Before I start off, I know many of you do not pitch, let alone play baseball.
However, I am going to be talking about some basic pitching mechanics and how to go deep into games without causing any injury. Many say that pitchers only throw the ball and that’s it, the easiest position. Well it takes more than just that, and here are steps on how to excel and be better than the typical stereotype.
Step 1: Condition your arm; When being a pitcher, it is always important to have a healthy arm. Usually a pitcher will between 85-105 pitches and that’s a lot. The only way to throw that many is to throw at least 3 times a week because the more you throw, the more muscle memory it develops. This is why when you see big league pitchers, they stay consistent with their velocity and arm strength whether it’s the first pitch or 90th pitch.
Step 2: Run; As a pitcher, it is very important to have strong legs. Pitchers need strong legs because they need to push off the rubber to get more movement towards the plate and get more rotation through their hips. The stronger the legs, the more they can push off to get more velocity and the more to support the pitcher’s arm and prevent injury to the arm.The reason running can prevent injury is because when running, especially after throwing, it sweats out the pain in your body and it will loosen up the muscles and you will never worry about tightness or discomfort. Another, benefit when running is not only increasing leg strength, but increasing the stamina. The more stamina, the deeper of games pitchers can go in the games without struggling to stay focused.
Step 3: Location and movement; When having movement and can hit your spots, as a pitcher, you are unbeatable. If there is anything that hitters cannot stand, it is the fact that they cannot make good contact off you because they are swinging and missing, do not like the pitch location, or simply make weak contact. However, as a pitcher, all you can do is have a fun and see if you can make him look more foolish.
Step 4: Mixing in pitches; If a pitcher has fastball command and can locate his fastball, now it’s time to start mixing in curveballs, sliders, changeups, etc. When mixing up pitches, you allow yourself, to be unpredictable. What is even better about pitch sequences is if you know how much movement your ball is moving, control it to throw it for a strike or start it at a strike and move it out of the strike-zone for a swing and a miss.
Step 5: Know the situation; When I mean by “know the situation”, I mean let things and ideas come to you at the last minute. For example, if someone is on first base and is dancing side-to-side, just stare at them and do not a make a pitch. The only one who
However, I am going to be talking about some basic pitching mechanics and how to go deep into games without causing any injury. Many say that pitchers only throw the ball and that’s it, the easiest position. Well it takes more than just that, and here are steps on how to excel and be better than the typical stereotype.
Step 1: Condition your arm; When being a pitcher, it is always important to have a healthy arm. Usually a pitcher will between 85-105 pitches and that’s a lot. The only way to throw that many is to throw at least 3 times a week because the more you throw, the more muscle memory it develops. This is why when you see big league pitchers, they stay consistent with their velocity and arm strength whether it’s the first pitch or 90th pitch.
Step 2: Run; As a pitcher, it is very important to have strong legs. Pitchers need strong legs because they need to push off the rubber to get more movement towards the plate and get more rotation through their hips. The stronger the legs, the more they can push off to get more velocity and the more to support the pitcher’s arm and prevent injury to the arm.The reason running can prevent injury is because when running, especially after throwing, it sweats out the pain in your body and it will loosen up the muscles and you will never worry about tightness or discomfort. Another, benefit when running is not only increasing leg strength, but increasing the stamina. The more stamina, the deeper of games pitchers can go in the games without struggling to stay focused.
Step 3: Location and movement; When having movement and can hit your spots, as a pitcher, you are unbeatable. If there is anything that hitters cannot stand, it is the fact that they cannot make good contact off you because they are swinging and missing, do not like the pitch location, or simply make weak contact. However, as a pitcher, all you can do is have a fun and see if you can make him look more foolish.
Step 4: Mixing in pitches; If a pitcher has fastball command and can locate his fastball, now it’s time to start mixing in curveballs, sliders, changeups, etc. When mixing up pitches, you allow yourself, to be unpredictable. What is even better about pitch sequences is if you know how much movement your ball is moving, control it to throw it for a strike or start it at a strike and move it out of the strike-zone for a swing and a miss.
Step 5: Know the situation; When I mean by “know the situation”, I mean let things and ideas come to you at the last minute. For example, if someone is on first base and is dancing side-to-side, just stare at them and do not a make a pitch. The only one who
controls the game is the pitcher. Another way to keep the runner close to first is to keep
looking at him the entire time and at the last minute, deliver the pitch to not mess with
the runner’s mind, but the batter’s as well. This actually helps boost your team’s morality
because if you can keep the batter and runner limited, it gives the opposing team
negative thoughts and low morality, which gives you the advantage. If a pitcher sees a
weakness in the other team, he will take advantage of it and give his team the edge.
Step 6: Mechanics; When it comes to pitching, mechanics is a serious thing to have. It
is not throwing a ball as hard as you can to your catcher and hope the batter does not
make contact. The thing to generate velocity is timing separation, pushing off with your
legs, bringing your chest to your glove, gripping the baseball with your thumb down and
have a 90 degree grip, and having good shoulder-hip separation. These mechanics are
not here to be fancy. They are here to create velocity, location, and to prevent injury in
the long run.
Step 7: Confidence; This is the most important step. Without having or showing confidence, you will lose every time. If you throw every pitch with conviction, who will never be beaten. It also shows that you are never going to take the loss and it only shows that you are a competitor and the opposition is going to need to work hard if they want to be successful against you.
With all these steps, you will not be a guy on the mound, but a competitor who is not afraid to face anyone or any challenge.
Step 7: Confidence; This is the most important step. Without having or showing confidence, you will lose every time. If you throw every pitch with conviction, who will never be beaten. It also shows that you are never going to take the loss and it only shows that you are a competitor and the opposition is going to need to work hard if they want to be successful against you.
With all these steps, you will not be a guy on the mound, but a competitor who is not afraid to face anyone or any challenge.
16 comments:
Great job on your piece as you do a good job in describing everything to the t. Throughout your piece it reminds me of how much you've been motivated since the first day I met you good job man and keep up the hard work.
Wow I never thought much about the pitcher and how they are important to the game. I use to over extend my arm when pitching I order to make the ball go faster and that would just hurt me. Thank you for showing the steps on how to pitch without an injury
-Alyssa Cosby
Very informative and entertaining piece. Although I never plan on pitching a ball, I have a new found appreciation of the effort and technique that pitchers have to make a game successfull and entertaining. Although there are a few mechanics issues, this is a well-written article about how to pitch without hurting yourself.
The way you take care to show every detail nescessary to stay safe as a pitcher really shows how much you care for baseball. I’m more of a soccer guy myself, but as someone involved in sports I’m aware of the importance of safety, making this piece very beneficial to any authentic athlete.
This was a very well written informative piece. It gives amazing insight on the importance of pitchers training. It shows a whole other perspective on how pitchers are looked down on because it “looks like an easy position.” I applaud you for that, these are very thorough directions, very well done!
This blog was super informative about pitchers and how they contribute to baseball. I enjoy watching baseball and this really put a different perspective on the game. Great job on your "How To" blog.
-Samantha Ehrlich Period 1
Wow, Erick thanks for all the different information and detail. I've been playing baseball for years and still never knew how much importance there really was to the different factors of pitching. Even though I don't pitch anymore, I can still use many of these techniques and skills to help me be better in my baseball career.
-Austyn Coleman
Period 1
Great piece! I really like how you included all of the different aspects that a pitcher must go through in order to pitch that many times without throwing out their arm. Pitchers are very important to the game of baseball and I know this piece will change the perspective of many.
Erick you did a great job with this tutorial.Even though i don't really pitch anymore i still believe that this tutorial can help out other position players, especially outfielders like myself. This tutorial is super beneficial and will help some pitchers with their game and also show the world how important pitchers are to the game of baseball. Great job!
Thanks for making this I always manage to throw my arm out and end up hurting myself for a few days. Also goes to show how it can be seen as an art through body language. Every pitcher is unique but even pros have to follow basic physics and anatomy to get the most out of it. You made it detailed yet interesting so once again thanks.
I enjoyed how detailed this tutorial was! Hopefully this helps many baseball players become better as a pitcher! I've seen too many pitchers thrown out there arm for over using or simply not pitching correctly.
Stephanie Valdovinos
The sharp detail and accurate information tie together a topic that might’ve ben boring to some. Instead, your description of the technique that pitchers should use was quite entertaining and informative.
Even though i have never played baseball, this was a very in depth tutorial on how pitching and the technical mechanics of pitching in a game of baseball.
Wow! I love watching baseball and certainly appreciate the topic. I enjoyed how your introduction invited all audiences. Its a very conversational style, yet you also sounds so well informed with all the statistics throughout this piece. Overall, a superbly written instructional passage that has appeal to both a niche and broad audience.
This is super easy to understand and very informative! Not knowing much about baseball, and specifically pitchers, I learned a lot about how the basics mechanics work. It's quite interesting when I think about how many different aspects are involved in pitching, and how lots of people don't recognize the amount of effort each throw requires.
Thank you for the to-the-point post. I'm sure this will enlighten a lot of baseball players out there. Pitching can be really taxing on the shoulder, and over time can give you lots of joint issues. Hopefully someone learns from this and avoids any future complications. Thank you!
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