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Pitch Accuracy and the Front Side

March 22, 2009

Most of the articles on this site pertain to pure velocity but what is the value of Top Velocity when the pitcher can not locate his pitch? Zero is the answer. There is no value in Velocity that doesn’t end in a strike. I have witnessed many hard throwing pitchers or should I say throwers in my career who could not hit “the broad side of a barn.” These guys never made it anywhere because of this major problem of poor accuracy. The problem with coaching accuracy is that most pitching coaches over do it. They create pitchers who look like they should be throwing darts instead of fastballs. This is why I focus on velocity first and then I teach my pitchers how to control it.

I recommend that you read at least three articles on this site about velocity before continuing on with this article.

Pitch location is as important as velocity. For a pitcher to be successful on the mound he must disrupt the batters timing. There are many ways a pitcher can do this. Pitch speed, pitch movement and pitch location. I believe the two most effective is pitch speed and pitch location. If you can reach your top velocity and locate your pitches then you can make it into minor league ball with just a fastball and change up. I would recommend you use this stratgey in your own career because if you start throwing breaking balls and you have poor mechanics, it can be devastating to your arm. So why take the risk when you can be just as effective or even more effective with top velocity and good pitch location?

Before you can start hitting your spots with pin point accuracy you must understand how to control your pitches. Conventional wisdom would talk about the balance point and go on about it for hours. I will show you a different perspective.

Accuracy is controlling your momentum. To control your momentum you must be balanced but that should be second nature. The goal is to control your momentum without effecting it. This is where most pitchers fail. They try to control their momentum to a point that it slows it down. This is no good. This is why I teach top velocity until it becomes second nature and then I teach how to control that velocity.

The control comes from the front side. You must take aim with your front side as you begin to start your momentum to the target. This is important because once your hips start building momentum towards the target, you must do everything in your power to release every ounce of explosive energy from your body, while using that energy to fire certain muscle groups at specific times in your delivery. So once you lift your leg and kick that butt out to start your load to building momentum you must setup your front side for pitch location. To do this you must separate your hands and relax your throwing arm while closing off your glove hand. You must also slightly turn your lift leg foot inward to close off your hips. Notice the picture above of Jon Lester performing this setup. This is a similar moment in the delivery as a sprinter would perform just before taking off. The sprinter would setup his body for take off to control his launch and gives his body the best opportunity to reach his top velocity as quick as possible, which is the same thing we are trying to do as pitchers.

The reason for closing off the front side is because it makes it easier for our momentum to travel straight to the target. If the glove arm was to open early or the lift leg, then this would throw our weight off to the side and more than likely the pitch would follow. So staying closed is important because it keeps our momentum going straight to the target. Just like a sprinter wouldn’t want to start leaning to his left before he fired out of his stance.

Another important tip is to stay closed as long as possible because of the same reasons and also because it will help you build more torque in “Separation.” “Separation” is when your hips have opened to the target and your shoulders are still closed like the picture below. Building more torque means more velocity.

Do not forget that you must not effect your velocity when adjusting your mechanics for pitch location. To prevent this you must close your shoulders and hips off first and then the rest of the delivery you must keep them closed while hitting all the key components of velocity that I have described in detail on this site. This is a lot of coordination but remember not everyone has the ability to pitch in the top levels on the game.

Related Articles:

Pitching Speed and the Glove

There is a lot of controversy around the glove side to pitching mechanics. Conventional Wisdom would coach the pitcher to pull down or pull around the glove side to launch the throwing arm into action. The problem is this would go against pure speed and classic physics. The reality is that the glove arm to shoulder must act as a fulcrum for the shoulders during the throw to allow for efficient speed...

Pitcher Power Curve

The Pitcher Power Curve is worth as much as the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. It has taken me the past 20 years to develop the 3X Program which is built on the Pitcher Power Curve. Velocity is a product of power and if you can understand how we generate power as athletes, you will then discover how you can personally increase and maintain velocity. Power is both speed and strength. It isn't enough...

Written by Brent Pourciau · Filed Under Pitching Articles 
Tagged: balance point, batters, conventional wisdom, different perspective, fastball, minor league ball, momentum, pin point accuracy, pitch location, pitch speed, pitchers, pitches, Pitching Coaches, poor accuracy, s, second nature, speed pitch, stratgey, throwing darts, Velocity

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