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Pitching Velocity and the First Move

There is no better way to increase pitching velocity than with a simple adjustment in your first move. Your first move begins with your leg lift. There are some major misconceptions with the purpose of your leg lift that need to be addressed before we can make the simple pitching velocity first move adjustments.

Let’s first get some footage of your pitching. Shoot some video of a few pitches of you pitching so we can analyze your first move in increasing pitching velocity. Make sure that this footage is shooting from a side perspective, chest facing the camera like Trevor Bauer here. Once you get your footage onto a computer, you then need to find a video player that will give you the ability to move frame by frame, so we can analyze each frame. Read more

Jump Farther Throw Harder

The conventional response to the statement, Jump Farther Throw Harder, would be that just because you can jump high, doesn’t mean you can throw hard. The conventional pitching coach might say, if this is true then why couldn’t Michael Jordan throw 95 mph when he played baseball? The conventional response would be the same if I said Lift Heavier Throw harder or Run Faster Throw Harder. The conventional pitching coach would say if this was the case, then why can’t Olympic lifters, body builders, Olympic sprinters throw hard? The answer to this is motor coordination. Read more

Arm Path and Pitching Velocity

Conventional wisdom would say the path that the arm takes during the delivery is significant to velocity. If you look at Newton’s Second Law of Motion you will find that the path has nothing to do with the velocity of the ball. Acceleration or the velocity of the ball is determined by the force applied, divided by its mass. We know that the path does not change the mass or the force applied, so conventional wisdom would be wrong in coaching the arm path as having an effect on velocity. Read more

Weight Training Improves Flexibility for Pitchers

A recent study has proven that weight training can improve flexibility as well as – or perhaps better than – typical static stretching regimens. This study was released at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 57^th Annual Meeting on June 4, 2010. The study was labeled: STRENGTH TRAINING IMPROVES FLEXIBILITY, TOO – Preliminary research shows no advantage for stretching. You can read the full report here and this is the description of the report along with the results below. Read more

Proper Pronation Prevents Pitching Pain and Injury

Pitching pain and injury, along with most elbow problems come from overuse and poor mechanics. If we narrow it down to elbow pain then proper pronation is usually the determining factor. Proper pronation of the arm at release is when the thumb finishes down. Notice here in the picture of me in my last minor league season. Improper pronation at release can be the result of poor mechanics and aggressive off speed pitches.

For proper pronation to occur in the throwing arm at release the pitcher must extend the arm to release. The improper release of the throwing arm which would prevent proper pronation would be to pull the arm down to release. I find this to be a major misconception in the conventional wisdom of the game. Physics proves that during the velocity phase of the throwing arm, the pivot or elbow, must remain stationary until after release. This means the elbow must extend to release to prevent the elbow from moving down during the throw. This not only supports velocity but protects the elbow from resisting high amounts of deceleration forces. Extending the elbow to release also protects the rotator cuff during the deceleration of the arm. This will allow more of the back muscles to get involved during the deceleration phase. Read more