The Problems with Changing your Arm Path

If you define the pitching delivery in the two phases as labeled here in this article called, How to Throw Hard and even Harder, you will learn that when the arm is starting to apply the force to the ball which happens after external rotation of the throwing arm, the arm path is moving in a straight line towards the target. This means that when conventional wisdom says you should have a short arm path in the beginning of the delivery and a long arm path at the end, this changing of the arm path actually has no effect on the velocity of the ball. What this is doing is making a mechanical change to your delivery which is the why your velocity is changing.

If you look in Professional Baseball you find all different styles of arm path and no relationship with velocity. This is because velocity is based around stride speed or power and the relationship between the rotational pivots which are the hips and shoulders. Being that the arm is connected to the shoulders, it does have some control of the shoulder pivot but ultimately the shoulders are in control. Based on the 3X Mechanics velocity is mainly influenced by the relationship of the hips to shoulders at front foot strike. The arm path can go almost anywhere it wants, as long as the shoulders are closed while the hips are open at front foot strike. You could pitch like Tim Lincecum and put the arm down behind your back during your stride, or like Zach Outman who looks like he is stretching his throwing arm while he is striding, either arm path will have an effect on velocity if their other mechanics do not change.

The lesson learned here is never focus on arm path, it does not control the legs, core or shoulders and it will more than likely have a negative effect on your pitching velocity. If you want to learn good mechanics to increase pitching velocity then stay away from conventional wisdom and learn to implement the 3X mechanics which you can see here in this pitching 101 video.

For example, I just read his last email because I am on his subscriber list which means I get an email a day. The email was titled, “Does strength training really increase velocity? This study provides the proof.” He goes on to fumble around and say,”Velocity comes mainly from the forces produced that allow the trunk to rotate and flex forward fast and powerfully…..Weight training will mostly waste valuable time.” I would like to ask DM, but he doesn’t allow commenting on his website, so you are saying that using weight training to increase your bodies ability to produce force or power, is a waste of time? What? DM, are you actually reading what you are writing? He continues on in the email to make a serious bogus claim.

DM writes, “Tell Tim Lincecum’s father that as Chris Lincecum was smart to stay away from a weight training program and focus instead of devoting his time to helping Tim build an explosive delivery that allowed Tim at 5’7″ 135 lbs to throw 92 mph.” DM, How do you think one builds an explosive delivery without training to be more explosive which involves some type of resistance training? The absurdity of all of this, which I have pointed out before, is that either DM is misleading us or he is really bad at researching his claims. For example, he said that Jim “The Rookie” Morris never lifted weights to increase his velocity but when I did an interview with Jim Morris and asked him this question, he immediately said he lifted a lot of weights. Once again DM makes another bogus claim here saying that Tim Lincecum’s father never used weight training to train his son but when I do a simple Google search I find two legitimate sources saying the opposite.

ESPN
“The mechanics Tim employs now are the same he used then … Chris (Lincecum) designed a weight-training program for Tim”
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3713221

JockBIO
When Tim entered Liberty High School in Renton, he stood just 4-11 and weighed all of 85 pounds. Incredibly flexible, the teeanger was much stronger than he appeared, thanks mostly to a weight training program devised by Chris. Tim could do a back flip from a standing start and walk across the room on his hands.
http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/T_Lincecum/T_Lincecum_bio.html

If that isn’t enough to make you wonder if DM has any clue of what he is talking about when it comes to weight training, let’s look more into his findings behind velocity. He finishes his email pointing to this study, that is very hard to find on the Internet, which is titled, An analysis of high-speed isokinetics and pitching. DM claims that this study is proof that weight training does not increase velocity. Only if DM had any experience or form of education when it comes to weight training I might actually want to listen to what he has to say but remember the last time DM played in a baseball game was 42 years ago when weight training was almost non-existent in sports. I wonder if athletes have gotten any better athletically in the past 42 years due to the infiltration of weight training into sports? I am being sarcastic!

Let’s look at this study. Here is an excerpt of the results taken from the study.

The importance of strength, power, and acceleration were investigated in baseball fastball pitching. The only variables that related to pitching were those associated with speed. Acceleration and power at the fastest movement speeds accounted for almost all fastball pitching variance (99%). Strength was not related to speed of movement and therefore, should not be a variable considered when training for speed.

This is exactly why weight training is critical for velocity because you can train power and pure speed in the weight room. Power is simply defined as the balance of pure speed and pure strength. This study is only saying that strength alone will not increase velocity but both strength and speed or power will. How in God’s name did DM determine that this study proves that weight training does not increase velocity? Maybe he has been researching this stuff with John Madden!

If you have been persuaded or brain washed by DM on weight training for the pitcher, I would advise that you educate yourself here with these legitimate case studies that prove the power of weight training to increase velocity. There is also countless articles on this site educating you on the importance of weight training for increasing velocity. I would love for DM to debate me here over this topic but I don’t see it happening because he obviously lacks the education around weight training and the athlete!

Characteristic ground-reaction forces in baseball pitching
This study validates the clinical impression that the lower extremity is an important contributor to the throwing motion. Based on this study, strengthening of the lower extremities could be inferred to be important both to enhance performance and to avoid injury.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9474404

Baseball Throwing Velocity: A Comparison of Medicine Ball Training and Weight Training
The results of this study suggest that the use of heavier loads has been more effective than the medicine ball training in increasing velocity
http://up.topvelocity.net/uploads/2011/03/baseball-throwing-weight-training.pdf

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.

I went to dinner with some of the pitchers, parents and a coach from this May 3X Pitching Velocity Camp and the consensus is that they want to learn more about triple extension pitching. Mainly, the parents were concerned that their boys were not truly understanding it after a full day of hardcore athletic conditioning. I then asked the question, “Do you mean they are not understanding it mentally or physically?” They said mentally and then I said, “The concept of 3X only really needs to be understood mentally by the coaches of 3X, not the players.” Of course it is great that 3X can be understood by the athlete but it is not necessary. 3X must be conditioned when it comes to the athlete. If triple extension is going to continue to make a name for itself in pitching and continue to benefit those who use it, it must be conditioned and not only just understood. This means if a coach is going to teach a pitcher the benefits of 3X, he must know how to use drills, exercises and lifts to train this key component.

A good rule of thumb is that athletes will always benefit more from muscle memory than cognitive memory. The reason for this is called Attention Mechanics. This is the study of reality. Not to get too deep into this philosophy but basically it has to do with how natural athletes play the game. Natural athletes play the game in reality. This means they are using muscle memory or the central nervous system to control their movements. The non “Natural” athlete moves in between muscle memory and cognitive memory. The problem is cognitive memory is outside of reality. Here is an example: if you are driving a car and you want to make a right turn. You would subconsciously take the right turn when it becomes available. To do this you are using programmed muscle memory. You would not tell yourself, “OK, John, now grab the steering wheel with both hands at 12 and 3 o’clock and pull down with your right hand when the right car bumper is 3 feet from the right hand curb.” This would be using cognitive memory and it would more than likely cause an accident. If you are going to become a natural athlete then you must condition yourself to move in an explosive manner with only your central nervous system. This means if you do not do this already, then you need to condition yourself to do so and the ability to cognitively understand the mechanics to do this, is not as important has using the drills, exercise and lifts to develop the muscle memory.

All this means is that once you believe that the 3X Pitching Velocity Program is the best program for you then you must commit yourself to it and get started. If you are wasting your time trying to cognitively justify the effectiveness of the program then there isn’t enough time in your career to find the answers you are looking for. Basically your career is passing you by while you are contemplating your success. This is why most “Natural” athletes have a strong faith in a higher power or themselves. They know they do not have enough time to figure this stuff out, so they are relying on their morals and rolling the dice. This takes either a strong intuition, a strong faith or some gigantic BALLS! The key word here is COMMITMENT! You will never know the outcome without knowing the commitment. So stop wasting your time trying to find the perfect program that is going to make you the greatest athlete ever and pick the one that makes sense and start kicking some ass because baseball doesn’t get easier, you just learn to work harder!

To understand how to implement this into your pitching delivery we must first define these terms.

Force Production

“Generally, nerves stimulate muscles causing the fibers to contract with tension placed on their adjoining connective tissues. Since muscle contractions create the forces necessary to overcome resistance, the nerves represent the control center, whereas the connective tissues transfer the forces to the skeletal system. Ultimately, it is the ability of the muscle to generate forces that determines whether it will perform a movement effectively.” www.nsca-lift.org

Triple Extension

The force production generated through the extension of the ankle, knee and hip flexor is the most effective and efficient way to move the body. The extension of these three joints is call triple extension.

What does it take to increase force production through triple extension?

First, you must train your muscles to generate more force. Even better is to train through triple extension. This would include heavy load training using Plyometrics and the Olympic lifts, like the cleans. The reason for the heavy load training is because this has been proven the most effective way to develop more explosive power from your muscles. Heavy load training forces the body to recruit more fast twitch muscle fibers and also will develop more motor units to fire those muscle fibers more frequently.

Second, you must make mechanical adjustments to take advantage of this increased force production. This is because there is two different ways to move through force production. One way is a vertical movement, like a jump and the other way is a linear movement, like in a stride or sprint. In pitching we move with a linear stride and that stride is also moving down hill.  Because we are moving in a linear movement, instead of a vertical movement, we must set what is called our force vector, with our center of gravity, before the launch. The 3X Pitching Velocity Program goes into this more but the basics of this mechanical adjustment is that you must line up your drive leg ankle and knee with your front hip, and these all should be pointing towards the target. Once this occurs, then the force production of triple extension will drive the body in a linear movement towards the target. If this does not all line up, then triple extension will not occur and force production is limited.

The 3X Pitching Velocity Program produces results because it trains you to generate more force production both physically and mechanically like describe in this article. You must have both to effectively increase velocity. The 3X Pitching Velocity Program goes into full detail on how to train 3X and force production and also has many drills teaching you how to do this.

This is the second velocity quick tip of the velocity quick tip series.

This quick tip covers the “Tilt” and how it is a key component to pitchers like Tim Lincecum’s total body mechanics. This tip will help support good hip to shoulder separation. It uses gravity to build more core torque at front foot strike. It is important though that you maintain balance when implementing the “Tilt” into your delivery.

Here is the article I wrote on Tim Lincecum and the Tilt to learn more about the effects of this key component of velocity.

These tips all are covered in depth in the Ace Pitcher Handbook and the 3X Velocity Camp Instruction Videos. If you are looking for velocity drills to help you become more total body in your pitching mechanics then you must consider purchasing this information.

If you have any questions please post your comments below.

The question of which pitcher throws the hardest has been one of the most hotly debated questions in all of sports. For the first time, we now have the missing data required to allow us finally reveal the fastest pitchers ever recorded.

FFE=50 foot equivalent
Today’s MLB standard uses pitch speed measured at 50 feet from home plate.

(*) Last updated as of: 11/5/2009 – We are combing through the 2007 season records for any addons to this list and will update the list, if needed.

Tim Lincecum Note

Despite reported 101 mph pitches, the highest recorded pitch speed we have during the 2008 and 2009 seasons for Tim Lincecum is 99.3 mph for the 2008 season on 4/24/2008, and 96.8 mph for the 2009 season on 6/29/2009.

2009 Season Fastest Pitchers 100+ (qty 100+ for year)

16 pitchers threw 100+ mph in 2009.

• 102.7 (138),Joel Zumaya (Tigers), 6/30/2009, Oakland Coliseum
• 102.6 (39), Jonathan Broxton (Dodgers), 7/3/2009, PETCO Park
• 102.2 (16), Brian Wilson (Giants), 9/5/2009, Miller Park
• 101.3 (12), Daniel Bard (Red Sox), 7/30/2009, Fenway Park
• 101.1 (14), Neftali Feliz (rangers), 8/7/2009, Angel Stadium Anaheim
• 101.0 (15), Justin Verlander (Tigers), 9/19/2009, Metrodome

10 other pitchers threw 100+ but less than 101 mph. Bobby Parnell 100.9 (3), Henry Rodriguez 100.6 (11), Ubaldo Jimenez 100.6 (14), Juan Morillo 100.3 (1), Matt Lindstrom 100.2 (1), Merkin Valdez 100.2 (1), Kyle Farnsworth 100.2 (4), Fernando Rodney 100.1 (1), Kevin Jepsen 100.0 (1), and Mark Lowe 100.0 (1).

In the 2009 World Series, no 100+ mph pitches were thrown – Joba Chamberlain was fastest at 97.1 on 11/1/2009. In the 2009 postseason, 3 100+ mph pitches were thrown – Jonathan Broxton 101.3 (2), Daniel Bard 100.6 (3), and Ubaldo Jimenez 100.0 (4).

2008 Season Fastest Pitchers 100+ (qty 100+ for year)

10 pitchers threw 100+ mph in 2008.

• 101.0 (12), Jonathan Broxton (Dodgers), 8/21/2008, Dodger Stadium
• 101.0 (9), Matt Lindstrom (Marlins), 7/10/2008, Dodger Stadium
• 101.0 (32), Joel Zumaya (Tigers), 6/20/2008, PETCO Park

7 other pitchers threw 100+ but less than 101 mph. Ervin Santana (2), Ubaldo Jimenez (3), Fernando Rodney (1), Brian Wilson (1), Joba Chamberlain (1), Juan Morillo (3).

In the 2008 World Series, no 100+ mph pitches were thrown.

Speed Mechanics:

Speed Mechanics is the act of accelerating the body, through the delivery, to produce more speed or velocity.

The reason I do not call it Velocity Mechanics is because when we think of Velocity, we think of throwing and when we think of throwing, we think of rotational forces. Speed Mechanics makes us think of momentum which is the point of the term.

To better understand Speed Mechanics you must understand momentum. The definition of Momentum, by Google, is the product of a body’s mass and its velocity. It is essential that to generate more speed or velocity you must continue accelerating your bodies momentum. This is where most young pitchers fail. Check your own delivery to see if your bodies momentum is accelerating. The most important time to check for acceleration is after your front foot lands. This is when low velocity pitchers slow down their bodies momentum and rotational forces take over. If both momentum and rotational torque do not meet at this point and continue increasing force to the ball, then velocity suffers.

Notice in the animated sequence of Tim Lincecum that when his front foot lands his head stays up above his shoulders and his momentum transfers from his legs into his chest. You can tell his bodies momentum is continuing to accelerate because his weight is still moving forward after front foot strike. There are no forces rotating down or across his body at this point. We can also tell his weight is moving forward because when he releases the pitch his back leg is flying forward over his head. This doesn’t mean after you release the ball to kick your leg over your head. This would be like using your hands to spin the wheels faster to speed up the car, just hit the gas and use the engine. Your engine when pitching is the muscles in your legs.

I originally brought the term Triple Extension from the Olympic lifting world into the pitching world to explain the mechanics of pitchers legs. Triple extension is the extension of the ankle joint, knee joint and hip flexor. This is anytime we push off of the ground. Like when we pitch or sprint. The reason for the picture above of Tim Lincecum and Jeremy Wariner, the USA Olympic sprinter, is to help illustrate Speed Mechanics. If it is the act of accelerating your bodies momentum to increase your speed or velocity, then this means as pitchers we should move like sprinters. Consider your stride as no different than a sprinters stride when he is up and running for the finish line. Both the pitcher and the sprinter are using the same tools to produce a similar outcome. The only difference is the pitcher is transferring his bodies speed into the ball. This is why after the pitcher’s stride he stops and the ball continues but after a sprinters stride, he continues and strides again. So just like the sprinter, if a pitcher wants to accelerate his bodies momentum to increase his speed, he must triple extend his back leg harder and faster.

The negative behind Speed Mechanics is that it is an advanced level of pitching and trying to learn this as a beginner could cause serious problems to your delivery. This is not for young pitchers or even older pitchers, it is for experienced pitchers who have been sitting at a plateau on their pitch velocity for a few years.  The reason for this is because learning Speed Mechanics before learning momentum transfer and hip to shoulder separation, is like learning how to pull the trigger on a double barreled shotgun before being taught how to hold and aim it. This means your delivery will be a train wreck if you do not learn momentum transfer before Speed Mechanics. So if you are still learning how to transfer your momentum into the ball efficiently and effectively then bookmark this article and come back to it later. It might not be valuable to you now but when you are ready for it, learning Speed Mechanics may give you those few miles per hour to get you over the 90mph mark. In the meantime, you should always train to develop more explosive power in your body.

To a scientist this is a “Duh” moment, but to most pitching coaches this is a “What?” moment.

There are not many pitching coaches who would agree with you if you switched the word velocity with speed when talking about pitching mechanics. This is because most of them do not have science degrees or are certified strength and conditioning specialist. Most of them would correlate speed with running and not throwing but in the world of science there isn’t much difference between the two.

To make my point more clear, who do you think moves faster in their sport and position, a marathon runner or a pitcher?

If you said marathon runner then welcome to TopVelocity.net. You need to download the Velocity Starter kit. If you said pitcher then I assume you have at least a beginners understanding of velocity. To make my point crystal clear, I will ask another question. If I was able to mimic Tim Lincecum of the Giants pitching mechanics perfectly, like a talented impressionist, and threw a pitch just like him but at a snails pace; would I throw as hard as him? The answer is No! I hope you just had a “Duh” moment. The answer is NO because velocity equals speed not perfect mechanics. Perfect mechanics is efficiency which supports speed by providing more focus energy to the ball.

Most everyone who plays baseball understands that to throw the ball faster we must move what is throwing the ball faster. The problem is conventional wisdom would say that this only happens with the arm and the strength and conditioning world would say you will get better results learning to move your entire body as a single unit faster. This is a “Duh” moment for me and I hope for you as well because once you learn how moving your entire body faster is so much more effective than just the arm, you will never go back to using just your arm. Not only does firing your muscles as fast as possible, through the kinetic chain of your skeletal structure, help with generating more velocity but it also distributes stress evenly through your muscular system, which prevents injury. The hard part is learning how to perform these mechanics perfectly and continuously. You can start by learning to impersonate efficient and explosive pitchers like Tim Lincecum and then using a fast twitch muscle fiber focuses strength and conditioning program like the “Fusion System” in the Ace Pitcher Handbook , to improve your speed.

Tim has an “Over the top” release point and Randy has a “Sidearm” release point. I am not saying that every pitcher should throw the ball with a higher release point the shorter they are because there are benefits with all arm angles. What I am saying is a higher release point, using total body mechanics, will generate more core torque and in return increase velocity.

Now why would a higher release point generate more velocity?

This is because of the tilting of the body over the landing leg to allow the arm to extend up over the head at release. This tilting, shown in the pictures of Tim Lincecum in this article, works with gravity to add more weight to the back shoulder at the component of “Separation,” as listed in the Ace Pitcher Handbook, and also illustrated perfectly in the picture of Tim above. Just a small amount of extra weight applied to the back shoulder at “Separation” and “Triple Extension” of the back leg, will create optimal core torque. It is like someone pulling your shoulders back after your back leg drives and just before your shoulders fire to the target. Notice in the picture of Randy Johnson, his weight is balanced over his entire body more than Tim’s, therefore Randy’s core torque is minimal. Another indication that Randy does not have optimal core torque is in his back foot and hip. They are both facing first base in comparison to Tim’s, who is facing home plate. This is because Randy’s weight is leaning more towards first base, which is pushing his hips back towards third base, instead of giving them the freedom to fire with his back leg, open to the target, like in the picture of Tim above.

At this point in the article please DO NOT run outside and start pitching with your head hanging way over your landing leg side because the head is not the focus of the “Tilt.” The key factor in creating the “Tilt” is the position of the chest. The chest must be centered and balanced perfectly over the landing leg and as the arm begins to extend out and up to release the ball, the chest must position itself farther away from the release point to balance this position. This is why Tim’s head moves more to his glove side the closer he gets to his release point. This is where balance is critical because anything more to the right or left initially, is too much and will effect velocity and accuracy.

Another benefit of the “Tilt,” is it helps prevent a shoulder impingement because the glove shoulder will adduct lower and the throwing shoulder will abduct higher at release, removing pressure created by the acromion impinging the rotator cuff.