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.

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It feels like us online pitching guru’s are being let out of our caves into the new world when the main stream media starts to ring our bells. Reading this article I also wondered if Topvelocity.net is being plagiarized but who really cares. I am just glad that Major League Baseball (MLB) is growing up. The article quotes Rick Peterson, the founder of 3P Sports, who has worked with Dr. James Andrews for years on the bio mechanics of pitching. He is the first guy within the MLB to take a different approach to pitching than the conventional wisdom that hasn’t changed for decades. The article also quotes Dr. Glenn Fleisig who is the research director at the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) in Alabama, who with Dr. James Andrews, Tom House and the NPA have changed the way we look at pitching mechanics today. Greg Bishop uses Randy Johnson and Tim Lincecum as the inspiration for the article. They are polar opposites in the world of pitching bio mechanics but they are showing similar results in their careers. Conventional wisdom calls them “Freaks,” the new world of bio mechanics calls them efficient.  Greg Bishop has brought this phenomenon to the table and it is about time.

I find nothing new to the world of bio mechanics for pitching in this article but what I do learn is what will continue in the debate of pitching mechanics and that is, “we now know what causes top velocity but how do we develop the muscle memory to take advantage of this research?” ASMI research shows that shoulder to pelvis separation is one key factor in velocity, which the NPA has been talking about for years, but what we are not learning  is how to develop this muscle memory and apply it to our mechanics? The same is true about ASMI’s research that the more the back is tilted forward during ball release, that this is a key component to velocity but how do we develop this muscle memory? ASMI’s research also mentions the importance of the front knee straightening just before ball release as another key component to velocity but how do we develop this muscle memory?

It is becoming easier to find this valuable velocity information on the net but what we are not finding is how to actually develop the muscle memory to apply it to your own mechanics. At the Guerilla Baseball Academy I have been developing my own techniques to developing the muscle memory to performing these velocity tips as listed on this website, in the NY Times article and coming from the ASMI bio mechanics lab. I will have it all in a video very soon for you to stream online. Stay tuned but in the mean time study more about these velocity mechanics here at TopVelocity.net!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/sports/baseball/21pitchers.html

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Most of the articles on this site pertain to pure velocity but what is the value of Top Velocity when the pitcher can not locate his pitch? Zero is the answer. There is no value in Velocity that doesn’t end in a strike. I have witnessed many hard throwing pitchers or should I say throwers in my career who could not hit “the broad side of a barn.” These guys never made it anywhere because of this major problem of poor accuracy. The problem with coaching accuracy is that most pitching coaches over do it. They create pitchers who look like they should be throwing darts instead of fastballs. This is why I focus on velocity first and then I teach my pitchers how to control it.

I recommend that you read at least three articles on this site about velocity before continuing on with this article.

Pitch location is as important as velocity. For a pitcher to be successful on the mound he must disrupt the batters timing. There are many ways a pitcher can do this. Pitch speed, pitch movement and pitch location. I believe the two most effective is pitch speed and pitch location. If you can reach your top velocity and locate your pitches then you can make it into minor league ball with just a fastball and change up. I would recommend you use this stratgey in your own career because if you start throwing breaking balls and you have poor mechanics, it can be devastating to your arm. So why take the risk when you can be just as effective or even more effective with top velocity and good pitch location?

Before you can start hitting your spots with pin point accuracy you must understand how to control your pitches. Conventional wisdom would talk about the balance point and go on about it for hours. I will show you a different perspective.

Accuracy is controlling your momentum. To control your momentum you must be balanced but that should be second nature. The goal is to control your momentum without effecting it. This is where most pitchers fail. They try to control their momentum to a point that it slows it down. This is no good. This is why I teach top velocity until it becomes second nature and then I teach how to control that velocity.

The control comes from the front side. You must take aim with your front side as you begin to start your momentum to the target. This is important because once your hips start building momentum towards the target, you must do everything in your power to release every ounce of explosive energy from your body, while using that energy to fire certain muscle groups at specific times in your delivery. So once you lift your leg and kick that butt out to start your load to building momentum you must setup your front side for pitch location. To do this you must separate your hands and relax your throwing arm while closing off your glove hand. You must also slightly turn your lift leg foot inward to close off your hips. Notice the picture above of Jon Lester performing this setup. This is a similar moment in the delivery as a sprinter would perform just before taking off. The sprinter would setup his body for take off to control his launch and gives his body the best opportunity to reach his top velocity as quick as possible, which is the same thing we are trying to do as pitchers.

The reason for closing off the front side is because it makes it easier for our momentum to travel straight to the target. If the glove arm was to open early or the lift leg, then this would throw our weight off to the side and more than likely the pitch would follow. So staying closed is important because it keeps our momentum going straight to the target. Just like a sprinter wouldn’t want to start leaning to his left before he fired out of his stance.

Another important tip is to stay closed as long as possible because of the same reasons and also because it will help you build more torque in “Separation.” “Separation” is when your hips have opened to the target and your shoulders are still closed like the picture below. Building more torque means more velocity.

Do not forget that you must not effect your velocity when adjusting your mechanics for pitch location. To prevent this you must close your shoulders and hips off first and then the rest of the delivery you must keep them closed while hitting all the key components of velocity that I have described in detail on this site. This is a lot of coordination but remember not everyone has the ability to pitch in the top levels on the game.

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The major misconception of pitching, that continues to ruin arms, is the belief that velocity comes mainly from the arm. Stop thinking with your arm! This will cause so many problems mechanically and physically your career will eventually come to a halt. You need to beat it into your head everyday that your legs and core throw the ball and the arm follows and guides the pitch. When starting your delivery on the mound your first step should NOT be lift leg so I can break my hands and get my arm moving fast.  This is pitching with all your arm. This is only recruiting your arm to handle the workload of the pitch. You must learn to recruit from the major muscle groups in the legs and core, to handle the workload of the pitch. In return this will generate so much more velocity and save your arm from absorbing all of the stress.

Pitching from the bottom or ground up is visualizing your lift leg as a log you are about to role down the hill or mound. Pick it up, feel its weight, hold back your upper body and throw the log down the hill leading with your butt to the target. It is extremely important that you load your weight back while the front leg moves to the target. Notice the picture above of Gagne in this “Load” position. Notice his weight is back, his back leg is sitting and his lift leg is moving to the target. This is the essence of bottom up pitching. Now notice the young man in the picture to the right of Gagne. He is almost at the same moment in the delivery but he is in a different position. His weight is forward, his arm is up and his stride is short. The difference between the two pictures is, once Gagne’s foot lands he can then transfer all the weight that he is loading in the back leg into the pitch. The young man has no weight loaded and is forced to only whip his arm to generate any velocity. The young man is pitching from the top down and he will be one of Dr. Andrews next patience if he does not make the adjustment.

Another sign of pitching from the top down is driving your glove hand to the target. This will also throw your weight forward preventing the “Load.” If you are a pitcher who pitches from the top down then thank God you read this article. You know need to understand what you are doing to cause this and learn to pitch from the bottom up. If you can make this adjustment, you will not only save your career as a pitcher, but you will increase your velocity by about 10-15 mph.  The problem is this adjustment isn’t easy!  It will not happen over night or within the year. It is a long process of changing muscle memory that you developed when you were very young. This means you will need a coach or video analysis to make this adjustment. You will also need to understand how to finish your delivery from the “Load” position and most important you must work on this adjustment everyday.

Please do not let this article discourage you. You have been given a gift with this knowledge. Most pitchers in high school and even college do not understand this consciously or subconsciously. Therefore this will put you ahead of the game.

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Velocity is Speed! By saying, “I want to increase my velocity” is no different than saying,” I want to increase my 60 yard dash time” or “I want to increase my vertical jump.” If you want to throw harder you need to learn to move faster. Every professional ball player I have played with or had the opportunity to watch had some hidden explosive power within them. Every young athlete that comes into my Baseball Academy who wants to increase velocity shows potential but does not have the awareness and understanding to accelerate their bodies to levels of a professional ball player. If you spoke with any Major League Umpire about the difference between the game in the high school levels to the major league levels the first thing out of their mouth would be the speed of the game. If speed is such a big factor in the advanced levels of the game then why do most baseball players train like golfers? Why do they look like cross country runners? To answer these questions we need to first ask one more. Why does Major League Baseball spend more time recruiting in Latin countries than American States?

The reason is laziness and conventional wisdom. Latin countries play the game as we do but when Americans dream of playing Major League Baseball it means having the opportunity to play on TV and look like a super star. Latin ball players see the dream of playing Major League Baseball as the opportunity to save their families from oppression and poverty. This is a bigger fear factor for them than us Americans. Just read about the story of Aroldis Chapman from Cuba who risked his life to play Major League Baseball and left his entire family behind, including his new born child. This fear factor forces them to do whatever it takes to perform at an optimal level. This optimal level in any sport is a measurement of speed. If you do not have fear or an obsessive drive pushing you to reach your optimal level then how will you ever increase pitching velocity. It sure doesn’t come from a quick mechanical fix or the latest supplement. It comes from a deep desire way down in your soul to be an extra ordinary individual. Not someone who is satisfied with just playing video games all day or satisfied with just making the varsity team. It comes from a soldier of the game who is determined to be the best no matter the circumstances.

If you really want to increase pitching velocity you must find that desire I speak of and use that drive to push your levels to speeds of a professional athlete. If you can not find this drive within you then your chances of actually increasing pitching velocity are limited. Once you have accomplished this then learning good pitching mechanics will help prevent injury and will assist velocity through efficiency.

When you are ready, I recommend you sign up for the FREE Velocity Starter Kit and read these articles:

10 Legitimate tips to Pitching Velocity

Triple Extension – 3X Pitching

The Phenomenon of Speed Mechanics!

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What makes a BAD pitching Coach?

Someone who has no experience in playing the position at the top levels of the game, or someone who has no certified education of how to coach the position.

How can a BAD pitching Coach effect a pitcher?

Pitching takes a tremendous amount of muscle coordination. The body must naturally understand how to build maximum momentum and torque, to deliver an above average fastball to a specific location. It is a pitching Coaches job to guide the pitcher to reaching his athletic potential. This takes an expert understanding of the position and the athlete. If the pitching Coach is far from an expert then the chances of him being a guide to the pitchers athletic potential, is very poor. This could be detrimental to a young pitchers career because promoting bad mechanics, due to the lack of experience or education, will decrease velocity and cause injury. It happened to Me.

What are the signs of a BAD pitching Coach?

1) No experience in the top levels of the game.

2) No certified education in the world of pitching and athletic training.

3) A poor understanding of Physics Driven Pitching Mechanics.

4) A poor understanding of the physiology and psychology of his pitchers.

5) Over throwing his staff of pitchers.

6) Discouraging his pitchers from using a strength and conditioning program.

7) Forcing his pitchers to throw more breaking balls than fastballs.

8 ) Using Long Distance running to build endurance in his pitchers.

9) Excessive amounts of long toss.

10) A poor warm-up and dynamic stretching routine.

11) Not educating his pitchers on proper athletic nutrition and rehabilitation.

12) Not educating his pitchers on the mental game.

13) Uses a lot of poor conventional wisdom to coach his pitchers.

What are the signs of POOR conventional wisdom of pitching mechanics?

These are old techniques of pitching, that have been proven throw science, to decrease velocity or cause injury.

This would be Coaching the pitcher to:

1) Take the ball out of the glove and reach it to the sky.

2) Get into the T position. Glove hand to target and ball to center field.

3) Pull the glove hand in hard to your body, while pulling the throwing arm down to throw.

4) Kick the back leg up high after release. He may even use a chair for the pitcher to kick his leg over, after release, to force this bad pitching mechanic.

5) Keep your landing leg bent at release. Do not let it straighten!

6) Pull your head down hard during pitch.

7) Wipe your arm.

8 ) Slam your chest into your landing leg.

9) Move your arm faster.

10) Drive your glove hand to the target.

How to PLEASE a BAD Pitching Coach?

I will be the first to tell you that this isn’t easy. Due to the high percentage of BAD pitching Coaches in all levels of the game, ever pitcher will deal with a BAD pitching Coach a few times to many in their career. The best way to deal with a BAD pitching Coach, without him having an effect on your career, is not to avoid him but to please him. Here is some TIPS that will help.

1) Do whatever he says when he is looking and then do what you think is best when he isn’t looking.

2) Study the game, the position, physics driven mechanics and strength and conditioning. Become your Coach.

3) Do not let him catch you educating the other pitchers. Especially if he is a HOT HEAD.

4) Do not screw around when he is around you.

5) Do not talk bad about him to other players.

This is the MOST IMPORTANT TIP:

6) You must IMPROVE.

The hardest thing that any pitcher or athlete must learn, is that it is a rare case for you to find a Coach that will propel your career to the top levels of the game. This is because, they are just as concerned about their job, as you are about your job. So if you want to make it as a professional one day, you are going to have to knock down a lot of doors. You will always find support but the only person that is going to help you get their is yourself. I will leave you with this quote from Nolan Ryan.

“Pitching in the big leagues is a dream. Preparing to pitch in the big leagues is a nightmare.”

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Pitching can have the characteristics of both anaerobic and aerobic conditioning. The issue is conventional wisdom and has been training athletes like long distance runners for years. When I think of a top level pitcher, I see an athlete built more like a sprinter than a cross country runner. When we pitch we do push into aerobic exercise. The problem is this usually means we are pitching to fast and throwing to many pitches. This will effect velocity because after 8-10 seconds of performance without rest, the body uses oxygen to produce ATP. This involves the heart, lungs and blood vessels. This is a slower process and effects the amount of ATP levels in the muscles. This is why the longer we perform a lift in the weight room, the slower our contractions. This is the  same for pitching. The longer we pitch without rest, the slower our bodies are moving, which in return decreases velocity. This is why it is important to pace yourself in between pitches and condition your system to run more anaerobic.

If pitchers train their systems to run more anaerobic than aerobic then they will pitch more anaerobic than aerobic. This means pitching with controlled explosive strength as opposed to pitching more like a batting practice pitcher. To train more anaerobic, do not run long periods of time at a slow pace. This is developing slow twitch muscle fibers and training your system to be conditioned for aerobic performance. Instead perform short explosive sprints and rest a good 2-3 minutes between sprints. This will develop more fast twitch muscle fibers and your system will be conditioned for anaerobic performance.

Purchase the Ace Pitcher Handbook for an excellent anaerobic training program.

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Greg Maddux is a Pitcher who is 40+ years of age, who is not a hard thrower anymore but he can still hit 90 if he desires. Most people would credit his name in the game of baseball to one of the craftiest pitchers ever. I would credit his name to one of the most efficient mechanics to play the game. This is why he is pitching into his 40′s. What has saved his arm, is the fact that he puts less abuse on it than the average pitcher. How he does this is by building momentum and using that momentum to build maximum torque in all his rotational pivots . He also keeps his arm in the safe zone his entire delivery. It sounds simple, be it takes incredible muscle coordination. To understand this coordination, look at the picture above. Notice he is pinching his blades but even more important notice where his back shoulder is opposed to his front shoulder and head. His blades are pinch and his head and glove arm are in line with the target. This puts his throwing shoulder father back because of the shoulder rotation being more towards his back side than front side. This understanding of his mechanics here is a lot more effective than the conventional wisdom of putting your arms in the “T Position.”

If you want to save your arm while building more velocity like Greg Maddux, try implemeting these details into your mechanincs. Remember to focus on “Scap Loading” first, then work on rotating more towards your back side. To do this you must pinch your throwing shoulder blade hard. DO NOT adjust your glove hand to correct this rotation or put your throwing arm in the red zone. If you focus on the back side it will make it easier to Load and build more momentum while you stay closed. Use Greg Maddux as a great example.

I only recommend these adjustments if you have developed “Separation” in your shoulders to hips. If you haven’t, then you must work to achieve hip to shoulder separation. The best way to learn “Separation” is making this your main focus everytime you throw or pitch.

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