Breaking Down the Mechanics of Joba Chamberlain

Dissecting the pitcher’s future risk of injury and looking at a recent mechanical tweak made by Joba to improve what was pretty mediocre control

One wrinkle Chamberlain has added recently--since the middle of June judging from the starts I’ve seen, is a brief hesitation in his arm action just after he breaks his hands. This helps in preventing his arm from rushing through his wind-up. In simpler terms, Chamberlain is essentially correcting certain timing issues with his delivery that may have a negative effect on his control....

....Not taking into consideration the increase in workload after Chamberlain was moved to the rotation, the simple fact that he throws a baseball in the upper 90’s makes the risk of injury higher.

However, there are a couple mechanical issues that may heighten Chamberlain’s risk of injury. For instance, his finish is pretty abrupt. Ideally you want to give the arm a long distance to decelerate. By finishing so abruptly, Chamberlain increases the risk of injury to his arm, shoulder, and even his back.