What Pitch Would You Throw Here?

Here's the pitching situation: a right handed pitcher is facing a right handed hitter. On the first pitch, the hitter pulls a fastball down the third base line almost knocking over the third base coach in the coach's box.

As the pitcher in this scenario, what pitch would you throw next?

Here's what I'd do in this situation:

If a right-handed hitter pulls my first pitch fastball foul down the left side of the field, it tells me he's likely cheating on the inside part of the plate. That simply means he's working to speed up his bat and likely committed early on the pitch (meaning he may have been guessing fastball and swinging no matter what).

Therefore, I'd come back with a backdoor change-up on the outside part of the plate. (Another option is an outside curve ball, but because I'm a righty throwing to a right-handed hitter, I'd rather throw a off-speed pitch that starts outside and backs up a bit (like my change-up) instead of a pitch sweeps the other direction (across the plate) in order to catch the outside corner (like my curve ball).

Would you have done the same?

Yours in baseball,

Steven Ellis
The Complete Pitcher™
www.thecompletepitcher.com

The Pitching "See"-quence (Part 3 of 3)

This is our third article in our three-article series on what a pitcher can do with his eyes to a) focus better, 2) be more effective, and 3) throw harder...

Today, we're going to focus on the third: throwing harder.

Don’t Watch Your Pitch

Want to throw harder? Don't watch your pitch all the way to the plate.

When I see pitchers do that, it tells me that the pitcher is not bending his back and getting his backside involved in the throw because if he was, there's simply no way a pitcher could watch his pitch from the time he releases it to the time it crosses the plate. It also tells me that the pitcher could really be throwing harder.

You see, all the really hard throwers will keep their eyes on their target right up until they release the pitch. Then, because they’re twisting at their trunk and bending at their waist, they look away as their arm decelerates outside of the opposite knee (right when the baseball is released).

They then pick up their target again either just before or right when the pitch crosses the plate so they know how to react to the ball.

You shouldn’t keep your eyes on the target (or baseball itself) when your pitch is made, but rather, look down (which should happen naturally when you get a good follow-through and really bend at the waist over a braced front leg).

Then, usually just before the ball crosses the plate, you should be picking your eyes up again.

That way, you can react and field your position if needed.

You'll be able to throw harder if you take your eyes off of the pitch because you'll allow your body to naturally decelerate -- which, in turn, will allow you to be more explosive.

That wraps up our three-article series!

Yours in baseball,

Steven Ellis
The Complete Pitcher™
www.thecompletepitcher.com

The Pitching "See"-quence (Part 2 of 3)

This is part 2 of our 3-article series where we're still talking about a pitcher's eyes...

Is it OK for pitchers to look away from their target during their delivery? You bet! I did it, and most pro pitchers do it as a way to break the monotony of staring at the same target, which can -- for prolonged periods -- actually make it more difficult to locate a pitch.

But, we all do it EARLY in our deliveries. Let me explain...

When you will start your delivery, your eyes should be on your target. That way, as you know, you can get your sign from the catcher.

Then, when you take your soft, rocker step backward and pivot on your power-post leg, you can look away. And like I just mentioned: I did it andmost pro pitcher's look away during this part of the pitching delivery.

When pitchers do in fact look away, it's usually down at their feet to make sure their body is centered over their body and to make sure their pivot foot is in place securely in front of the pitching rubber.

Then, when you lift your balance leg, the eyes should come up, too.

Leg Up, Eyes Up

When the front knee (the one lifted into the balance position) is lifted into its highest point, the eyes should be fixed back on the target – otherwise, your entire body is moving forward "blindly." And because the sequence of events that happens immediately after the pitcher passes through the balance position and into his stride, it’s often too late to really get those eyes affixed back on the target.

As a result, most pitchers who do not get their eyes back on target by the time the leg is lifted into the balance position, often don’t see the target. And if you don’t see it, it’s tougher to throw to as I mentioned in the first article of this three-article series. (See my post three days ago!)

In three days, I'm going to wrap-up this three-article series with Part 3 of 3 in which I'll reveal some powerful pitching tips on how the eyes can actually effect how hard a pitcher can throw. Don't miss it...

Yours in baseball,

Steven Ellis
The Complete Pitcher™
www.thecompletepitcher.com

The Pitching "See"-quence (Part 1 of 3)

This is part 1 of a 3-article series…

In baseball, there’s a common saying that you can’t hit what you can’t see. You’ve probably heard it.

Of course, this simple saying is often used to teach baseball hitters to keep their head on the baseball – especially if a young kid is out there yanking his head around as he swings for the fences. But, it’s certainly true: You can’t hit what you can’t see.

The same mantra holds true in pitching.

You can’t throw to a target and expect to hit it with consistency if, for example, your eyes are looking elsewhere.

But it happens.

Believe it or not, pitchers often do the craziest things, albeit sub-consciously most of the time, that take their eyes off of the target at the wrong moments during the delivery.

As a result, they’re not as consistent (or accurate) around the strike zone as they could be.

Here’s a few areas where that happens – and how to fix in each area so you can throw more strikes, more consistently...

Hands Together, Hands Still

One of the things I encourage my college pitchers to do is keep their hands together, hands still, and chest high during the initial phases of the pitching delivery – as opposed to bringing the hands over the head at the start of the delivery.

Besides adding more motion (and potential timing and sequence problems), taking the hands over the head can block a pitcher’s vision both on the way up-and-over the head… and back down again.

Look for part 2 of 3 in three days where I’ll talk about when it is OK to look away during the pitching motion. Then, three days later, I'll tell you exactly how the eyes relate to pitching velocity (you're not going to want to miss this one!).

Yours in baseball,

Steven Ellis
The Complete Pitcher™
www.thecompletepitcher.com

The Twice-Weekly Half-Dozen For Baseball Pitchers

As you know, you can find a lot of pitching information on the Wild Wild Web, which can be down-right overwhelming. I mean at some point, the ole' noggin can only process so much stuff before it decides to shut-er-down, right?

So, I've always found it better to read other people's baseball pitching articles in little doses... maybe you have, too?

That's why a couple of months ago, I created a folder in my Internet Explorer's "Favorites" category that I labeled my Twice-Weekly Half-Dozen for Baseball Pitchers.

It's essentially links to the six Web sites that I visit on a twice-weekly basis that are both thought-provoking and informative.

And "Yes!"... some of the sites on my list present pitching philosophies that are controversial. And "No!"... I don't always agree with everything each site contains.

However, they are certainly all worth checking out because agree or disagree, there are some real nuggets of info there that'll definitely get you thinking...

The Twice-Weekly Half-Dozen

1. http://nsca-lift.org/forum/: The National Strength and Conditioning Association's forum on baseball contains posts from NSCA members -- most of whom are C.S.C.S. certified, the industry-standard in strength and conditioning training certification for athletes.
2. http://www.pitchingrebel.com: Dick Mills' The Pitching Rebel is one of just two instructional pitching blogs on the Internet. (The other, of course, is this one.) It's controversial, often negative, and I don't always agree with his information -- but definitely worth looking at.
3. http://baseballfit.com: Steve Zawrotny's Baseball Fit contains some great information on strength training and conditioning for baseball players (as well as for softball players). Plus, Zawrotny's C.S.C.S. certified and holds an M.S. in kinesiology.
4. http://www.pitching-mechanics.org: Paul Nyman's Setpro pitching mechanics forum for baseball pitchers has a loyal following. Again, like Mills' blog, some of Nyman's stuff is controversial (he coined the term scapula loading), his tone is "in-your-face," and I don't always agree with his philosophies... but this forum certainly makes for interesting reading.
5. http://www.webball.com/bullpen/pitch.html: A large baseball Web site on all positions. Owner Richard Todd is a big fan of John Bagonzi ("The Pitching Professor") and Ron Wolforth (PitchingCentral.com). Holds a semi-annual Pitching Challenge that's fantastic! (Only wish it was every year... hint, hint)
6. http://www.thecompletepitcher.com/pitching_articles.htm: Shameless, I know :-) But it's on the list, of course.

Yours in baseball,

Steven Ellis
The Complete Pitcher™
www.thecompletepitcher.com

Wiffle-Ball Is Certainly Fun... But For Pitchers?

As a kid, there was nothing better than a little wiffle-ball home run derby in the backyard. Over the shrubs was a dong. Anything else was an out. And we played for hours – or until we’d foul one off into the gutters on the neighbor’s roof.

If the ball cracked, which almost always happened, we’d give it the ‘ole athletic tape treatment. And when that stopped working, we’d wrap the ball in black electrical tape.

By the time we were done, the ball was as hard – and heavy – as a rock.

As for the aluminum siding on the side of the neighbor’s garage, which often took the grunt of our swings? Well… let’s just say it was a good thing the neighbors worked during the day.

That’s how we spent our summers. And it was great.

In some respects, it was through wiffle-ball, that me and the other neighborhood kids learned baseball.

We’d "claim" the names of our favorite hitters and pitchers. I was usually a right-handed Don Mattingly at the plate (he actually hit from the left side) and The Eck (Dennis Eckersely) on the bump.

Let's face it, wiffle-ball is as American as baseball itself... but baseball players really got to be careful... I always encourage my ball players to do anything throwing that isn't a baseball with their other hand -- or avoid it all together.

Wiffle-ball throwing is no different.

You see, because the wiffle-ball is so light, the risk of shoulder impingement if thrown too hard increases dramatically. And because most pitchers don’t warm-up prior to throwing a wiffle-ball, the arm is often just not ready to be whipped at the velocity that can be generated because the implement is so much lighter than a baseball.

So should you do-away with wiffle-ball? No way, man. But be aware that throwing with your other hand, under-hand throwing or avoiding throws all together may be the best way to prevent shoulder injury that can occur when throwing a wiffle-ball too hard, too soon without being properly warmed-up (because it's just too light).

And if you do decide to throw with your throwing arm... take it easy. Don't over-throw!

Yours in baseball,

Steven Ellis
The Complete Pitcher™
www.thecompletepitcher.com