Submarine Pitching Mechanics: How To Throw Submarine Pitches

A good submarine pitcher can be a hitter's worst nightmare. With a deceptive delivery and deceiving movement, a submariner can have an advantage over a typical over-the-top pitcher. However, there are several things to keep in mind when learning how to throw submarine, as well as some pointers that current submarine pitchers can learn from.

First off, you may want to find a pitching coach who specializes in submarine pitching. The mechanics for throwing submarine are unique, and it takes a certain coach to understand these mechanics. A good submarine coach can be hard to find, but very valuable for a submarine pitcher in training.

If you look at many of the submariners, there really isn’t a lot of difference in their mechanics from a regular pitcher other than the extreme shoulder tilt. The arm still operates a similar fashion as the same mechanics still apply to the shoulder and elbow. The arm circle should still be applied and you will see a similar layback of the forearm into maximum external rotation.

The main key to avoid arm problems as a submarine pitcher is to finish with a pronated  hand position and follow through to your opposite hip like you normally would so that the stress on the elbow is relieved. At the same time, remember to keep your fingers on top of the ball, otherwise you will be throwing uphill and hitters love that.

You may ask yourself, "Is throwing submarine a joke or gimmick"? The answer to that is "no". Many scouts love a good submarine pitcher who has good command and movement. There have been multiple professional submarine pitchers who found success, usually as a closer. Of course, if a scout is looking for a starter who throws heat, you may be out of luck. But if you are a good submariner with great command and off speed, scouts will notice and will consider you a prospect.

When deciding whether to throw submarine or overhand, consider these pros and cons:

Submarine Pros: Easier to get movement, deceptive to hitters, easy to keep the ball low.
Overhand Pros: Greater velocity, easier to find instruction, better potential to be a starter.

Submarine Cons: Slower velocity, harder to find instruction, can limit off speed options.
Overhand Cons: Batters are used to it, more competition in the "next level".

The main thing when deciding to throw submarine is if you are comfortable with it, and it is effective for you. If you are looking for a good submariner to watch, check out Chad Bradford.

This baseball pitching article by Jeff Moree for StevenEllis.com.

How quick should pitchers pitch from the stretch?

With runners on base, a pitcher needs to deliver the baseball from the stretch position to the plate quickly and efficiently.

This can easily be accomplished by having the same delivery to the plate on every pitch and by keeping that delivery at 1.3 seconds or quicker.

1.3 seconds or quicker insures the pitcher is allowing his catcher enough time to throw a potential base runner out. I also believe that the quicker a pitcher is to the plate, the less time things can go wrong mechanically.

In my experience as a college coach, the quicker my guys are to the plate, the better they pitch. Everything comes together nicely -- and our catchers can throw guys out, which they do more times than not.

How to determine a pitcher's natural arm angle

Every time a coach gets a new team or pitching staff, I think it's important to establish every pitcher's natural arm angle during the first few weeks of practice.

This is the arm slot from which the player most instinctively throws the baseball on every throw. Everyone's different. So it's important to find out what each pitcher does individually. Arm angles are something that you generally should not change with a kid. (Now I'm not talking arm path here -- or the direction of the hands when they separate from the glove. These can be changed and corrected, if a player is performing improper mechanics. Arm angle specifically is the angle of the hand and arm at the moment a throw is made.)

Perhaps the best way to determine a kid's natural arm angle is to have the pitcher go to the shortstop position and field grounders to the right and left of where he's standing. Have him come up and make a throw to first base.

After 5 or 10 throws, have the player go to the outfield and catch a series of fly balls, and make a series of 5 or 10 throws to home plate. (Try to get your pitcher to keep his throws on a line, with little arc. It's OK to one-hop the throw, if your player can't reach home plate in the air.)

Finally, have the pitcher play catch at about 80 percent effort at 60 yards.

After watching the pitcher throw from these three positions, you should be able to determine the precise throwing slot for the pitcher. This is where he should be throwing from every time he makes a pitch.

I feel strongly that a coach should not change a pitcher's natural arm arm as it can cause significant injury. Everybody's made to throw a certain way, so diversity among arm angles on a pitch staff is perfectly normal.

The coach should also refrain from the pitcher throwing at different arm angles -- for different "looks," to try and fool the batter. This never works. Pitching is difficult enough from one arm angle to experiment with various arm positions. And at the higher levels of the game, good hitters usually can pick up on the arm angle variations, so it's not particularly effective.

Each season, remember to determine a player's natural arm angle during early practices. Then have that pitcher throw only from that arm angle throughout the season.

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.

Hey, coach: Would you change a sidearm pitcher's arm slot?

Every week I get a handful of questions from baseball coaches and players interested in learning more about sidearm pitching: Is throwing sidearm good for your arm? Where can I learn more about sidearm pitching mechanics? How do you throw sidearm? Do sidearm pitchers use special pitching grips? Are there any sidearm pitching drills?

To be honest, I'm surprised sidearm pitching has such a loyal following. There are so few big league pitchers to speak of throwing sidearm that you'd think the sheer lack of sidearm pitchers at the highest levels of the game would be reason enough to suggest that it's not the "ticket" to the Show.

Scouts typically don't draft sidearm guys because they view them as high-risk players, more prone to injuries than overhand throwers. And the last thing a major league team wants to do is pay the $40,000 it costs to reconstruct a guy's shoulder.

When it comes to pitching sidearm, the reward doesn't outweigh the risks or potential medical bills. And although you tend to see a few more sidearmers at the college and professional ranks than in high school ball, they're usually not starting pitchers – and they're usually not getting serious looks by professional scouts.

That's why I don't teach it: it's a waste of time. But that's just me. Bill Chapones, a contributer to The Complete Pitcher, thought this way, too. But he doesn't anymore. Here's why:

A few years back a parent came to me and said his son was interested in pitching and he wanted my help. I said, "OK, let's see what the boys natural motion is."

I took this kid (who was a freshman in high school, 203 pounds, very strong, 6-foot-2) to the outfield and had him shag ground balls and throw them on a line to home plate (long toss).

Well, you guessed it, his natural throwing motion was 3/4-submarine to sidearm motion. Threw rockets but absolutely nocontrol from the mound. I never threw or taught sidearm/ submarine so I changed his motion to 3/4-overhand so I could teach the basics of that delivery. The kid would pitch great for two, maybey three innings and get wild, get shelled, etc.

His sophmore year he injured his shoulder and quit pitching and stayed entirely with football (a running back and wide-receiver) and got a football scholarship to college, so I guess all is well and we're all still good friends. But, I still wish I'd never tried to change his pitching motion and got help from someone who knew how to teach the basics of control and sidearm/submarine pitching mechanics.

I still wonder where he would have gone with his pitching,and I truly feel guilty of causing his pitching problems,sore arm etc. I'd never change a lad's natural pitching motion again.

What do you think? Would you change a sidearmer's motion or leave it?

How to find your "natural" arm slot for pitching

How do you pitch? Sidearm? Low three-quarters? Mid three-quarters? High three-quarters? Overhand?

All five, of course, describe common arm slots for baseball pitchers. I pitched high three-quarters. But which one's correct? They all are! It just depends on which comes most natural for you.

Want to know what that is? Here's how to find out with a simple baseball pitching drill. Two people are needed: the pitcher and a coach or another player.

The pitcher stands in the outfield. The coach can stand behind the pitcher's mound with a bucket of baseballs and a fungo. The coach hits baseballs into the outfield (on a hop) slightly to the right or left of the pitcher. The pitcher should field the baseball as an outfielder would, take a crow hop, and make the throw. However the the pitcher throws the baseball is his natural arm slot.

Which one are you?

A big league pitcher talks about throwing submarine

Scott Sullivan, at right, throws sidearm. He's made a career of it, pitching most recently for the Reds (in 2002 and 2003) and the Kansas City Royals (in 2004).

"My arm isn't equipped to throw on top," Sullivan said once in a newspaper interview. "It's uncomfortable for me. Even when I play long toss, I throw everything from my sidearm slot."

Reds closer, Danny Graves, doesn't throw submarine-style. He's not a sidewinder or submariner. He throws overhand gas.

"Throwing sidearm is a lot harder than people think," Graves said. "I tried it when I was younger, but my arm didn't feel right. I could never find that proper arm slot. It didn't feel healthy for me. Some guys can do it. A lot of guys can't. That's why you don't see many of them." (Most major league teams don't draft side-arm guys either, which is why you don't see a lot of them.)

But Sullivan said that if you find the proper arm slot and can keep it there, your pitching arm probably will last. "The overhand and three-quarter motions are not the way the arm was built to throw," he said.

"If you look at the pitching motion in slow motion (of guys who throw overhand), it's the most unnatural motion you could possibly put your shoulder and elbow through," Sullivan said. "You look at a still photo of it, and their elbow's here and their wrist is straight back. It's a tremendous amount of torque on your shoulder and elbow. My arm isn't equipped to throw on top. It's uncomfortable for me. Even when I play long-toss, I throw everything from my sidearm slot."

What do you teach? How do you pitch? Do you throw sidearm? If Sullivan was a pitcher on your baseball team -- or your son -- how would you instruct him? (And if you're a coach, would you let him continue to throw from "down under" if, say, you had him as a pitcher on your Little League baseball team?

Enter your comments below...