Why I advocate pitching with a modified slide step

When pitching from the stretch, you've got to get the baseball to the plate quickly and efficiently without losing pitch velocity. Many pitchers use a slide step to accomplish this. But often the true slide step negatively affects control and causes early arm fatigue because the lower half takes off toward the plate before the throwing arm can get into a nice high-cocked position. With a true slide step, the throwing arm plays a constant game of catch-up. You'll often hear scouts describe pitchers who throw with a true slide step as throwing "all arm," which isn't great.

That's why I recommend -- and used, in college and in the Chicago Cubs organization -- a modified slide step. This pitching technique does take slightly longer to unload a pitch than with a true slide step, because you're bringing your front knee back more. But it is much quicker than a normal leg lift, and it allows you to transfer your weight to the back foot and separate your hands quicker, which will allow you to get on top of the baseball and throw on a nice downward angle with good velocity.

With a modified slide step, you'll rock back quickly transferring your weight up against the posting leg as you break the lead knee back, NOT up. Think: knee to knee. You want to bring your front knee back to just in front of the posting knee. Then you slide step outward.

This action helps to keep your weight back and helps you not rush. Also, on that first knee movement, you'll break your hands, allowing you to get into a high-cocked position before foot plant. By doing this, you can use your normal arm action, which may help you have better control out of the stretch.

With the true slide step, you may get more movement on your fastball, because you're throwing the baseball from a lower arm angle. But you sacrifice pitching velocity and arm fatigue for it.

Most left-handed pitchers don't develop a slide step, but I've come to believe that it's a very efficient technique to do the modified slide step on occasion for lefties. With a runner on base, the modified slide step presents another read for the base runner. It also allows you to unload the baseball quickly and to vary your motion.

A lefty should also develop a pickoff move off the modified slide step. Just break the hands quickly and slide step with a 45-degree angle toward first base. This combined with a good step-back move makes it real difficult for a runner to get a consistent read on the left-hand pitcher.