A Major Pitching Velocity Headache

November 24, 2011

A Major Pitching Velocity HeadacheThere is a major body part that can cause a major headache with pitching velocity. Most pitchers are completely unaware of this body part because it is the body part where awareness comes from. If you haven’t discovered it yet then it is the head. The head weighs between 8-12 pounds depending on how big the pitcher is. This means throwing the head around during the pitching delivery can be detrimental to pitching velocity. To help understand the positioning of the head through the entire delivery I am going to define where the head must be through the entire 3X mechanics. Read more

The Sweet Spot to More Pitching Velocity

November 8, 2011

The Sweet Spot to More Pitching VelocityJust like hitters work to find the “Sweet Spot” of the bat when they want to crush the ball into the gap or out of the park, hard throwing pitchers work to also hit their “Sweet Spot” when they want to increase stride power and blow the ball by a hitter. A Pitcher’s “Sweet Spot” occurs in the drive leg when they have built optimal flexion moving forward from their leg lift into triple extension. This position in the 3X Mechanics is called the “Load” position. This is the position where the pitcher is loaded and ready to launch, to build stride power. Read more

The Major Misconception of Pitching

January 30, 2009

pitching_typesPitching is a very complex sequence of movements that involve building torque and force to generate velocity. So many things happening during a blink of the eye within the pitching delivery. What is even harder than pitching, is explaining this stuff. This is why every coach has his own interpretation. This is also why science wins over conventional wisdom. If you can prove it scientifically then conventional wisdom is forced to listen. If you eliminated ever coach in baseball who could not explain pitching scientifically you would have about 2% of them left to coach the position. This is why so many misconceptions plague baseball today, especially pitching. Read more

Bigger, Stronger, Faster!

November 26, 2008

It is almost December, so this is your last chance for athletic improvement before the season begins. For all those college pitchers and ball players getting ready for the 2009 season, don’t be that guy who walks into spring with the Thanksgiving, Christmas belly. I am not saying, “Do not eat this holiday” but I am saying, “Do not sit on your ass!” You may think Coaches have their lineup and starters set pre-season but the truth of the matter is, this can change if someone drags their, out of shape butt, into spring training.

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Weight for it!

October 20, 2008

Momentum transfer is a key component of velocity. There are many different ways to transfer momentum. You could transfer the momentum slowly over a certain period of time, randomly over a certain period of time or in the case of generating efficient and explosive velocity, you must transfer momentum as quickly as possible during your pitching delivery.

Notice pitcher’s like John Smoltz here, he has a delivery that looks effortless. This is because the explosiveness of his delivery comes at a point in time that is so fast it fools the human eye. Think of a golfer like Tiger Woods. When he swings the club back, if you blink your eyes he has already hit the ball and is following through. The same is with pitchers like John Smoltz. He throws in the upper 90′s but it sure doesn’t look like he does.

The question is, “How does this happen?” What these pitchers are doing, as they start to build momentum, is hold all of their weight back waiting for the last possible second to transfer the momentum as quick as they can. The best way for you to get a good understanding of this is with video. I hope this helps. Read more