Sidearm pitching mechanics: What scouts look for?

Click the picture above to see an animated version of Chad Bradford's sidearm pitching mechanics in a pop-up window.

Quick, name as many sidearm pitchers in the big leagues as you can....

How many did you come up with?

Probably not more than a dozen. There's good reason for that: There aren't many sidearm pitchers in the big leagues.

Sidearm pitching places an incredible amount of strain on the throwing shoulder and elbow. And sidearmers tend to have flat and ineffective off-speed pitches.

Are there exceptions? You bet. But most of the sidearm pitchers you see in the big leagues today didn't start out throwing that way. In fact, most modern sidearm pitchers got to the big leagues throwing over the top.

That's because most professional scouts and college coaches usually pass on sidearm pitchers. The risk of injury is too great, and no scout or coach wants to select a pitcher who throws with a high risk of injury. It makes them look bad if their player recommendations wind up on the disabled list.

Instead, most pro scouts and college coaches look for pitchers who throw with quality overhand pitching mechanics -- mechanics that'll hold up throughout a long baseball season.

Using good overhand pitching mechanics will give you a better shot at making it to college and pro ball than throwing sidearm. I'd make the switch to overhand mechanics as soon as possible if it was my kid throwing sidearm.