How the Brain Works During Game Time

Before we go into these 3X Pitching mechanics triggers let’s take a look at how our brain works best during game time. During game time the brain is overwhelmed with responsibility from keeping track of the count to holding runners on base. Overloading the brain with a ton of mechanic positions and adjustments can be detrimental to a pitchers performance. The key is to keep the amount of information the brain has to process to a minimum. This is why a good pre-game routine to help reduce this stress is so important. This article does not cover a full pre-game routine but it will support it with some key 3X Pitching mechanics triggers to simplify the process of keeping the pitchers mechanics on target during the game.

These 4 triggers listed below should be used within your inner dialog during game time. This means these are commands for your inner voice before every pitch. If you do not have an inner voice then just say these 3X pitching triggers out loud. Don’t worry, you will not be the first pitcher who likes to talk to himself!

4 Key 3X Pitching Triggers for Game Time

1. Knee to Hip – This is a great place to start. This simple trigger should tell your body to move your drive leg knee forward during your leg lift until it is in a linear position with your front hip. This will help you hit the perfect “Load” position with these simple words.
2. Accelerate – This will immediately follow the first trigger and it should tell your body to start moving and work to hit your peak speed before front foot strike. This will support triple extension before front foot strike along with building optimal stride power.
3. Separate – This will follow the previous trigger and notice that these last three triggers rhythm which makes it easy to say them quickly because you will also be moving through these triggers and mechanics very quickly. When you say separate, you are telling your body at front foot strike to feel your hips slam open, as it separates your hips from shoulders, building optimal core torque.
4. Pronate – Moving into this trigger from the last skips some important components, the reason we skip them is because they happen so quickly that you will not be able to influence them during game time as easily as the 4 triggers here. If you can focus on separation into pronation, then there is a good chance that you have implemented the components in between correctly and are reaching your top velocity. I believe good pronation of the throwing arm at release will only occur if you have good external rotation and forward trunk tilt which are the critical components that occur between this trigger and the last one.

If these 4 3X Pitching Triggers for game time do not work for you then make sure that you keep your triggers simple. The goal here is to help your body mechanically at game time without overloading itself with too much information for it to process under stress.

All of these 3X Pitching Triggers come from the 3X Pitching Velocity program. It is a requirement to have completed this program before these trigger will work for you. I would bet you your money back that if you complete the 16 week 3X Pitching Velocity program that these pitching triggers will be the key to your success this season. Best of luck!

The reality is, not until you get to professional baseball will ball movement start to become an important factor and at this level you will actually have coaches who will coach this with pitch grips. I really believe that changing mechanics to enhance ball movement is not a healthy approach for a pitcher. A great example was John Smoltz, at the end of his career the Atlanta, Braves made him a closer and also dropped his arm angle to a side arm position, so he could get a more natural run on the ball. This was effective at first, then he was put on the DL with bone spurs in his elbow. I believe he cut his career short when he made this mechanical adjustment for ball movement.

In my career, I never met a scout at any level who said all they are looking for is a pitcher who can throw strikes and has natural run on the ball. During my last recruiting visit, for one of the pitchers I have been working with, the first thing the coach asked was, how hard does he throw. He then told us that he wasn’t interested in anyone that was mid 80′s or less. We were expecting this and this pitcher did well and was offered a great scholarship because of his velocity.

The Road to Pitching Velocity

The best road that a young pitcher can take, in his career, is the road towards his top velocity. This means your main focus your entire career is to develop and maintain a high velocity fastball. Ever other pitch should work to complement the fastball. If a young pitcher will take this road and never go off path, his chances of making it to the top level, is a lot greater. For example, I was watching an MLB game this past season and the announcer pulled some stats on Bartolo Colon. He said that Colon averages 85% fastballs each game. Here is a veteran pitcher in Major League Baseball, he has made it to the top level and he is still throwing fastballs 85% of the time. So if you are a young pitcher playing high school baseball and you are throwing 45% or 65% fastballs then what are the chances you will be a Bartolo Colon or a hard thrower one day? Not good! Oh, by the way, the MLB only drafts hard throwers!

If you decide to go down the road to pitching velocity then you must make time for an off-season. You need an off-season to start a velocity program like the 3X Pitching Velocity program, if you want to increase velocity. Trying to use an off-season program to increase velocity in-season will have little effect. This is why increasing velocity can be such a big challenge, you not only have to work hard through the program but you also have to make at least a 16 week commitment, 5 days a week, 2-3 hours a day. So stop going from in-season to in-season and take the time to develop a high velocity fastball in the off-season.

Location, Location, Location

Before you even start thinking about movement, after you have established a good fastball, you  must master pitch location first. This means learn to place your dominate fastball on the corners of the plate. Your fastball can work as an off-speed pitch just by moving it inside and outside of the strike-zone. An inside fastball on the hands of a batter adds 5 mph in perceived velocity to the hitters eye. An outside fastball is just the opposite. This means just throwing the ball inside and outside to the hitter, will throw his timing off and you haven’t even changed your pitch. If you can master painting the corners with your dominate fastball then you could possibly take this strategy all the way to pro ball. Just imagine what scouts will think when they have a kid throwing upper 80′s or low 90′s and all he needs is his fastball to dominate the game. This is a major plus for all scouts!

Now comes the Movement

You don’t have to throw “Side Arm” or “Submarine” to have ball movement. Greg Maddux was the master at ball movement and he did it with an almost over the top release point. The key to his ball movement was pitch grips. Once you have established your fastball and you are throwing it 85% of the time or more, inside and outside, then now you can start to work with ball movement. This doesn’t mean everyone must have the same arm slot. I believe your bone and muscular structure will establish your natural arm slot. All it means is your ball movement must come from your pitch grips. Pitch grips should be a simple process of finger placement and wrist release point. The rest is up to you to spend the time working with the feeling of the pitch, until you can get some good movement out of it.

I highly recommend that you do not spend much time at all with ball movement, until you are heading way done the road to pitching velocity. If you are a young pitcher and you are getting hit around a lot in travel ball or high school baseball then make time for an off-season and develop a fastball.

Roger was in high school and Nolan Ryan was his favorite pitcher. He always wanted to see his rocket arm up close and personally, so one day he got a ticket to watch him pitch in Houston for the Astros. He showed up early to the game so he could watch him throw his bull pen. Roger went over to the pen and waited for Nolan to up show up. He was expecting to see this long explosive arm rocketing the ball to the catcher. What he noticed immediately when Nolan started to throw was the size and power of his legs. He could not believe that he had not notice the essences of Nolan Ryan’s power, which was his legs. This convinced Roger that if he was going to have a rocket arm like Nolan, then he too would have to develop big and powerful legs.

Unfortunately, it took surgery for me to have this epiphany. I had to completely tear my rotator cuff to realize that the arm isn’t enough. The legs are so much bigger and more powerful than the arm. The key is training them to be more explosive and then developing the motor coordination to use this power when throwing a baseball.

Most hard throwers use their incredible leg power to convert to the velocity of the ball. When I say power, I am referring to speed and strength. It isn’t enough to just be strong or to just be fast, you must be able to use them both, at the same time, which I call explosive strength. If you know how to build explosive strength, through your legs during your stride correctly, then this can be converted to rotational forces through physics and not through voluntary rotational movements. This would be the same as using a transmission to convert combustible power into the rotation of the tires.

If you want to learn more on how to use your leg power to through harder then you need to start learning about Triple Extension or 3X. This is a component of hard throwers that was discovered here at TopVelocity.net and along with separation is the main key to reaching your top velocity. I highly recommend you read through this site to learn more about 3X and you also sign up for the FREE Velocity Secrets ebook at the top right corner of this page.

There currently is a gimmick that supposedly helps the pitcher to get into this position but the problem with these gimmicks is if you cannot pitch with this device in a game, what use does it have for the pitcher? If the pitcher can not put himself into this power drive position without the device then it is a total waste of money. I have never worked with the device, so this is not a review.

The 3X Pitching Velocity Program trains the pitcher through drills to achieve this Power Drive Position. I will cover some of these components here that are in full detail in the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

The Pitchers Power Drive Components

1. Lift and Lead – Lift your lift leg as you lead with your hips. You want to start your momentum towards your front foot as quickly as possible while closing off your hips with your lift leg.
2. Align your Force Vector with your Front Hip – Your force vector is your ankle to knee. This must get in line with your front hip as soon as possible. You can make this happen by driving your shin into the ground as you push your hips towards the target.
3. Power Pads Force Production – You want your drive leg foot completely flush against the rubber with your weight sitting on your power pads. This is the area from the ball of the foot towards the arc. This is where you want to start applying force as you align your force vector with your front hip and as you move into triple extension. This is where you use ground reaction forces to generate your power.

This is definitely not an approach to pitching from the conventional wisdom of the game. Critiques of this approach would say that this goes against the old school “Balance Position.” Those who think this way do not have a physiological understanding of explosive movements. Lifting the leg and pausing to establish “Balance,” does not support an explosive movement by definition. To the explosive athlete “Balance” is the athletes ability to control the momentum of the body and direct it towards the goal. This balance is most important during the stride when power is generated and at front foot strike when power is converted to torque.

Great examples of pitchers who put themselves into a Power Drive Position would be all hard throwers. My favorite example is Trevor Bauer, Tim Lincecum, Aroldis Chapman, Felix Hernandez, Nolan Ryan, etc.

Learn the Pitchers Power Drive

To learn more about all of these power pitching components read more articles here or purchase the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

I learned quickly when I was at my first MLB tryout Camp at 16, the scout actually told us we had 6 pitches to hit 90 or we where going home early. Let’s just say I went home really early that day but it was an eye opening experience. I learned a lot about the cynicism of professional baseball. When I found myself at my next MLB tryout Camp I was now prepared for the day. I will never forget though my 3rd MLB tryout Camp. I was like 22 at the time, which makes you feel old at these tryouts and I had made friends with another guy who was my age as well. When we started warming up for the bull pens, he started bragging about his curveball to me. I just listened and then I started bragging about my fastball. I made the commit that today we better feel 90 or we will be heading home early! He looked at me and said that he doesn’t throw hard but he has that great curveball he was talking about. I then asked him if he was serious, if he realized what he was setting himself up for! I learned quickly that he had no clue. He was just like me at my first tryout. I told him the reality of these tryouts. He said I can’t break 82, so I have to show them my curverball. I said look pal, if you go up there and throw anything but a hard fastball, you are better off just turning right around and heading home. I told him if you do not hit 90 in your first few pitches, you are done. He stood strong and said that isn’t what he had to offer as a pitcher. I then wished him good luck! He stepped on the mound and throw his first pitch, it was a curveball and the scout dropped the gun and asked him what the hell was he doing. My friend told him that he was throwing his best pitch. The scout said, you better throw that thing straight and hard if you want to be around in the afternoon. This means he would have made the first cut and then played in the afternoon, with all the other guys who made the first cut. 6 pitches later the scout was asking him to leave.

It was my turn now and I was ready. I had been through 3 of these camps before and I knew what I needed to do. I threw my first pitch as hard as I possibly could and then I did it again. In 2 pitches I hit 91 and 92, and the scout told me to shut it down and get ready for the afternoon. I had finally made it and all because I knew what they were looking for, which was velocity. Velocity is king and I was playing the game. This is why ever person who finds this site must purchase the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. It will train you to pump gas and lead you to the 90mph club. Then you can walk into an MLB tryout Camp with confidence that you are going to turn some heads, like I did! The day that you hear a scout tell you that you are 90+ and you are coming back for the afternoon, you will do a back flip.

I do have to say that I have never used the “Speed Chains,” so I am not talking from experience. If someone would like to send me one for a complete review, I would be glad to do it. I feel that my opinion would not change much but I could be wrong. What I find to be the major concern with using the “Speed Chains” as an alternative to a complete training program, is that these exercises do not incorporate the lower kinetic chain as effectively as the upper kinetic chain. This creates muscle memory that works against total body mechanics like the 3X Pitching Velocity Mechanics. These mechanics start with ground reaction forces and then converts that power or energy into torque and then the velocity of the pitch. Based on this understanding these “Speed Chains” are not training the central nervous system to function in a ground up explosive manner. I believe that those who have purchased this gimmick, if they had a complete understand of 3X Pitching Velocity Mechanics before purchasing, would have found very little use for this product.

Those in defense of this product would probably say that it trains speed better than other training exercise because how the chains increase resistance during the explosive movement, but most case studies on velocity specificity state that heavy load training at high or low speeds are more effective because of the intent to move quickly than actually moving quickly. This is a highly debated subject and I welcome those who would like to debate it but I argue on the side of heavy load training. I believe you must first train your motor skills with quick sport specific movements but then you must finish training explosive power through heavy loads. Putting quick upper kinetic chain movements with increased low load resistance is not the better alternative. This is why I do not believe “Speed Chains” help baseball pitchers as effectively as a complete training program.

If you do not understand what I mean by the stride and throwing phase of the delivery, then let me tell you what I am talking about. Pitching mechanics can best be broken down into two phases. Yes, there are many different components or parts to pitching but it is easier to take a bigger perspective of pitching by dividing the entire delivery into two sections or phases.

The Stride Phase

The stride phase of the pitching delivery starts with the leg lift and ends with the landing of the lift leg or also described as front foot strike. This is the phase of the delivery where the arm is not active. The only responsibility of the arm is to get into the cocked position at front foot strike. The cocked position is when the arm is at shoulder height, behind the head, in line with the closed shoulders. If you notice in the animation of Chapman in the stride phase here his lower kinetic chain is involved in all of the activity. The 3X Pitching eBook goes into detail of what is occurring during this phase. This detail describes how power is generated through triple extension or 3X. You will find that very few pitching coaches will teach this phase of the delivery. Most velocity is first generated in this phase of the delivery. I recommend purchasing 3X Pitching to learn this secret to real velocity.

The Throwing Phase

This is the phase of the delivery, after front foot strike, when the arm is responsible for throwing the ball. Most pitching coaches only coach this phase of the delivery. This phase involves the rotation of the shoulders and the release of the pitch. This phase occurs only during the last few tenths of a second in the delivery. At this point power has already been generated in the lower kinetic chain and is now transferring to the upper kinetic chain into the ball.This power is transferred through triple flexion which is also described in detail in the 3X Pitching eBook that you can purchase at the bottom of the page here.

If you want to learn how to throw hard then you must learn how to use the stride phase of the pitching delivery to generate more power. The American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) has proven that all low velocity pitchers do not use the stride phase as effectively as high velocity pitchers. Here is an excerpt from the ASMI case study a Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity Pitch Deliveries which talks about this difference.

Another finding of interest is that early in the pitching motion, the two groups (High Velocity Group and a Low Velocity Group) were dissimilar in the timing of their movements, while their later movement timing was much more similar. This implies that early trunk and torso movements are more varied among pitchers than late arm movements. Read study here…

The study is suggesting that early trunk and torso movements, which is occurring during the stride phase, was more varied among the groups than during the late arm movements of the throwing phase. This means hard throwers spend more time in the stride phase than low velocity pitchers. This is the secret to throwing hard. If you want the secret to throwing even harder then it is called the Ace Pitcher Handbook. The Ace Pitcher Handbook holds the Fusion System which is a training program that trains power through triple extension. Triple extension is the reason hard throwers like Aroldis Chapman has a 7.5 foot stride length and his fast twitch muscle fiber is the reason he can move through that stride faster than pitchers with shorter strides than him. It is not enough to understand that triple extension is the key to building power in the stride phase, you must have a strength and conditioning program that can condition you to remodel more fast twitch muscle fiber so you can move through triple extension like the elite athletes/pitchers. If you are serious about gaining velocity then there is no better place than this site. So get started TODAY, because those other sites out there are not worth the time!

Offspeed Pitches:

• Curveball
• Slurveball
• Circle Change
• Forkball
• Knuckleball
• Gyroball
• The “Volken”

I am not saying that these pitches are junk or a waste of time, because many great pitchers have used them. What I am saying is this is always last resort. Especially when you are young. You should expect your velocity to improve all the way into your 20′s. If you have plateaued, then you need a velocity enhancement program like 3X Pitching and the Ace Pitcher Handbook before you need to learn another pitch. Also learning these offspeed pitches have proven to decrease velocity, because if not thrown correctly,  it can add more wear and tear to the arm and it also can change your mechanics. I have seen in my career guys loss a few miles per hour because they fell in love with a Forkball, or a Curveball. I am not saying this is the case for everyone but it is the case for most young pitchers.

My philosophy is, you should take a fastball change-up, or fastball cutter or slider combo, as far into your career as you can, before you add a third pitch. Those who have average to below average velocity in your current level, should use the fastball change-up combo. Those of you who have above average velocity at your level of play, should use the fastball cutter or slider combo. This is because when you throw hard, you should stay hard, and when you throw slow, you should change your speeds more often. The reason hard throwers will do better with staying hard, is because a lot of hard throwers make the mistake of going soft when the hitter is still trying to catch up with their velocity. Therefore going soft with a change-up would put the timing of the pitch with the timing of the hitters swing, even if there is a good difference in velocity. This is a very common mistake among young pitchers. I don’t know how many times I have seen, with a young pitcher, when he has just thrown two hard fastballs past a hitter and then he comes with a change-up, which is now timed perfectly with the hitters swing. This is why you need a hard cutter, or slider, to finish the hitter off. Stay hard and let it break just a bit, or just stay hard and get it off the plate inside or out.

The other problem with pitchers who opt for ball movement, when their velocity isn’t fooling hitters, is those who decide to change arm angles. I would say the same about this approach as the more pitches approach. Use this option late in your career, not early, because if you use it early, it could set you up for failure at a young age.

The drill below should be performed 2 – 3 days a week, for at least 3 – 4 months. The drill should also be performed after completing the “Flexibility Training” portion of the Fusion System which can be found in the Ace Pitcher Handbook. You can also find more drills in the handbook. Try to push each drill to muscle fatigue, if possible.What you will need to perform the drill is your glove and some resistance tubing. All of these products can be purchased at the Velocity Store.

The purpose of this drill is to enforce the “Separation” position. To perform this drill you need a resistance band or tubing. Connect the band to a fence or have someone hold the band behind you.

Instructions:

Start in the “Separation” position, with the band held with your throwing arm. Arm some what relaxed and close to your body. Your glove hand is turned over and you are looking down your elbow. Both your feet are facing the target which opens your hips. Finally make sure your back shoulder is all the way behind you to help build more torque in your core.

When ready, turn over and tuck your glove hand and then push your belly and chest to your front knee, allowing the band to pull your arm back behind your head. Make sure your hips are positioned under your chest. You are now in the “Pull.” Perform pic #2 from the previous drill before continuing down to pic #3 on this drill.

Continue to stabilize your landing leg, knee, hip and chest while driving your chest out over your front foot. Once your chest has hit the wall, finish the pitch with your fingers on top of the ball and your hand 6 inches in front of foot. Make sure your elbow pulls through just above your throwing shoulder.

* Remember after creating torque in your core and your shoulders have opened to the target, velocity is based on how fast you can transfer your weight to your release point. So perform this drill with explosive power.

Purchase the Ace Pitcher Handbook for more drills and to learn the 6 Components of Pitching.

The drill below should be performed 2 – 3 days a week, for at least 3 – 4 months. The drill should also be performed after completing the “Flexibility Training” portion of the Fusion System which can be found in the Ace Pitcher Handbook. You can also find more drills in the handbook. Try to push each drill to muscle fatigue, if possible.What you will need to perform the drill is your glove and some resistance tubing. All of these products can be purchased at the Velocity Store.

The purpose of this drill is to enforce the “Chest Thrust” position. To perform this drill you need a resistance band or tubing. Connect the band to a fence or have someone hold the band behind you.

Instructions:

Start in the “Chest Thrust” position, with the band held with your throwing arm resting behind you. Your chest is up and your hips are under your chest. Both of your feet facing the target in a full stride.

When ready, drive your chest out over your front foot while continuing to relax your arm. All of your weight is now on your front foot.

Once your chest hits the wall, extend your elbow above your head and out in front of your body, finishing the pitch. DO NOT ALLOW YOUR FRONT KNEE TO MOVE.

* The goal of this drill is to shift your weight as fast as possible while relaxing your arm. Velocity is based on how fast you can shift your weight and then transfer that into the ball. This is why it is important to stabilize the front leg and not let it bend.

Purchase the Ace Pitcher Handbook for more drills and to learn the 6 Components of Pitching.