All About Pitching

Baseball Writer Discovers “Momentum Pitching…The New Injury Preventing Delivery

It seems that Momentum Pitching, which my co-author Dr. Brent Rushall and myself discovered in January of 2007, is beginning to get some notice by the mainstream baseball press.

Bill Conlin, a sports writer from the Philadelphia Daily News wrote a nice piece about it yesterday.  (see article below).  The emphasis in the article was that Momentum Pitching, a fairly new pitching style, could reduce pitching arm injuries right now at the major league level. 

I not only agree but believe that Momentum Pitching will eventually be the standard for reducing arm injuries at all levels of baseball as long as irrelevant practice activities are removed such as long toss during the season, pitching drills, flat ground pitching, or the large emphasis on weight training...while emphasizing more volume of practice pitches from the mound since the body must be specifically fit to pitch in order to prevent fatigue. 

Thus why starting pitchers from the past were able to pitch 300 or more innings per season rather than the paltry standard today of just 200 innings.

The idea of Momentum Pitching is for the pitcher to focus on using his total body to build momentum into a longer stride which not only improves pitching velocity and control but reduces the stress to the pitcher's arm ...since the arm is basically along for the ride. Arm strength has been proven to be a small factor for increasing pitching velocity.  And yet most coaches emphasis its benefit. Sports science research from the book The Science And Art of Baseball Pitching has proven it has little benefit.

Little League Parents Should Take Notice

Parents of pitchers from Little League to college baseball would be wise to take notice.  Why? Because pitching arm injuries at the high school level are up ten fold over a recent seven year period and Little League pitchers are getting Tommy John elbow surgeries at an alarming rate. Momentum Pitching is also a way for college pitchers to increase their velocity that extra 5-7 mph over a relatively short period of time.

I believe one of the big reasons for this increase in arm injuries at the Little League and high school levels is the lack of good pitching instruction while pitchers are being over-coached using foolish pitching drills such as the towel drill, balance drill or kneeling drill  which not only reduce natural movements but forces pitchers to use slow controlled movements that reduce velocity and add stress to the arm.

Parents at the Little League level should be especially concerned with this increase in arm injuries because there is little emphasis by coaches or instructors about how to use the body to produce faster movements into a stride 100% of the pitcher's height. 

Momentum Pitching, which is recent add-on in our program Explosive Pitching emphasizes that the pitcher take a step-back toward second base instead of stepping to the side. Stepping back increases the distance the pitcher can move his body toward the plate and therefor increases his ability to increase momentum of the entire body. 

When using Momentum Pitching or Explosive Pitching we emphasize removing any slow movements or hesitation from the delivery.  Slow movements and hesitation kill momentum producing movements and thereby reduce velocity and increase the risk of arm injuries.

Both Momentum Pitching and Explosive Pitching provide a good insurance policy against injury as long as these Little League pitchers are not overused by coaches too eager to win rather than teach baseball.

Bill Conlin: A pitching style that could prevent injuries

 More major league clubs will investigate "momentum pitching" as a viable alternative to the arm-killing, paint-by-numbers, minimalist style that gradually took over after the "no windup" motion was adopted in the 1960s . . .

 By Bill Conlin
Philadelphia Daily News

Daily News Sports Columnist

WHEN I'M King of the World . .

Briefly, former Red Sox journeyman Dick Mills has developed a delivery he claims increases velocity while decreasing arm strain. If you watched Tim Lincecum matching up with Phils No. 1 Cole Hamels, you saw the momentum delivery in action. The Giants' vest-pocket ace towers 5-11 and tips the scale at a robust 170. Take a look at Lincecum's delivery (videos available on MLB.com) and pay attention to four things:

1. His length of stride.

2. His three-quarter arm slot.

3. The low position of his hands as he begins a slow turn and the arm speed enhanced by the momentum generated by the long stride.

4. The high right leg whip on his follow-through.

Doing these basic things, according to Mills, makes it possible for the arm to "just go along for the ride." The mule work is done from the waist down. Last night, the Phillies were scheduled to face Diamondbacks phenom Mac Scherzer, who used his version of the MD to retire all 13 hitters he faced in a dazzling, seven-strikeout mop-up debut against the Astros.

Mills spent years studying the deliveries of Hall of Fame pitchers dating to grainy film from the Deadball Era. He found that length of stride and acceleration through the delivery was a common denominator in what he calls the "Hall of Fame delivery."

At the core of this lower-body-based technique is a length of stride Mills teaches at clinics for pitchers of all ages and experience levels that should be at least equal to a pitcher's height.

It's not coincidence that the reed-thin Hamels achieves great results using a lefthanded version of the delivery Mills teaches. It appears most of the great ones figure out what works on their own. Dick's crusade is to reduce the number of pitchers whose arms are being put at risk by conventional but flawed dogma.

You can Read the original article here!

Don't Forget - My Complete Pitching Instruction program is the only complete "pitching clinic" home study course available that is backed by real sports science research. It's designed for parents, coaches, and players of all ages. Whether you're a pitcher just starting out, or an advanced pitcher looking for answers, we make it simple to understand for both the parent and pitcher.

"Dick’s program has given me the knowledge I need as a pitching coach to help young people succeed. I highly recommend it to any pitcher Little League through college. From mechanics to conditioning to the mental aspect, everything he does is top notch. His program helped our pitchers go 29-1, have a 0.80 ERA last season, and win a State Championship."

Banks Faulkner, Gilbert Indian Baseball, Gilbert, SC

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