The Power of the Grunt: HSU Research Reveals a Surprising Pitching Advantage

Have you ever heard a pitcher grunt when throwing the ball? Believe it or not, the grunt helps the ball travel faster than it would have otherwise, and the one to discover that was Hardin-Simmons University’s own Dr. Justin Tammany, assistant professor of physical therapy. 

Taking inspiration from prior research from grunting research related to tennis (see here for the full article on the tennis research), Dr. Tammany decided to apply the experiment to baseball pitching as well. “Since grunting increases serving and receiving velocity,” he explained, “I thought the same would apply in baseball.”  

Tammany recruited local college-level athletes and observed the test subjects’ pitch speed both when grunting and not grunting. Like the tennis research, grunting helps players pitch faster. After running the math, HSU found that grunting while pitching allows the ball to travel 2.73 mph on average than those without grunts (see here for the full article on the baseball research). 

The findings were initially published in the International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, but the story would be picked up by bigger names. Last year, Jeff Albert, the Director of Hitting for the New York Mets, referenced the findings in a Twitter/X post with over 125k views (see here). This year, Major League Baseball (MLB) writer Molly Burkhardt referenced HSU and the research in a recent article (see here). 

“It’s nice to get national attention for the university,” Tammany shared when asked about his thoughts. “It’s pretty fun to see all the attention the study is getting too.”