How To Practice Pitching To Stay Sharp Mentally And Physically

"The bullpen is a preparation, not an indicator."

--Harvey Dorfman, author of The Mental Game of Baseball

How many times have you heard a pitcher in the bullpen wonder out loud if his breaking ball was going to "show up" today. Pitchers at every level do it. Do you?

As a pitching coach and instructor, I believe it is critical for a baseball pitcher to view his time in the bullpen as time to get things to work instead of a time to find out if they work. It is amazing to me how often pitchers see their daily "stuff" as a sort of lottery … either they show up with winning stuff or they approach the game with inquisitive looks on their faces because of feelings from a poorly executed bullpen.

While I was certainly guilty of this in my career at times, I have since learned that pitchers have a lot more control of this than they likely think. It involves several different facets of preparation and all of them contribute to who "shows up" on the mound for the next start. The Mental Game of Baseball book is a great place to start. I encourage you to work on it.

Consistently Missing High In The Strike Zone? Here's A Simple Fix

If you're having trouble throwing strikes and are consistently missing high in the strike zone (in other words, you're not consistently throwing good low strikes at the hitters' knees), LetsTalkPitching.com member redsox8191 recently posted this suggestion:

"My son went to a pitching clinic just this past Sunday with Coach John Bagonzi. In it, he stated that if you are missing consistently high you should try to extend your stride a bit. He said that one inch increase in your stride length can equal 7 inches lower by the time the ball reaches the plate. Try to increase your stride length just a touch."

How To Throw A Two-Seam Change Up Like Edinson Volquez

Here's an informative video of how Cincinnati Reds' pitcher Edinson Volquez throws his change-up. He also shares some tips about how he works on it in practice.

Pitching Exercises: A Comparison Between Front Squats And Back Squats

The squat, as you may know, is arguably one of the best lower-body exercises for baseball pitchers -- it's ground-based, functional and utilizes just about every muscle from the waist down.  That last part is key.

But while many baseball pitchers focus solely on more traditional back squats (I know I did), this article talks about the benefits of doing front squats, too, as well as some important tips on being smart and using correct form.

No matter how you look at it, squats are my all-time favorite. And at the height of my career in college and pro ball, I could do 2 sets of 455 pounds at 10-12 reps each set (I wanted endurance, not max). Do you squat? How much? How many times?

Shoulder Exercises For Baseball Pitchers

Have you done your Jobes shoulder exercises or throwers 10 today?

Pitching Strategy: What To Do When Umpires Give You A High Strike

I want to build on yesterday's post about the strike zone by adding one more thing:

The great thing about umpires that give you a high strike is that it forces batters to swing upstairs -- and once a pitcher is given that, the pitcher can start working a bit higher ... and a bit higher. Then you can really throw the bottom out of an off-speed pitch to put the hitter away.

This is when the strike zone becomes full and rich with options on where to target the ball.

How To Use The Strike Zone To Your Advantage When Pitching In College Or Pro Ball

Most people don't think of the strike zone as a "physical thing," but it might as well be. Just like the distance to the left field corner, the strike zone has a measurable quality. The pitcher has to know the zone.

The current strike zone, as defined by MLB rules, has the top, technically, mid-way between the shoulders and the belt, and the lower end at the bottom of the knees. That's generally what I saw in college and pro ball.

Realistically, though, I'd say that the highest you see a strike called on a batter today in college and pro ball is mid-thigh. That's the upper end of the strike zone. And that's when he's in his batting stance, not when he's standing up straight. Some batters really crouch down. The lower end of the strike zone is to about the bottom of the knee cap.

It's also important to remember that each umpire has his own idiosyncracies. All of them have their own tendencies, places where they like to best see the ball.

Just like I used to keep charts on all the hitters I faced while pitching in the Chicago Cubs organization, I also kept charts on umpires. We had the same ones over and over, and it was advantageous for me to know the tendencies of whoever's behind the plate for a game. Especially when I was coming in from the bullpen to close it out. It let me know where I could go for strikes.

Does this umpire call more strikes in on a lefthanded batter or away from a lefthanded batter? I learned that you don't fight that, you respect it. You pitch to it. That's how you win ball games.

Preparing To Pitch: A Simple 6-Step Warm Up Routine For Youth Pitchers

Many baseball pitchers at the youth levels do not properly get themselves ready to pitch. Often times young pitchers feel the warm-up begins when they get on the bullpen mound. But we know it should start as soon as they put their shoes on.

Here is a simple 6-step jogging-stretching-throwing-pitching routine that is sure to get young pitchers game ready.

Step 1: Even before stretching, a baseball pitcher needs to get the blood flowing through their bodies by taking a light jog. This will begin the much needed blood flow to the muscles.

Step 2: A complete stretch should follow, with a focus on the shoulders, elbow, and forearms.

Step 3: After stretching, pitchers should begin their throwing by playing catch. Catch should be done until the pitcher begins feeling loose. I'd encourage you to extend the throws up to 90 or 120 feet, whatever you feel comfortable with.

Step 4: Once loose, the pitcher should get onto the mound working gradually toward throwing his pitches at 100%. The first 5-10 pitches off the mound should be used to find strike zone. Once the pitcher is comfortable with the mound and their delivery, they should focus on hitting corners, since corners are what the pitcher will be shooting for in the game. This drill should be done with all pitches (e.g. fastball, curve, change-up).

Step 5: After getting comfortable with all pitches, the pitcher should begin working on combinations of pitches that will be used in the game. Commonly used sequences include: fastball outside, followed by a change-up outside, or fastball inside, followed by a change-up outside. The more advanced a pitcher gets the more combinations the pitcher should know. A pitcher should know how to "set-up" pitches and should also have "out" pitches.

Step 6: The last 5-10 pitches in the bullpen should be at 100%. The pitcher is now ready for the game mound.

If you're a coach, it's important to remember that all pitchers are different and routines should vary, including number of pitches and types of pitches thrown. Pitchers need to find what works best for them depending on their age, and level at which they compete. The routine described above not only gets advanced pitchers ready to throw, but is also a baseline for beginning pitchers who are serious about their game.

Guest Post: Helpful Advice For Baseball Players Who Catch And Pitch

Jeff Moree, a senior high school pitcher at Carmel Catholic, in Illinois, submitted this article on catching and pitching. Good advice! As always, I encourage you to submit your articles, details here.

For as far back as I can remember I played both catcher and pitcher. I never really thought anything of it until I became a sophomore in high school. It was at this time that I was moved up to the Varsity level as a pitcher. The coaches decided it would be better for me in the long run if I give up catching.

The catcher and pitcher are the positions that require the most throwing. It was not uncommon for me to pitch the first game in a double header, and then catch the second game. Doing the math, that is well over 200 throws in a day…not exactly good for your arm. When I was moved up to Varsity, I became a pitcher-only player. This was a huge change for me, as I was so used to playing nearly every inning. I was now playing once every 3 or 4 games, sometimes seeing only 3 innings in that game.

I came to the realization that this was to be my future in baseball, and I must accept it for what it is. I told myself that what I was doing was the best decision for my arm’s health, and it would allow me to focus on my talent for pitching. By sacrificing catching, I was able to devote a lot more time on my pitching mechanics, pickoffs, learning a fourth pitch, etc.

From this situation, I have learned that baseball is full of curveballs, and if you don’t learn to hit the junk thrown at you, it will be difficult to succeed. I was thrown a curveball which forced me to give up catching as a second position. However, I saw it as an opportunity and ended up becoming a more successful pitcher.

If you do choose to play both positions, always be sure you are getting enough rest. Never pitch and catch on the same day, and don’t catch the day after you pitch several innings. If you over throw, you will eventually run into arm problems, which will yield you unusable in both positions.

How To Achieve Your Baseball Pitching Goals

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