momentum in pitching

I love watching my cousin play sports. I watch him play football and baseball for Iolani. In this picture Iolani is playing against Damien and JR is pitching. I wondered how pitchers could throw so fast and why they have that big wind up before they throw. I found out that the answer is related to physics. A net force is needed in order to accelerate an object and change its velocity and momentum. A change in momentum is called the impulse. A greater net force that acts on the object or the longer the net force is applied increases the impulse. The pitcher is like the net force that acts on the ball. In pitching, the momentum needs to be transfered from the pitcher to the ball. This causes the ball's velocity and momentum to change. The windup before the pitch is to create more momentum. This gives the ball more momentum and therefore it goes faster. It also helps if the pither is tall. JR is about 6ft which helps him to pitch the ball faster. Taller pitchers can make the ball go faster because they can apply the force for a longer period of time. The big windups that pitchers do before they throw the ball really does matter because it determines the momentum that is going to be transfered and the force that will act on the ball.