Sean Doolittle. Baseball Player Mechanics Analysis - Oakland A’s

The analysis of some aspects of the technique can help to explain the athlete’s performance, injuries and his/her future possibilities. With the information that we present in this blog I’m not intended to replace a scientifically organized evaluation process, but just to play with the available information.

Mr. Doolittle had a left knee patellar tendon surgery in 2010 after he partially torn it in 2009.
Analyzing his pitching mechanics we can observe a push-off with the left leg that ends with an incomplete rotation of the foot. During the initiation of the acceleration phase of the arm the lower back gets hyper extended creating compressive forces in the spine. The final rotation of the body is done with axis in the right leg that does not accompany it, creating stressful torques at the right hip, knee and ankle levels.

Left foot delayed rotation increases stress at the knee level

Hyper extension of the lower back

Body continues rotation while the right foot remains in place generating torque at the knee level


Conclusion: Low risk of injury in the right leg and lower back. Moderate risk of injury recurrence in the left knee.

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