Who cares if his career is doomed, I mean don’t get me wrong, I don’t see it but who really cares. He has made a major impact on this game. How many young pitchers out there were inspired by this little Giant? How many young pitchers copied his delivery and benefited from the results? How many young pitchers, who wanted to give up because they thought they couldn’t do it because of their size, pushed even harder when they saw Lincecum dominating in the MLB? Tim Lincecum has changed the game and it has been for the better!

The Lincecum Trap or should we say Gift!

Here is a list of factors he has changed in this game of pitching.

1. Size isn’t the determining factor!
2. There is more to velocity than just the arm!
3. Physics is almost as powerful as genetics!
4. You can pitch from little league to the MLB!
5. Asian in your blood means you could be a really good pitcher!

I am a big fan of Lincecum but I am more of a fan of 3X Pitching. 3X Pitching is an approach to pitching that is present in pitchers like Tim Lincecum, Aroldis Chapman, Felix Hernandez, Nolan Ryan, Trevor Bauer and many more. I feel it is important in your own career to not harp on just one pitcher. We can learn from all of them. My new favorite is Trevor Bauer. He is even more explosive than Lincecum coming off the mound but Lincecum is a little more limber. My other favorite is Chapman who is currently on the DL and that doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is when they end up on the DL with a major injury like Strausburg. This is when we need to look at him mechanically and see what went wrong. He obviously was doing some things right and some things wrong. I believe pitch count is a determining factor with all of these guys. This is why I do not believe in throwing programs that make you throw tons of throws with the baseball. This is why the 3X Pitching Velocity Program uses light medicine ball throws to simulate the pitching delivery without putting the throws on the arm.

What we can learn from all this mess is that pitchers will come and go but good pitching mechanics will never change. Not one pitcher posses these mechanics. It is built around physics and classic physics is forever.

What you need to do first in your young career is focus one becoming an exceptional athlete. Scouts are looking for players who are talented athletes with little wear and tear. This is true with any recruiters out there. They do not want damaged goods. So the less time spent on the mound, at a young age, and the more time spent improving your athletic performance, the better. Play every position if possible and if you get to varsity baseball in high school and you want to just focus on pitching, then I would so, “OK, Do it!”

This doesn’t mean you should NOT practice pitching mechanics before high school. Start learning proper pitching mechanics as young as possible because proper pitching mechanics mean proper throwing mechanics. Proper throwing mechanics also produce proper hitting mechanics. This is because a Coach who knows how to train proper mechanics, understands how to train the athlete and not just a pitcher or hitter. This is also why I encourage young athletes to play as many sports as possible, without them overlapping. This is because, once again, we must train the athlete and not just one specific talent.

To prove this, just look at Professional sports. Pro sports are full of multi-sport athletes. Greg Maddux is a great golfer, along with John Smoltz, Roger Clemens, Ken Griffy Jr. Cal Ripken loved to play a lot of basketball in the off season. Tom Glavine was drafted in the NHL back in 1984. Michael Jordan retired from basketball to play minor league baseball. Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan, to name a few, played at the same time for the MLB and the NFL . The list goes on and on.

So, stop trying to fit yourself in the perfect mold of a pitcher at 14. Focus on your competitive edge and learn everything you can about the sport and all the positions. I always tell my pitchers, “Train the athlete first and then you can train the pitcher.”