Pitch release speed predictors for division I collegiate baseball players

BACKGROUND: Analytics, to quantify baseball pitch metrics, take on many forms and are unlike earlier methods to assess performance. OBJECTIVE: Quantify associations of flight kinematic and anthropometric variables on pitch release speed. METHODS: Male college-age pitchers (n = 182) from 2021 Division I games provided data. A 3D radar system collected data. Fixed effects regression OLS models analyzed data for sliders, changeups, curveballs, and fastballs. RESULTS: Spin rate (r = 0.017-0.514, p < 0.05) and vertical break (r = 0.374-0.703, p < 0.05) were positively associated with pitch release speed per pitch type. Release height (r = -0.286-0.051, p < 0.05) and pitch extension (r = -0.176-0.43, p < 0.05) were negatively associated with pitch release speed per pitch type except sliders. Spin axis had a negative association with pitch release speed for fastballs (r = -0.235, p < 0.05) and sliders (r = -0.311, p < 0.05), and a positive association (r = 0.029, p < 0.05) with curveball pitch release speed. Weight only related to pitch release speed for fastballs (r = -0.315, p < 0.05). Height did not impact pitch release speed. CONCLUSIONS: Results refute long-held beliefs of anthropometry's influence on performance and instead reveal flight kinematics' impact on baseball pitch release speed.