Baseball Pitchers and Swimming

I know of a college coach who makes his pitchers swim for 45 minutes, at least twice per week. He thinks it helps them strengthen their arms and develop stamina.

It does neither, at least in any meaningful way for pitchers.

Let’s think about this: while both are “overhead” movements, there are some important differences.

The ball release point for a pitcher is approximately the same as the point where a swimmer’s arm enters the water during a crawl stroke. As the arm begins to pull, it meets resistance from the water.

Conversely, at the thrower’s release point, the arm has reached its maximal speed or acceleration point. It continues onward forcefully with only air as resistance, quickly decelerating to a halt during the follow through.

Performing a crawl stroke is almost precisely the opposite of what occurs with an overhand throw. The key difference is obviously the water. At the point the arm begins stroking and “pulling” water, it moves rather slowly as compared to what a throwing arm is doing at this point. The throwing range of motion is fast and resistance-free; a swimming crawl stroke is much slower and more resisted.

Exercise with resistance is one thing. Doing so continuously for extended periods of time is something else.

A recent study examining shoulder impingement in collegiate swimmers performing the front-crawl swimming stroke found that impingement occurred for 12% of the stroke time for each shoulder. Impingement is not a good thing! It occurs between the greater tubercle (humerus) and the “roof” of the shoulder (acromion) - the shoulder "socket" area. The burning, pinching pain that results from this condition may be due to a "bursitis" (inflammation of the bursa) overlying the rotator cuff or tendonitis of the cuff itself. In some cases, a partial tear of the rotator cuff may cause impingement pain.

Impingement is often seen in various overhead activities, including swimming, throwing, tennis serving, and volleyball spiking/serving. It is to be avoided at all costs - it has ended more than a few pitching careers, including my own!

As for swimming as a stamina/conditioning aid, there is minimal benefit. Baseball and softball are not aerobic activities, as nothing on the ball field occurs continuously without a break, as in a session of long distance running or swimming. So why train this way?

I consulted with a number of my strength and conditioning colleagues around the country on this issue. All of them work at the college or pro baseball level. Not only did they not recommend swimming as a conditioning method for pitchers, several of them had horror stories about severe shoulder problems with ball players who swam too much. Apparently, it is common even for competitive swimmers to have chronic shoulder problems.

And how many baseball coaches would you guess are familiar with proper swimming mechanics and can teach this to their players? How many are capable of designing appropriate swimming workloads so that their players aren’t overworked? Avoid problems - don’t use swimming to condition baseball pitchers or any overhand thrower!

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