifts his PAS elbow up to the level of his shoulders. In contrast, in Frame 98, you can see that Greg Maddux keeps his elbow at the same level and starts to bring his PAS hand up to his ear.

Frame 23

Frame 98

Frame 25

Frame 99

Frame 27

Frame 100

In Frame 27 and Frame 100, both Chris Carpenter and Greg Maddux's PAS forearms are horizontal. However, they got there by different routes, which makes a significant difference. Notice how much higher Chris Carpenter's PAS elbow is than Greg Maddux's. Chris Carpenter's PAS elbow is at the level of his shoulders whereas Greg Maddux's PAS elbow is well below the level of his shoulders. Also, notice how Greg Maddux's PAS elbow has dropped between Frame 100 and Frame 101.

Frame 29

Frame 101

Frame 31

Frame 102

In Frame 31 and Frame 102, both Chris Carpenter's and Greg Maddux's PAS forearms are passing through the vertical, high-cocked position. The key difference is how much lower Greg Maddux's PAS elbow is.