Tom Hackimer

Please disregard the first pitch, I slipped. Otherwise, have arm, will pitch (or something like that), please tell your friends, tell your enemies, I’ll pitch anywhere any time

This is the most common logical fallacy in baseball and it is worth unpacking. "Better mechanics" means optimized hip-shoulder separation, efficient trunk rotation, and maximized distal segment velocity. That mechanical efficiency more often than not drives a ball velocity increase, which is a strong driver of valgus torque at the elbow. The relationship is not perfectly linear but the correlation is strong enough that meaningfully improving mechanical efficiency without also gaining velocity, and thus likely increasing torque at the UCL, is the exception not the rule. This kid is 16 throwing 101. You do not do that with bad mechanics. He is already operating in the top 0.01% of mechanical efficiency on the planet. And that exposes the second problem with this argument: nobody has ever agreed on or clearly defined what "good mechanics" actually are. His arm action is not bad. It is an arm action that someone has subjectively decided they do not like. That is not a clinical finding. That is a preference. Aesthetics and mechanical efficiency are not the same thing, and conflating the two is exactly how bad advice gets handed to talented kids. What actually determines injury: Stress Applied > Tissue Capacity = Injury That is the whole equation. The FDS, FCU, and FDP are the primary dynamic stabilizers SHARING load with the UCL, with the pronator teres and other accessory stabilizers contributing as well. When those MTUs are fatigued or underconditioned, the UCL absorbs more of the load. Not because of arm action. Because of physical capacities and workload. Now, can specific mechanical faults create abnormal stress concentration at specific tissues? Yes, and that is worth acknowledging. Early trunk rotation, excessive elbow drop, or a broken kinetic chain can create localized shear and impingement at specific anatomical locations. Fix the fault, remove that concentrated stressor, and symptoms resolve. That mechanism is real and clinically meaningful. But it is a localized tissue irritation problem, not a global valgus torque problem. Those are two completely different injury mechanisms and conflating them is where the argument breaks down. Valgus torque at the UCL scales with velocity. It does not care how pretty the arm action looks. And unless you have a report that this kid is in significant pain, what you are actually watching is a 16 year old whose tissues are handling the load just fine. If there is a mechanical fault present and he is symptomatic, that is a tissue irritation conversation. If he is asymptomatic, there is no conversation to be had about mechanics and injury risk at all. The actual risk is that he throws 101. The only ways to reduce that risk are throwing slower or building enough tissue capacity to absorb what 101 demands over hundreds and thousands of pitches a year, and managing tissue fatigue so he is as fresh as possible when the time comes to throw that hard. That is it. There is no third option hiding inside his arm action. A pitcher with textbook mechanics but fatigued, compliant, underprepared tendons is at higher risk than a pitcher with ugly arm action whose flexor-pronator mass is conditioned, recovered, and easily absorbing load tit is being subjected to. Better mechanics can just mean greater torque delivered to tissue that may not be ready to handle it. The intervention is building tissue capacity and managing workload. Not chasing a kinematic ideal that, if actually achieved, can make the physics worse. You either have the capacity to absorb the stress your velocity generates, or you don't.

Joey Gallo? The Right-Handed Pitcher?

@drivelinekyle @SmittyOnMLB

@SmittyOnMLB Whoever this NL GM said that I’m not like I am online like I am in person SHOW YOURSELF I’m not like the caricature of how people portray me online; I agree with that.

“It’s really convenient for radio hosts or whoever to knock him. Anyone that has actually gotten to know him and understood what he’s actually about, they don’t think that.” On Driveline founder and Red Sox senior advisor Kyle Boddy: masslive.com/redsox/2026/02…

I had also heard that Tim Lincecum did this (from a reliable source) and later had the opportunity to actually ask Lincecum about it directly and he said something like “I’m glad people think I’m that cool but I definitely did not do that”

Technical drawings of some stuff. Nothing, really… 🤔

In order to make sesame noodles, you must first invent the universe

@drivelinekyle @mov_axbx @IterIntellectus it’s the proper way to dispose of them

@mov_axbx @IterIntellectus @HackAttackimer

tire wear particles account for roughly 78% of microplastics entering oceans. not a typo. majority of ocean plastic contamination comes from tires every vehicle sheds particles continuously. friction releases them into air and runoff. average tire loses pounds of material over its lifetime. multiply by billions of vehicles. every road. every day particles small enough to inhale. small enough to enter bloodstream through lungs. air quality near highways measurably worse. the gradient is documented this isnt in the mainstream microplastics conversation because theres no individual solution. cant blame consumer choices. cant sell a product to fix it. addressing it requires transportation infrastructure changes. implicates too many industries so it doesnt get discussed. too structural. too systemic. easier to focus on straws and bags the air you breathe driving to work is contaminated by the act of driving to work. no opt-out

@Senn_Spud @lady_valor_07 slept on synergy

@lady_valor_07 Beating black deck gold stake with Midas mask and vampire 😂🫵

He doesn’t smoke He doesn’t drink He doesn’t womanise He doesn’t party He stays at home He doesn’t bet Where can I find him??

@BozoMode how dare you

Nice to see the film performing well in flyover country

@Jolly_Olive Jolly can we play a game of subway builder where we make every single line go directly through citi field

Special announcement tomorrow.

@RichardStaff @willklein0 @whatwouldDOOdo

@willklein0 @HackAttackimer @whatwouldDOOdo

Staffcast! @HackAttackimer @whatwouldDOOdo and I are joined by @willklein0 to talk about becoming a World Series hero, postseason stress, Game 7, I Think You Should Leave, nude eggs, Brian's hat, reliever beards and more! open.spotify.com/episode/6eTQKV… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/72-…

@drivelinekyle nah

An organization whose pitching leadership is comprised mostly by ex-Driveline staffers, trending up? It's more likely than you think.

@RobertStock6 Seam orientation also a huge factor in this case

The reason these pitches move so differently (the fastball rides while the splitter “dives”) is mostly due to different velocity, spin axis and efficiency. Very little of it is spin rate.

@RobertStock6 My guess is that this change was not intentional and it would be more trouble than it would be worth to try to do this for 99% of pitchers

It will be VERY interesting in the future to see if pitchers purposely change the shape of their pitches between starts as Trajekt machines take hold. (Trajekt machines allow batters to practice against a pitcher’s specific pitch shapes)

@Karouno1Michael That is the first time I’ve ever gotten that comp I have to say, but yes it is me

You are not going to believe who is actually throwing in this video

@mawarren34 @Karouno1Michael @gunsnrosesgirl3 join the club, brother

@HackAttackimer @Karouno1Michael @gunsnrosesgirl3 Instantly causes my elbow to radiate pain every time I see it.

Watch this baseball pitchers complex elbow moves at slow mo,