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.
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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
Tyler Rogers
Ryan Thompson
Tim Hill
Kazuhisa Makita
Rei Takahashi
Hirofumi Yamanaka
Kaito Yoza
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