From Player to Protector: Pioneering Pitcher Health Through Innovation
Throughout my professional baseball career, every pitch I threw had a clear goal: to outmaneuver the batter and secure a win for my team. However, the throws I've made since hanging up my cleats serve a broader, more impactful purpose: safeguarding the health and enhancing the capabilities of the next generation of pitchers.
In recent weeks, I have significantly increased my throwing activity. This wasn't just for nostalgia but to rigorously test the updated logic of the DVS X-Ray system, incorporating our state-of-the-art Motion Capture (MoCap) kit. This system automates our proprietary biomechanical analysis, known as the Delivery Value System (DVS), designed to help pitchers perfectly sequence their delivery motions.
This increase in throwing volume brought back vivid memories of my journey from 2011 to 2015. During those years, I threw on average six days a week, laboring to devise the initial version of the DVS. My mission was to answer a critical question: "Why do some pitchers suffer injuries while others do not?" Despite frequent pain and the challenge of throwing with only 20% of a bicep tendon left from a 2006 surgery, my dedication never wavered.
As I refined my understanding of how to sequence my pitching movements, the pain and soreness gradually diminished. By 2013, I had standardized a new pitching delivery, which allowed me to adjust the intensity of my throws based on a coordinated flow of energy throughout each motion. By 2015, I was regularly throwing pitches at speeds between 93-95 mph. These sessions were crucial for conducting case studies to explore how various pitching deliveries influenced motion patterns.
The insights gained from these studies culminated in the development of our specialized Throwing Program and Soreness Protocols, which have since become integral components of professional pitching training.
From 2016 to 2020, my throwing reached new heights as I took on the dual role of Director of Baseball Operations for the USPBL and served clients from our DVS facility in Madison Heights. Demonstrating a delivery that optimized velocity, command, and recovery was essential to earning the trust of our players.
Although my move from Michigan to Virginia between 2021 and 2023, along with fatherhood duties to my two young sons, meant less time for personal throwing, I didn't step back from innovating. During this period, I focused on supporting our team in developing DVS X-Ray, our groundbreaking markerless motion capture software.
Today, I continue to use my experience and my own body as a test subject to enhance the accuracy and reliability of our software, ensuring that DVS Scores are a dependable metric for pitchers and trainers alike. While I once aimed to perfect my pitches for game-day success, my goal now is to ensure our technology can consistently recognize and analyze joint positions, thereby offering precise and actionable feedback to those we aim to protect.
Through this work, we don't just aspire to save arms; we aim to revolutionize how pitchers train, perform, and sustain their careers in the long term.
#SaveTheArms #sequencing
