3X Timing Factor

The component before 3X occurs is the “Load” position. This is when your lift leg is coming down and your squatting on your drive leg as your hips begin to build momentum towards the target. The speed of your lower body at this position is moving at a slow pace. You are mainly working to get everything in position for triple extension. Most pitchers who do not understand the timing of triple extension would try to triple extend quickly while still in the “Load” position. This would prevent good hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike and the pitcher would leap towards his front foot landing instead of hover. To prevent premature triple extension, you must wait for your hips to be as far away from the rubber as possible with you drive leg still bent and ready to fire and your lift leg is just about to land. Notice the photo of Joba Chamberlain in this position. Now that you know when to fire your drive leg into 3X you must now understand the speed of the movement.

Remember momentum must continue to accelerate to ball release. Therefore if you accelerate two early in your delivery it will cause you to decelerate before ball release. You want the climax of your speed to hit when the ball is launching out of your hand. As for the speed of triple extension, you must start your leg drive after the “Load” position at a slow pace to make sure your drive leg and hip are moving before your back shoulder. Once you feel the separation of back hip to back shoulder begin and your core is starting to tighten then this is when you explode into full triple extension. If you do not feel the separation of hips to shoulders before you triple extend then you could easily triple extend your drive leg and your back shoulder would move along with it killing your chance of creating optimal separation. So once you feel your core tightening then it is time to fire that drive leg and push your hips to your target. Notice in the video clip of Joba here he does not accelerate his lower half and triple extend until he is coming out of the load position and his lift leg is starting to open and land. You will notice that it looks like his knee is driving down into the ground. This is the effect of the extension of the drive leg as the body is moving down hill.

Another indicator that you created good core torque is if you can hear your drive foot dragging before your shoulders and chest start towards the target. This dragging sound should happen just as your chest is thrusting forward. Notice in the video clip of Joba that his shoulders begin following the hips towards the target just after his drive foot is dragging. Most young pitchers will see in video analysis that their drive foot drag happens after their shoulders commit towards the target.

Related articles:

• “Triple Extension” creates optimal “Separation.”
• The Pitching Windup or Stretch
• Pitching Velocity Drills – The Sled

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.

Related articles:

• What is Momentum Pitching?
• The Split Perspective of Separation
• The Hip Slide to Pitching Velocity

Dr. James Andrews at ASMI put together a study of low velocity pitchers to high velocity pitchers to determine the difference in pitching mechanics. It was a good feeling after reading this study because the same information coming from Dr. Andrews is the same information Top Velocity has been preaching for years. It proves why I overcame a rotator cuff tear and was able to reach 94 mph on my fastball post surgery.

What these high velocity pitchers where doing different was transferring more momentum to the ball faster and more efficiently than the low velocity pitchers. There was four significant differences and these differences did not start until front foot strike. This means it doesn’t matter how you build momentum but you must build as much momentum as you can, then when your front foot lands your front leg must stabilize and continue to extend back into the hips before ball release. This front knee extension mainly occurred with the high velocity group of pitchers. The next major component of high velocity came with maximum external rotation of the arm when the trunk was tilted all the way over the front foot due to the excessive amounts of momentum generated into front foot strike. The study states that the reason for this maximum external rotation is because

“Greater shoulder external rotation causes a stretch of the internal rotators allowing energy to be stored in these muscles, and creating greater internal rotation during the arm acceleration phase.”

This leads into the next and most important component of the study. This component is by far a major component of not only velocity but arm health and pitch location. The study finishes with describing the importance of early elbow extension and internal rotation once the arm begins its launch to the target. I can’t stress the importance of this component enough. I have to admit that Top Velocity has not focused enough on this component and doesn’t have it in the Ace Pitcher Handbook. This will be added soon!

Early elbow extension and internal rotation is even more important when throwing a football. This is because to throw a good spiral you must have early elbow extension and early internal rotation to spiral the ball to your target. I recommend using a football in your warm ups to help improve on this component. The key to getting early elbow extension and internal rotation is keeping the arm relaxed the entire pitching delivery. The main focus of the arm is to be in position to receive the transfer of momentum and to transfer that momentum quickly and almost effortlessly. The only part of the arm doing work is the forearm. It is holding onto the ball with the finger tips. This is what controls pitch movement and location.

To learn more about this study please read the reference article here:
Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity Pitch Deliveries

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This question can stir up a big argument but there is only one answer. The arm does not generate the velocity. It only guides the pitch. Therefore the arm must follow the body and does not come into play until the body has done its job.

I have been in many arguments about this issue. I have listened to coaches tell their pitchers that if they want to throw harder they need to speed up their arms. My question is how will speeding up your arm increase your velocity? This doesn’t make much sense because if you arm leads your body, it must leave the body behind. If you leave the body behind then it is up to the small muscles of the arm to take the entire workload of generating 90+ mph.

I think to prove my answer to the question above we must once again look at the little pitchers in the game. This is because these guys must work a lot harder to generate 90+ mph. I go once again to my favorite little man Tim Lincecum; 5’7 165 lbs. Notice the picture here of him at front foot strike. Now, where is his arm? It is hiding behind his body. YES, all you coaches out there who are coaching your pitchers to speed up there arms, it is behind his body. This means his body is driving the pitch. This means his body is generating the velocity. This means the arm is along for the ride.

The coaches who will argue my point here are the coaches who use giant pitchers like Randy Johnson as their example of pitchers who have a lot of arm action. This is true but these pitchers have more leverage on the ball than the average man. If you are 6’8 like Randy Johnson then congratulations you are in a small percentage of baseball players but if you are 6’2 and under take it easy on your arm and learn to work your body as a single unit in your delivery. When you work on generating velocity, work on pulling it from your legs and core and not your arm.

I recommend using medicine balls as often as you can. I have many throwing drills with these balls that force the pitcher to use every muscle they have to make the throw. This is how we must pitch if we want to throw and withstand 90+ mph.

The Ace Pitcher Handbook has a full medicine ball workout.

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The best way to achieve separation is with your hips. You must understand that there is a delay from your hips to shoulders. This means your hips start first and your shoulders hold and when your hips stop, your shoulders commit. Just like the picture above, you must see the component “Separation” as a split perspective. Your lower half and then your upper half. Your lower half works first, then your upper half follows. Most young pitchers do this in reverse. This will cause arm problems and poor velocity. This happens because if the upper half starts first then the lower half is left behind and has no opportunity to be used.

I recommend you take a picture of yourself during the point of “Separation” and cover up first the upper half of your body in the picture. You want to see your hips completely open to the target like the picture above. Then cover your lower body and you want to see your shoulders in line with the target like the picture above. If you do not see good separation then you need to work on getting your hips moving faster while delaying your shoulders until just before front foot strike.

Notice the picture here of Mariano Riviera. The greatest closer in the game. His hips have started his delivery and are driving towards the plate while his shoulders stay back.  His arms are relaxed and waiting for his hips and legs to reach full stride, before the shoulders are ready to fire. The shoulders must fire after the back leg has triple extended and the back hip has completely committed to the target. This is the point of Separation.

This split perspective is essential to developing good separation. You must see this as a split second delay in your lower half to upper half and the hips leading the process. This is a challenge to learn and perform well but this component alone is what separates average pitching from above average pitching. Combining good “Separation” with a total body Olympic style strength and conditioning program, equals a Top level Pitcher.

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• “Triple Extension” creates optimal “Separation.”
• TopVelocity.net and the Lincecum revolution
• The Hip Slide to Pitching Velocity

Most coaches do not coach “Separation” because it is a challenge. The only way to coach this component and to perform this component correctly you must focus on the “Hip Slide.” What I mean by “Hip Slide” is that your hips should be seen as a slide or car and when you first lift your leg to start your delivery, the slide must start down the mound. Everything else on your body must stay back while the slide is heading down the hill. Therefore the faster you can get your slide down the hill while holding everything else back, the faster your velocity. It is also just as important to velocity if the slide comes to a complete stop at front foot strike. The hips/slide must stop, so the momentum it generated, is transfered up the core, into the shoulders, into the arm and finally the ball. The reason you must focus on the hips to develop “Separation,” is because if the hips move faster than the shoulders, you will create good “Separation” naturally.

Driving your slide down the hill as fast as possible and slamming the slide into your front leg to completely stop its momentum, is your best opportunity to generate your potential top velocity. It is also just as important the distance the slide covers before it is stopped by the front foot strike. This distance is called your stride. A good stride is at least your body length. A good stride means that you had more time to generate momentum before front foot strike.

When your slide is building momentum down the mound while you are holding everything else back, which is called “Loading,” this will increase your stride length. The best way to perform this is by “Loading” hard on your back side until your back knee starts to straighten out. Once it begins to straighten, you must triple extend your back leg, to add that last push to your slide which will build more momentum and increase your stride. Read my article “Lift for Show, Load for Doe” to learn more about the “Load.”

Related articles:

• What is Momentum Pitching?
• Pitching Velocity Drills – The Sled
• The Pitching Windup or Stretch

“Loading” is when the pitcher holds his weight back over his back leg, while his front side continues building momentum towards the target. This is why strong legs and core, produce powerful pitching. Look at Eric Gagne in this picture. He is squatting on his back leg, waiting for the perfect time to fire his hips and then his shoulders.

A component of velocity is produced when torque is generated in the two rotational pivots. The rotation of the hips, to the rotation of the shoulders. Tim Lincecum calls this the “Rubber Band.” Think of your core as the “Rubber Band.” Rotating the shoulder and hip pivot separate from each other would tighten the “Rubber Band.” This sounds a lot easier than it actually is to perform. This is why a small amount of athletes can throw a baseball over 90 mph.

The importance of the “Load” is that it holds the weight back until the first pivot, the hips, are ready to build maximum torque. Triple extension in the back leg drives the momentum into front foot strike, forcing the hips to pivot. Then “Separation,” or “Scap Loading” must occur to build torque in the core. There is that word again “Loading”. Notice the pitcher here in this position. His hip rotation is now complete. It has built maximum torque. You can see this in the tightening of his “Rubber Band.” Notice his shirt is stretching like a rubber band would. Now, all that is left to do, is to fire the last pivot, the shoulders forward and then stabilize. Stabilization allows the momentum generated from the body to transfer to the ball.

If the pitcher didn’t “Load” his weight back, as his front side continued to build momentum and set the first pivot of the hips, then top velocity could never be achieved. It would also put more stress on the rotator cuff, because the torque would build more in the shoulders than the core.

The “Load” is also just as important for hitters to develop power. Notice this picture of A-Rod in the “Load” position. The difference is hitters are more compact because they have to defend the strike zone. Therefore, a hitter cannot have a long stride like a pitcher. This brings up another good point. A good stride is considered to be the length of your body height. The “Load” position also increases your stride. So when you here a Coach yell out that you need to stride out more, then you will understand that this means you are not “Loading.” The importance of the “Stride” is that it moves you closer to the plate, shortening the distance the ball must travel, which increases velocity and a good “Stride” gives you more time to build momentum.

In conclusion, a good “Load” position is more valuable for a pitcher than a high lift leg. It generates as much or more momentum but is critical in generating optimal hip to shoulder separation. Here is a gallery of more pitchers in the “Load” position. View gallery here.

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