physics

Submarine (baseball)

Submarine (baseball) is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Submarine (baseball) rather than just read about it. In short: In baseball, a submarine is a pitching delivery in which the ball is released often just above the ground, but not underhanded, with the torso bent at a right angle, and shoulders tilted so severely that they rotate around a nearly horizontal axis. This is in stark contrast to the underhand softball pitch in which the torso remains upright, the shoulders are level, and the hips do not rotate.

Key takeaways

Submarine (baseball) belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Submarine (baseball) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Submarine (baseball) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In baseball, a submarine is a pitching delivery in which the ball is released often just above the ground, but not underhanded, with the torso bent at a right angle, and shoulders tilted so severely that they rotate around a nearly horizontal axis. This is in stark contrast to the underhand softball pitch in which the torso remains upright, the shoulders are level, and the hips do not rotate.

Description The "upside down" release of the submariner causes balls to move differently from pitches generated by other arm slots. Gravity plays a significant role, for the submariner's ball must be thrown considerably above the strike zone, after which it drops rapidly back through. The sinking motion of the submariner's fastball is enhanced by forward rotation, in contrast with the overhand pitcher's hopping backspin. Submarine pitches are often the toughest for same-side batters to hit (i.e., a right-handed submarine pitcher is the more difficult for a right-handed batter to hit, and likewise for left-handed pitchers and batters). This is because the submariner's spin is not perfectly level; the ball rotates forward and toward the pitching arm side, jamming same-sided hitters at the last moment, even as the ball drops rapidly through the zone. Though the bending motion required to pitch effectively as a submariner means that submariners may be more at risk of developing back problems, it is commonly thought that the submarine motion is less injurious to the elbow and shoulder. Kent Tekulve and Gene Garber, two former submarine pitchers, were among the most durable pitchers in baseball history with 1,944 appearances between the two. Past major league submariners include Carl Mays, Ted Abernathy, Elden Auker, Chad Bradford, Mark Eichhorn, Kent Tekulve, Todd Frohwirth, and Dan Quisenberry. Steve Olin was also a submarine pitcher.

Japanese pitcher Shunsuke Watanabe is known as "Mr. Submarine" in Japan. Watanabe has an even lower release point than the typical submarine pitcher, dropping his pivot knee so low that it scrapes the ground. He now wears a pad under his uniform to avoid injuring his knee. His release is so low that his knuckles often become raw from their periodic drag on the ground.

Submarine pitchers

Current players

Major League Baseball Tyler Rogers Ryan Thompson Tim Hill

Nippon Professional Baseball Kazuhisa Makita Rei Takahashi Hirofumi Yamanaka Kaito Yoza

KBO League Park Jong-hoon Dae-woo Kim

Former players Ted Abernathy Elden Auker Chad Bradford Tae-Hyon Chong Adam Cimber Mark Eichhorn Todd Frohwirth Dick Hyde Byung-hyun Kim Terry Leach Liao Yu-cheng Lin Chen-hua Bob Long Carl Mays Porter Moss Mike Myers Darren O'Day Steve Olin Dan Quisenberry Gus Schlosser Joe Smith Kent Tekulve Jack Warhop Shunsuke Watanabe Kelly Wunsch Hisashi Yamada Eric Yardley Brad Ziegler

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Submarine (baseball)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Submarine (baseball) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Submarine (baseball) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Submarine (baseball) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Submarine (baseball)

In research: Submarine (baseball) appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Submarine (baseball) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Submarine (baseball) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Biomechanics, Motor control, Motor skills, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Submarine (baseball) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Submarine (baseball) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Submarine (baseball) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Submarine (baseball) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Submarine (baseball) in simple terms?

Why does Submarine (baseball) matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Submarine (baseball)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Submarine (baseball).