Why can anyone throw a baseball faster than 100 mph?
(Slate)In almost every measurable physical activity, athletes show improvement over time. Jumpers jump higher and farther, and runners and swimmers go faster. Pitchers, though, don’t seem to be getting any faster… According to experts in biomechanics, the 100-mph [pitch speed] ceiling isn’t an illusion — it’s a basic property of human physiology. Glenn Fleisig, a biomechanical engineer who studies pitching, has calculated that about 80 Newton-meters of torque act on an elite pitcher’s elbow when he throws a fastball… Fleisig subjected cadaver elbows to increasing amounts of rotational force.
