The effect of overload and traditional pitcher conditioning on the velocity of pitched baseballs

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two methods of conditioning for baseball pitchers: the overload method versus a traditional method. The subjects were 24 college pitchers from two NCAA Division I baseball programs. Data were the pre- and post-conditioning maximum velocities recorded for each pitcher.

Both programs exhibited increases in velocity. The traditional group recorded greater increases in velocity than the overload group. The implications of these results were examined.