The problem with the traditional Long Toss was discovered in the latest case study performed by the famous ASMI which was backed by the famous Dr. Andrews. You can learn more about this study here. The final results proved that the traditional long toss, along with the popular extreme long toss, not only is destructive to your pitching mechanics but it puts a tremendous amount of stress in the elbow. The 3X Power Throws were developed to eliminate this stress in the elbow while also promoting the 3X pitching mechanics. The results have been revolutionary.

The Benefits of the 3X Power Throws

1. Increase your volume of throws, without abusing your arm.
2. Use distance to challenge your power production without effecting your mechanics.
3. Help maintain total body strength while in-season.

The Difference Between 3X Power Throws and Long Toss

Long Toss is an approach to conditioning the athlete using distance throws. The problem is most practices of Long Toss do not focus on pitching mechanics. This means the athlete is developing throwing mechanics that are different than pitching on the mound. This is the case because when Long Tossing the athlete usually starts with a light toss mainly only using the arm to throw the ball and then as the athlete increases the distance, he may close the shoulders more and develop more hip to shoulder separation. The problem is when the athlete starts to use a “Crow Hop,” or a run, or step into the throw. This will take the power production away from the drive leg during the delivery because momentum or power is being produced through the steps before the throwing delivery begins. This can force the athlete to wipe the arm around the body to power the throw or force the athlete to develop the power before the throw even begins, by using the traditional “Crow Hop.”

The 3X Power Throws start in a position that promotes optimal pitching mechanics and then builds the power demands on the entire body by increasing the distance without changing the mechanics. The distance used is based on the pitchers power production. Once he can no longer keep the ball on a line during the throw and/or he struggles to keep his pitching mechanics working together then this is his max distance. Just like weight training you must not sacrifice technique for weight. This means you must not sacrifice pitching mechanics for more distance when 3X Power Throwing.

 Why You Should Use the 3X Power Throw over Long Toss

3X Power Throwing is not only better for your arm than Long Tossing but it will help you take your off-season power gains and velocity gains on the mound while in-season. It will also help you keep your velocity and pitching mechanics more consistent through a long season. 3X Power Throwing is the upgrade to the “Old School” approach of Long Tossing. It is like using the bat technology of today as opposed to using the bat technology from 40 years ago. It is a no brain-er! The challenge is learning the 3X Mechanics behind 3X Power Throwing. To learn these mechanics it does require that you complete the off-season 3X Pitching Velocity program but you will discover that there is no better way to transform yourself into the dominate 3X Power Pitcher.

Important Notice: 3X Power Throws or the “Old School” Long toss should not be used in an off-season velocity development program. You do not want to use a high volume of throws off-season when trying to increase velocity. You must take stress off of your rotator cuff and elbow while in your off-season and focus on mechanics and power development during your off-season to effectively increase velocity and build a strong base before your season. To learn more about the ultimate off-season Velocity program check out the 3X Pitching Velocity program.

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!

3X Timing Factor

The component before 3X occurs is the “Load” position. This is when your lift leg is coming down and your squatting on your drive leg as your hips begin to build momentum towards the target. The speed of your lower body at this position is moving at a slow pace. You are mainly working to get everything in position for triple extension. Most pitchers who do not understand the timing of triple extension would try to triple extend quickly while still in the “Load” position. This would prevent good hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike and the pitcher would leap towards his front foot landing instead of hover. To prevent premature triple extension, you must wait for your hips to be as far away from the rubber as possible with you drive leg still bent and ready to fire and your lift leg is just about to land. Notice the photo of Joba Chamberlain in this position. Now that you know when to fire your drive leg into 3X you must now understand the speed of the movement.

Remember momentum must continue to accelerate to ball release. Therefore if you accelerate two early in your delivery it will cause you to decelerate before ball release. You want the climax of your speed to hit when the ball is launching out of your hand. As for the speed of triple extension, you must start your leg drive after the “Load” position at a slow pace to make sure your drive leg and hip are moving before your back shoulder. Once you feel the separation of back hip to back shoulder begin and your core is starting to tighten then this is when you explode into full triple extension. If you do not feel the separation of hips to shoulders before you triple extend then you could easily triple extend your drive leg and your back shoulder would move along with it killing your chance of creating optimal separation. So once you feel your core tightening then it is time to fire that drive leg and push your hips to your target. Notice in the video clip of Joba here he does not accelerate his lower half and triple extend until he is coming out of the load position and his lift leg is starting to open and land. You will notice that it looks like his knee is driving down into the ground. This is the effect of the extension of the drive leg as the body is moving down hill.

Another indicator that you created good core torque is if you can hear your drive foot dragging before your shoulders and chest start towards the target. This dragging sound should happen just as your chest is thrusting forward. Notice in the video clip of Joba that his shoulders begin following the hips towards the target just after his drive foot is dragging. Most young pitchers will see in video analysis that their drive foot drag happens after their shoulders commit towards the target.

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.

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.