Baseball requires players to throw with speed and precision, often repeating similar movements throughout games and training. These actions can place considerable stress on the arm, making throwing mechanics an important subject for researchers studying athletic performance and injury prevention. It was her research into this aspect of the sport that earned nonprofit advocate and marathon runner Samantha Judge recognition from her alma mater, Fresno State, during her graduate studies. Samantha Judge has also completed multiple marathons, including the TCS New York City Marathon.
Samantha Judge’s Education and the Study of Human Movement
Samantha Judge’s kinesiology studies at California State University, Fresno, followed her education at Linden High School in the same state. Kinesiology examines how the body produces and controls movement during daily activities, exercise, and sports. It draws on anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics to explain the roles of muscles, joints, and the nervous system.
Anatomy describes the body’s structures, physiology explores how those structures function, and biomechanics examines movement and the forces involved. During a jump, for example, muscles generate the force needed to leave the ground, while the hips, knees, and ankles bend to absorb the impact of landing.
Muscles perform several tasks within a single movement. Some generate force to accelerate a limb, while others stabilize joints or slow an action. The nervous system coordinates when muscles contract and relax, using sensory information from the body to adjust position and balance. This sense of body position, called proprioception, helps athletes adjust their movements without watching their limbs.
Running and throwing show how these principles apply to different sports. A runner repeatedly coordinates movements at the hips, knees, and ankles as each foot lands and pushes away from the ground. A throw involves greater trunk rotation and rapid movement at the shoulder and elbow. Researchers can measure joint positions and movement speeds to study how these actions unfold.
Repeated activity also affects the demands placed on muscles and joints. Training can involve hundreds of similar movements across multiple sessions, while intensity and recovery influence how the body responds. Samantha Judge’s graduate work examined elbow positioning during one such movement: throwing a baseball.
Baseball Throwing Mechanics and the Demands on the Elbow
A baseball throw relies on a sequence of movements extending from the legs through the trunk, shoulder, elbow, and hand. As a player strides and rotates, the throwing arm accelerates toward ball release.
Biomechanists describe this transfer of movement and force through connected body segments as the kinetic chain. The motion unfolds in sequence: the lower body and trunk begin moving before the throwing arm reaches its greatest speed. The coordination of these actions influences how force travels toward the shoulder and elbow.
Pitching is a form of baseball throwing, the movement Samantha Judge examined in her graduate research. The pitching motion is commonly divided into phases such as wind-up, stride, arm cocking, acceleration, deceleration, and follow-through. During arm cocking, the shoulder rotates outward while the elbow remains bent. The arm then accelerates rapidly, and muscles around the shoulder and elbow help slow it after the ball leaves the hand.
These actions place demands on the structures that stabilize the elbow. The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), located along the inner side of the joint, helps resist forces generated during throwing. Repeated high-speed throws can place substantial loads on the ligament, particularly for pitchers whose training and competition require frequent throwing.
Infielders and outfielders also make forceful throws, although their throwing distances and frequency vary by position and situation. Workload, recovery, muscular conditioning, and individual movement patterns all contribute to the broader picture of injury susceptibility.
The position of the elbow changes during a throw as the arm bends, rotates, and extends. These movements occur rapidly, so biomechanical analysis can examine joint angles at specific points in the action. Samantha Judge’s research on throwing mechanics focused on posterior elbow angle and its potential relationship to UCL injury susceptibility among Major League Baseball players.
Samantha Judge’s Graduate Research Receives University Recognition
Samantha Judge’s graduate project earned university recognition when Fresno State named it the Outstanding Master’s Degree Project in Kinesiology in 2017. Her work forms part of a broader field of sports biomechanics research concerned with how athletes move and the physical demands of sporting activity. Understanding these movements involves examining details that can be difficult to observe during actions as fast as a baseball throw.
In the broader field of biomechanics, other researchers investigate the timing of joint movements. An elbow angle recorded during arm cocking captures a different position from one recorded as the arm accelerates toward release.
An injury can interrupt more than a player’s appearance in a game. Time away from competition may also change training routines and preparations for upcoming games. A team may need to adjust its lineup, redistribute playing time, or find cover for a position while a player is unavailable. For the player, returning to competition also means resuming a role within a team whose schedule has continued.
Samantha Judge’s project examined a specific question about posterior elbow angle and its potential relationship to UCL injury susceptibility. Further investigations can explore how technique, workload, and conditioning relate to the demands players face across training and competition.
About Samantha Judge
Samantha Judge, formerly Samantha Bracksieck, is a California native and a kinesiology graduate of California State University, Fresno. She is based in New York, New York. Her graduate research examined throwing mechanics and potential ulnar collateral ligament injury susceptibility in baseball players. In 2017, the university recognized her work as the Outstanding Master’s Degree Project in Kinesiology. She has also completed multiple marathons, including the TCS New York City Marathon.
She serves on KultureCity’s Board of Directors and helped establish the permanent Aaron and Samantha Judge Sensory Room at Madison Square Garden. Her charitable involvement also includes the ALL RISE Foundation, whose work addresses children, education, character development, health and leadership. Further information is available through Samantha Judge’s official website.
