Science of a Pitching Freak

Congratulations to Tim Lincecum
Major League Baseball Cy Young Award Winner 2008

Probably in talking about pitching mechanics we should talk in general principles but also in the specifics of what works for a particular pitcher. Cleary both subjects can be somewhat subjective, and particularly the latter.

With regard to Tim Lincecum, his attributes aren't size and weight, but rather tremendous flexibility and a highly developed strength of core. With those two elements, he essentially catapults himself forward off the mound, allowing the propulsion of his body to allow his arm to be carried along for the ride to some degree. This takes pressure off the arm, and the added pressure created on Tim's legs and core are soaked up by his strength and flexibility in those areas.

The result has been that he has become arguably the best pitcher in baseball and one that has yet to have to ice his arm after a game and who is said to be able to comfortably throw long toss from foul pole to foul pole the day after he pitches.

Given that the distance from foul pole to foul pole is the hypotenuse of a triangle whose foul line legs are of at least 300 feet in length, that's a fairly long throw. I couldn't do it comfortably, and that would be even with taking the two separate throws necessary to traverse the distance.

Tim's mechanics were taught to him by his father, who has virtually the same build and throwing motion as does Tim. A Seattle TV person said he saw tape of Tim's dad Chris, and he couldn't tell the two motions apart.

Why is this important? Because Chris is said to have been clocked at 88 mph -- at the age of 52! It says that Tim might be able to throw hard for a long time using his present pitching mechanics. As for Chris, his pitching career was thwarted when he fell from a scaffolding and injured his back.

But Tim has been the beneficiary of both the Lincecum pitching mechanics and the Lincecum lineage. Tim appears to have inherited many of the genetic traits of his father, and those traits could conceivably allow him to not only retain a healthy arm, but to pitch for a very long time.

Oh, and just in case the younger Lincecum's arm someday does give out, he is able to throw a knuckleball, the pitch that allowed Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm to pitch in the majors until 16 days before his 50th birthday.

Then again, if Tim can still throw 88 mph at age 52 as his dad did, will he even need the knuckler? Perhaps he will save it for his sixties.

The major leagues have seen a few father/son teams play together. Perhaps Tim will give them the first grandfather/son combination. At the very least, he won a Cy Young Award in his first full season (becoming only the fourth pitcher to do so) and as the season reaches the halfway point in 2009, would be the clear favorite for award #2.

He will also likely enter the 2009 All-Star game as the National League starting pitcher. Watch him on July 14th as you take a break from your Bastille Day celebrations, and see what you think.