In the rest of this article, I am going to post Alan Jaeger’s approach to pitching and the Top Velocity approach. I hope that you will read them both. This is a great opportunity for you to learn both perspectives. What you will learn is that these are two totally different approaches to pitching and this will ultimately help you develop your own.

Alan Jaeger’s Long Toss Approach to Pitching

Alan sent me this article which summarizes his approach regarding arm development, including his emphasis on Long Toss. The Article contrasts what he believes to be the benefits of Long Toss, and the detriments of a restricting a pitchers distance (ie 120 feet) and arc. The article is from 2007 and in the meantime Alan Jaeger’s bio has grown considerably. Here is his up to date bio with his phone number and a link to his site. Read the article here

Alan Jaeger has worked with over 300 professional baseball players (including All Stars Barry Zito, Dan Haren, Mike Lieberthal and Andrew Bailey), several Collegiate Programs (including 2004 National Champions, Cal State Fullerton) and three Major League Organizations, including the Texas Rangers. Alan founded Jaeger Sports in response to the growing need to address the two most neglected areas of baseball: The Arm and The Mind. For more information please call 310-665-0746 or visit us at www.jaegersports.com.

Top Velocity Approach to 3X Pitching

The 3X Pitching approach is cutting edge but simple. It was inspired by the National Pitching Association’s Velocity Study conducted in 2005-2006. This study proved these revolutionary results. You can read the entire study here.

1. 80% of a pitcher’s real velocity comes from rotational momentum if his kinematic sequencing and energy translation are efficient.
2. 20% of a pitcher’s real velocity comes from directional momentum if his kinematic sequencing and energy translation are efficient.

These results may not hit you hard at first but if you think about it more, they will open your eyes to something revolutionary. What this studied has proven is that 100% of your velocity comes before your arm has even started throwing the ball. This isn’t the only study proving this. A study performed by the famous Dr. Jobe called, An EMG analysis of the shoulder in throwing and pitching, produced these revolutionary results. You can read the entire study here.

Five male subjects’ throwing and pitching motions were analyzed by dynamic electromyography and high speed photography. Electrodes inserted into the deltoid and rotator cuff muscles attempted to define muscle activation patterns during the throwing and pitching cycle…..

The Acceleration (Stage III) had a lack of muscle activity, even though the arm was accelerating forward in space

After learning these studies prior to my rotator cuff surgery in 1995, the first question that popped into my mind was, “So what is arm strength, if your arm has very little to do with velocity?” This question, along with these case studies and many more, helped create a revolutionary approach to pitching that is growing more popular everyday called 3X Pitching.

The 3X Pitching will teach and train you that to throw harder, all you need to do is enhance your bodies ability to produce power and then convert that power into hip to shoulder separation. This stratgey is not only supported by these scientific studies but it has produced some amazing results. To learn more about the results read the testimonials on the home page here.

To learn more about 3X Pitching, here are some links and articles on this site to educate you on the details.

1. 3X Mechanics Instructional Video – This video gives away all of the 3X Mechanics. You can count the schools of pitching on your hand, who have actually contributed a list of pitching mechanics or components to the baseball world. Not only has Top Velocity developed its own pitching mechanics but two of these components are changing the way we see the power pitcher.
2. Pitching Velocity Specificity – This article references countless studies that prove the most effective way to enhance velocity through training. This is a must read to learn more about why the 3X approach uses heavy load training to enhance velocity.
3. Scientific Proof that 3X will Increase Velocity and Prevent Injury – This article proves why increasing stride power, through triple extension (3X) and heavy load training, converts to higher velocities.
4. Why Some Pitchers Throw Harder than Others? – This article, along with a case study, illustrates the major use of the throwing arm in most hard throwing pitchers.
5. Pattern Overload a Major Cause of Pitching Injuries – This is a must read article. It proves why overuse, along with the loss of joint integrity, is a major cause of most pitching injuries.
6. More 3X Pitching Articles – There are many more articles on this site which will educate you even more on the entire 3X approach to pitching.  Please read on…

I hope you can read both Alan Jaeger’s approach to pitching and the 3x approach to pitching and feel that you have a pretty solid understand of the skill of pitching. What I also hope you learn from all of this is insanity, is that your success will come from more than just an approach or a workout. It will come from a strong work ethic. So educate yourself as much as you can on pitching but more importantly feed your souls passion to play this game at the best of your ability. Alan Jaeger and I wish you the best in your career!

If you have been following this site then you know that I am totally against this approach to pitching. Here is a quick summary of why I am against this type of training. The American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) proves in their latest case study here that this type of long toss creates elbow varus torque in the arm and uses different mechanics than those used on the mound. In defence, Alan Jaeger says that the athletics of the 300 foot throw when restricted to 60 feet, through his “Pull Down” phase, forces the pitcher to be more open and explosive. The reason that the revolutionary approach to pitching velocity, 3X Pitching, is far superior to this extreme long toss approach is because the 3X approach defines each component of its 3X Pitching Mechanics and uses drills and a complete training program to train the pitcher to implement these mechanics into their delivery, without abusing the arm. Alan Jaeger’s program never seems to mention anything about good mechanics. This is a major reason why I am against his extreme long toss and speak out against it, because if you do not have good mechanics when building your throws to 300 feet, you are extremely vulnerable to injury as proven in the ASMI case study and the reason why ASMI advises against this type of training. Another big reason is the fact that what he is trying to teach athletically, through his extreme long toss program, can be done without putting the pitcher through this type of rotator cuff and elbow abuse.

If Alan Jaeger understood the mechanics of this own training then he would learn that throwing long toss at extreme distances trains the pitcher to build elastic energy early in the delivery. This means it forces the pitcher to get good external rotation in the arm, along with building elastic energy through the chest cavity and hip flexors early. This occurs because the trajectory of release is a lot higher than throwing off of the mound, which forces the pitcher to throw the ball behind the front leg. Alan Jaeger then attempts to correct this mechanical flaw by taking these mechanics through his “Pull Down” phase, down to 60 feet, which forces the pitcher to finish over the front leg. This would be a good approach if he used good mechanics to keep pitchers safe from this extreme training. Just like it is critical to have good lifting mechanics when training to get bigger, stronger and faster but the main reason that 3X Pitching is a far superior approach to pitching velocity is because it trains the pitcher to do the same as an extreme long toss program without putting the abuse on the arm. This is why 3X Pitching wins hands down!

In the 3X Pitching Velocity Program the medicine ball drills are training the pitcher to develop elastic energy early in the delivery as effectively as extreme long toss but you are only throwing the 2 lb med ball 40 feet while focusing to hit all of the 3X Mechanics. You then take these mechanics into the target throws with the 5 ounce baseball. This is why 3X Pitching is so effective in increasing velocity and it is injury free. With Alan Jaeger’s extreme long toss program, I know he can not say the same!

The brilliance behind this study, called Baseball Throwing Velocity: A Comparison of Medicine Ball Training and Weight Training, is the fact that the scientist set out to prove that medicine ball training was more an effective training method to increasing throwing velocity than weight lifting. What they learned was that weight training was the winner here. Not only was it weight lifting but it was heavy weight lifting. Here is an excerpt from the study talking about this result along with a more in depth description from the study.

The results of this study suggest that the use of heavier loads has been more effective than the medicine ball training in increasing velocity…..

Kaneko et al, determined that training with heavier loads of 100% maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) resulted in increases not only in strength but also in unloaded movement speed. Similarly, a training study by Schmidtbleicher and Buehrly found that the use of relatively heavy loads of 80-90% MVC enhanced the performance of powerful dynamic movements more effectively than light loads.

I love reading studies that set out to prove a certain method and in return they learn an entirely new method that is proven to be more effective. In this case it was that heavy load training increased speed and light load training, at high velocities, did not. The best excerpt in the study is in reference to another study called Velocity specificity of resistance training found here.

A recent review by Behm and Sale concluded that balistic movements such as throwing and jumping are preprogrammed and that maximum limb velocity is determined principally by the rate of force development and overall force output. Improvement in these factors does not seem to require low load, high velocity training, but rather heavy loads or even isometric contractions. Research by Behm and Sale demonstrated that it may be the intention to move quickly that determines the velocity-specific response.

Learning that training the intention to explode and move faster is more effective than actually training moving faster is revolutionary, because most training programs do not train using intention. This is because most pitching programs do not involve heavy load training.

This phenomenon is almost proof that training methods like long toss do not have the effectiveness of increasing velocity alone (ASMI has proven more reasons why long toss is not advisable for training and rehabilitation). Velocity enhancement comes from heavy load training and this is the foundation of the Fusion System in the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

Here is a quick summary of the study.
There were three control groups of young pitchers around the high school years. They did not have any form of training outside of throwing a baseball. One group only threw the baseball for 8 weeks and the next group did medicine ball plyometric training and also threw the baseball for 8 weeks. The last group performed heavy weight training specifically presses for the 8 weeks and also threw the baseball. The first group who only threw the baseball did not experience any strength gains or velocity gains. The second group who did the medicine ball training experienced strength gains but no velocity gains. The third and final group, who did the weight training, experienced both strength and velocity gains. The strength gains were also more than all the groups. The velocity gains was up to 4.1% in 8 weeks.

This study continues to support why the 3X Pitching Velocity Program works and why it can offer a money back guarantee. This case study was an 8 week training and throwing program and the third control group had up to 5 mph in velocity gains. The 3X Pitching Velocity Program is a 16 week training and throwing program and it continues to show results of increasing velocity from 5-10 mph.

Even though this study does not talk about injury or recovery, I would like to make a point that this is an important factor when training with heavy loads. If you are excited to read that heavy weight training will increase your velocity but you are nervous about the risk of injury, then this is why you need a program that will help you reduce the risk of injury and also where recovery is as important as pushing your limits. This is a program like the 3X Pitching Velocity Program that teaches you that proper lifting mechanics is critical to learn before you can start training heavy. Just like you must learn proper throwing mechanics before you start throwing hard, you must learn how to lift correctly to prevent injury and give your body a safe environment to improve itself.

If you would like to read this entire study for your self then visit here. You may want to print out this study and give it to your pitching coach when he asks you why you are lifting heavy weights!

I offer FREE video analysis for all lifting mechanics of those who are using the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

Maximum distance throws produce increased torques and changes in kinematics; caution is therefore advised for use of these throws in rehabilitation and training.

This was the conclusion of the ASMI’s case study, “Biomechanical Comparison of Baseball Pitching and Long-Toss,” released to the public January 2011. This is everything I had come to a conclusion with using all of their previous studies on flat ground throws and elbow injuries. Here was my article about this when Alan Jaeger contacted me to tell me he was upset with my stance against long toss as the “be all, end all” to pitching velocity, back in July of 2009.

The Proper Research on Why Long Toss is Bad for Your Arm!

This is me now gloating! I am only gloating because Jaeger has sent his droids in full force on my website posting comment after comment about how great his program is. I just don’t get it. I was completely shocked when Nolan Ryan hired him to coach his long toss program with the Rangers pitchers. At this point it would be fair to say, yes, I am a little jealous of his success when I feel that my program is a much better program but that is life, now worries! I wish Jaeger the best but I feel that this ASMI case study will slowly bring his reputation down. This has more to do with who ASMI represents than the information in the case study. If you do not know who ASMI is then let me tell you. This is Andrews Sports Medicine Institute which includes Dr. James Andrews, Dr. Glenn Fleisig, Dr. Andrews’ son and tons more highly qualified sports medicine professionals, along with one of the best sports medicine and analysis facilities in the country. If you don’t know who Dr. Andrews is then you do not watch much baseball. He works on every great baseball player and athlete in today’s games. You could say that he is the Man! You can also see why this study will have a tremendous impact on Alan Jaeger’s Long Toss program to the Stars.

Just surfing the web only a few days after the study was released the baseball forums went nuts over the case study. All of those who bought into Jaeger’s Voodoo are trying to spin the news. They are saying things like, “Well this study only says it is risky to long toss, weight lifting is risky but it is being used in training,” or “ASMI didn’t do the study correctly. When they threw the ball 300ft it was on a line. This would hurt any bodies arm.” I assume that this spin is going to continue on for some time while the baseball world continues to digest the news and hurries to catch up with the times of the advancements in strength and conditioning. What will come out of all of this is the fact that effective training in any sport and position involves a fusion of different components. It is and never will be just one drill or program based around one type of exercise. Long tossing is not the key to pitching velocity. The latest pitching aid represented by the current most popular MLB ballplayer is also not the key to pitching velocity. The key to pitching velocity is in a complete program that addresses everything from mechanics, to training, to the mental game, to nutrition. This is why I have had success with all types of levels of pitchers using the Ace Pitcher Handbook. I am not advocating that long toss is poison and should be avoided at all cost. My point is that long toss should only be used when you want to mix it up a bit. Specifically long tossing at 150 feet or more should not be used in a training or rehabilitation program for pitching as the ASMI case study suggests. Before you buy into a program that is based around one thing make sure you do your homework first. Do not wait until after you learn that it was a waste of your time and money.

The article on TopVelocity.net that has been getting a lot of attention and the one that Jaeger is not happy with, is the article called Long Toss and the Placebo Effect. You can view it by selecting the title. The comments are below the article. Everyone thinks that I am against Long Tossing and the truth is that this isn’t true. I believe in Long Tossing up to about 120 feet. What I DO NOT agree with is “Extreme Long Tossing” like Jaeger promotes which can exceed distances of 350 feet. I feel that this is reckless because if you do not have efficient throwing mechanics you are taking a big risk with the health of your arm at these levels. This is why I preach against Jaeger’s Long Toss program because he does not work intently on correcting mechanical flaws before pushing his pitchers to these extreme distances. A great example is Joel Zumaya. This is Jaeger’s claim to fame whom he has put all over his website. Just this past MLB season Joel Zumaya broke off his shoulder bone. This is a major mechanical flaw that caused Zumaya’s shoulder bone to snap and you would hope his pitching coach could have prevented this major shoulder injury. If I was his pitching coach I would have at least taking responsibility for his injury.

Another reason I do not support this “Extreme Long Tossing” is because I like many other pro pitchers did not use this in my professional career. Actually before I tore my rotator cuff in college, I would perform extreme long toss. I am not saying that this is why I injured my arm. What I am saying is I never used it again and was able to add 8 mph on my fastball which got me into pro ball.

The day I broke 90+mph post surgery, which I had at 18 years old when I was throwing 86 mph with horrendous mechanics, is because of a new program I was on for about 6 months to a year. The day I found this program was the day I decided to stop making this stuff up and seek professional help from those who I felt knew what they were talking about. I found Tom House who is a well known pitching coach and Doctor and Kurt Hester who is a nationally recognized strength and conditioning specialist. Tom House taught me about hip to shoulder separation, which I had none and Kurt taught me speed and strength like you wouldn’t believe. With this combination I experienced an 8 mph increase in velocity.

I wasn’t long tossing past 250 feet plus. I wasn’t using weighted balls. I was performing the Olympic lifts, plyos, and sprint work, 1 hour a day, 5 days a week while I was playing for a travel team in the summer. If I pitched on a day of a lift, I would not change my program. I would lift at full intensity and then pitch a 7-9 inning game one hour later. This is because the lifting program was lower body dominate. I wasn’t pounding my arms. I was pounding my legs. I also was working on good hip to shoulder separation during practice and before the games. I thought at this time, that with the lifting intensity and the pitching of 7-9 innings that my body would give out and it did the opposite. I would finish a 9 inning game with higher velocities than in the first inning. I continued this program and it is what I believe put me into pro ball after doctors told me I would never be able to compete again.

The program I used is now the Ace Pitcher Handbook. I am aware that this program isn’t for everyone and that just because it worked for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you. I understand this but you will never know if a program like this will have the same effect on you if you don’t give it your best.

I also believe that the reason arm injuries have increased by 700% in the past ten years is because pitchers are training outside of the mechanics of the pitcher. Extreme long toss mechanics is a lot different than on the mound mechanics. I explain this here

The Proper Research on Why Long Toss is Bad for your Arm

This is also the case in the weight room. This is why I believe the Olympic lifts are the only intense lifts you should use because they have a lot of similarities in mechanics to pitching. You can read more about this point in the first article I wrote on this site.

Olympic lifting Increases Pitching Velocity.

I am glad that “Extreme Long Tossing” is getting this much attention with this site and Jaeger’s but I hope that those who are using this approach are educating themselves on the dangers. I also hope those who use my approach are educating themselves on the dangers as well. Which are, just like learning good throwing mechanics before you try to throw your arm off you must learn good lifting mechanics  before you try to move a house. Be smart, work hard and always listen to your body!

Pitching velocity is the product of momentum and torque. You can read countless articles on this site about Momentum and Torque. Pulling the ball down during release prevents early internal rotation which is a key component to velocity as stated in the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) case study called Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity Pitch Deliveries.

Dr. Andrews case study states:

….the maximum shoulder horizontal adduction occurred later and maximum shoulder internal rotation occurred earlier at greater ball velocities.

Notice that Tim Lincecum, who’s fastball averages in the high nineties, proves this component in the case study true in his picture above. He is releasing the ball above his shoulder and head. He couldn’t release the ball any earlier than in his picture. There is no pull down phase in this high velocity delivery.  Early internal rotation occurred  because he has met ever component of greater ball velocity described in the ASMI case study. He has “less lead knee flexion velocity after front foot contact” which we find just before this image, “greater lead knee extension velocity at the time of ball release,” “Maximum shoulder external rotation” which also occurred before this picture and finally “forward trunk tilt at ball release.” Tim Lincecum is the epitome of this ASMI case study, especially early internal rotation.

To give an example of a pitcher who is fighting against his potential velocity by pulling the ball down to release would be this picture here. This happens because of a flaw in timing. When the front foot lands and momentum is slowing down then the arm must take over. The pitcher must pull the ball down to create more external rotation that was lost when his momentum slowed down. Momentum must accelerate all the way to ball release to support top velocity. Just like a plane taking off, momentum must not stop or velocity will suffer. In the case of pitching the arm suffers as well because this adds more wear and tear on the arm. Notice that both of these pitchers are almost in the exact same position but the pitcher here is releasing the ball in front of his face and his elbow has not extended. This tells me that his momentum has stopped and his arm is doing the majority of the work. This also means he created poor hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike which caused his arm to throw the ball too early in the delivery. The most important perspective of the ASMI Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity Pitch Deliveries is the timing of each component. If any of the four velocity components stated in the case study initiate too early then the proceeding component will not reach its maximum potential.

When you find yourself losing momentum and pulling the ball down to release you will notice that your ball pulls down as well as it reaches the plate but when you get early internal rotation you will notice that your ball jumps out of your hand and looks like it is rising as it reaches the plate. This is an increase in velocity. To prevent launching the ball high you must make sure you are achieving maximum forward trunk tilt at ball release.

When working to improve on these four components of velocity you must practice them in reverse not continuing until each component is mastered. This is the only way to develop top velocity and to break the conventional wisdom that says these mechanics can not be taught.

In conclusion, Alan Jaeger’s Long Toss program may sound good on video or his website but scientifically it fails. Next time you find yourself trying to pull the ball down at release to create velocity check your momentum because your velocity is slowing down.

Evidence that the MLB folded this hand is in articles like this here on MLB.com. The title says it all, Coach wants methods to catch on in bigs – Jaeger’s old-school, unorthodox regimen preserves arms. What will they do next, MLB forcing their pitchers to run longer distances for conditioning! This is just mind blowing. Alan Jaeger’s reason for his old school approach, over the new school approaches of the MLB which are still old school in my book, is in his quote here from the article.

“Among nature’s mightiest, most majestic creations are the Great Redwoods, which stretch skyward to heights of 350 feet and beyond…..But what might happen if you planted a baby Redwood tree in a greenhouse with a 10-foot ceiling reinforced with steel? The tree, much like a young Geisha girl’s feet shoved into unusually small shoes, would never reach its intended growth capacity. Both are examples of natural development being stunted, unnaturally. This, says Alan Jaeger, is the plight of pitching arms in America — and, by extension, many arms in Major League Baseball.”

The fact that this is the language that Jaeger uses to coach pitchers through his program is child’s play. If I was forced into a debate over this rhetoric I would have to counter his analogy with an analogy that is similar and defines the new school approach of Bigger, Stronger, Faster. My analogy would go something like this.

“Among nature’s mightiest, most ferocious creations is the Awesome Lion, the King of the jungle, who has the strength and speed to caught a Gazelle and rip his flesh to pieces…….But what might happen if you caged this Lion in a 30 foot cage reinforced with steel and barbed wire and force him to attack and kill large elephants and hippos? Much like the way Michael Vick raised his pit bulls for cage fighting. The day the lion was freed from his cage he would more than likely devour everything in his path. This, says Brent Pourciau is how I train my pitchers to grow Bigger, Stronger, Faster so they can reach their potential velocity or maybe even exceed my expectations.”

The fact that the likes of Nolan Ryan would actually entertain this old school approach on arm health for his Ranger pitchers makes me believe that major league baseball is going backwards again. Just when I thought the likes of Tim Lincecum had pushed the MLB into a new school revolution I was wrong. I believe the only hope that the MLB has is Dr. Andrew’s. If he finds the time to convince the MLB with his scientific studies of why arm injuries occur when unorthodox methods like Jaeger’s “air it out” throwing program are used then maybe the MLB will step into the future of strength and conditioning. Until then I am going to remain an MLB outcast and preach against this nonsense!

I have stated on this website that long toss is not as effective in developing velocity because it forces the thrower to use more of the arm to throw the ball a long distance like 300 feet. I also said that if you want to increase velocity you must develop throwing mechanics that use more big muscle groups, like the core and legs, rather than the small muscle groups, like the shoulders and arm. Once you have learned these “Total Body Mechanics,” like I talk about constantly on this site and have listed in detail in the Ace Pitcher Handbook, you will not only begin to throw harder but you will take more stress off of the arm which will allow you to throw longer.

Now for the research Mr. Jaeger!

I will use Dr. James Andrews and his studies on proper throwing mechanics at the American Sports Medicine Institute to support my claims above. You can read his case studies here http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/research/baseball.htm.

A quote from Dr. Andrews’ case study on “Interval Throwing Program” states:

“Throwing from flat ground produced a shorter stride and less shoulder external rotation at foot contact, more elbow varus torque during arm cocking, a more upright trunk at ball release……”

A quote from,  Dr. Andrews’ case study on “Shoulder Abduction and Lateral Trunk Tilt Influence the Peak Elbow Varus Torque During Pitching” states:

“The combination of 10 degrees of lateral trunk tilt and 100 degrees of shoulder abduction produced the minimum peak varus torque among all conditions in the study. Thus, the results of this simulation study clearly show that shoulder abduction angle and lateral trunk tilt have an affect on elbow varus torque and thus can be helpful in reducing stressful forces on the shoulder and elbow during pitching.”

A quote from Dr. Andrews’ case study on “Flat-Ground Throwing” states:

“Elbow varus torque was greatest during 180 ft’ throwing.”

You can read Dr. Andrews’ case study on “Biomechanics of Elbow Injuries During Throwing” to learn about Elbow Varus Torque here http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/research/usedarticles/elbow_injuries.htm

Based on these three studies performed by the most respective Doctor in the game of baseball, we learn that throwing long toss at only 180 ft, which was the farthest distance used in the study, causes more elbow varus torque because of the shorter stride and the lack of forward trunk tilt than pitching on a mound. Could you imagine the results of these case studies if they used 300 ft instead of 180 ft?

Mr. Jaeger, I am sure you have an answer for all of this and your Long Toss Program addresses these issues but there is a better way then using this “Old School” approach to “Arm Development.” I believe that better way is learning “Total body mechanics” by using normal throwing distances because we do not throw with just our arms. We also never throw the ball 300 feet in the game. If you want to develop more velocity and decrease injury, you must also work hard to develop fast twitch muscle fibers in the weight room using total body lifts, like the Olympic lifts, along with plyometric training and speed/agility work.

I warn all pitchers that perform a long toss program, that pushes the distances to 300 feet, you better make sure you have “total body mechanics” because if not, based on Dr. Andrews’ case studies above, you are putting extreme amounts of pressure on your elbow which could ruin your arm and end your career.

I am not the only pitching coach against long toss programs. Dick Mill’s has a similar opinion in this video.

When I speak of long toss, I mean throwing the ball more than 120 feet. This means throwing the ball farther than from home to second base. To make this easy to understand and for you to base your opinion, I will break long toss down into a list of pros and cons.

The Pros of Long Toss:

It is a max effort exercise which is pushing the body to generate more force to the ball. If performed with total body mechanics, this can train and help develop the total body. Long toss mainly trains the “Load position.”

The long distance toss increases the chance of error in locating the target. This is training accuracy for long distance.

The Cons of Long Toss:

It is a max effort throwing exercise which is putting a lot of stress on the arm. Especially the decelerator muscles. If a pitcher has poor mechanics and throws with more arm than body, then long toss can be very destructive to the pitcher. If you are looking for an overall total body training program I would suggest mixing Olympic lifting and plyometric training with a throwing program that does not over throw the arm.

It is training long distance accuracy which is a different release point than 60 feet pitching accuracy. If performing long toss, it is important to finish throwing  from at least 60-65 feet after throwing long, to re-establish your pitching release point.

The mechanical difference from long toss to pitching on the mound, is almost the same difference as playing home run derby as opposed to hitting off of a live pitcher. There is a mechanical adjustment from hitting slow pitches intended for home runs, to hitting hard pitches intended to strikeout the hitter. This adjustment is proof that throwing long toss to pitching has a placebo effect (A placebo is anything of no real benefit which nevertheless makes people feel better.) For example, hitting the home runs in a home run derby would build confidence, which then would effect how you perform against a live pitcher. Just like throwing the ball 350 feet would give you more confidence when you start throwing the ball at 60 feet. It is now a shorter distance and it requires less effort, so you feel a lot more powerful. This is because throwing the ball 350 feet gives a visual measurement of your strength. To help you understand this point I ask this question. Which way do you think it is easier to tell who is throwing harder? The difference between a pitcher throwing 85 mph to a pitcher throwing 90 mph, or the difference between a pitcher throwing 310 feet to a pitcher throwing 350 feet.

There is a difference in mechanics for a pitcher throwing at max effort from 70 feet away to 350 feet away. The difference is in the release point. A pitcher should always throw with the same release point because it is crucial for velocity and accuracy. Continuously changing release points from throwing long toss to pitching on a mound will effect a pitchers consistency. Therefore, the only reason to perform long toss is for the placebo effect. It is just like taking an over the counter supplement that says it will increase your muscle mass. It gets you all excited and pumped up, but this doesn’t mean it is actually working. If this feeling is all that matters to you, then keep playing long toss. Otherwise, if you feel the placebo effect is a waste of time and emotion, then I would suggest you train your pitching delivery the same ever day. Constantly making mechanical adjustments to increase your velocity on the mound, without putting a lot of throws on your arm. You will see more velocity gains from a total body training program than from a long toss program any day.