Does Shortening A Baseball Pitcher’s Stride Length Make Sense?

It is rare that I see a baseball pitcher whose stride is too long. What appears to be a long stride is really not but the result of another fault “early rotation” that when fixed allows the pitcher to get his head out over his landing knee at ball release.

A recent article about a major league pitcher indicates that he has had elbow problems in the past and now control problems as well. The adjustment he is making in order to rectify both is to shorten his stride. Although it does not say I am assuming that his pitching coach is making the suggestion.

But does this make sense?

I can honestly say that after ten years of offering pitching advice to parents, coaches and pitchers that I have never once suggested that a pitcher should shorten his stride.

If you look at most Little League pitchers and many, many high school pitchers you will notice that they do not stride out far enough. And their short strides are the cause of three problems: lack of velocity, poor control and more stress on the arm or the low back.

Why lack of velocity? Because baseball pitching velocity is the result of how explosive the pitcher is from putting as many muscles on stretch as quickly as possible. In essence you want the pitcher’s body to be just like a big rubber band. The farther back you pull that rubber band the more elastic energy you will store and the faster and farther it will go once it’s snapped…the same thing you want to happen with the pitcher’s arm…more arm speed.

Short strides can’t store as much potential energy.

What about improving control with a short stride? The problem with that thinking is that a short stride causes the pitcher’s front leg to begin straightening or extending far too early while the pitcher is rotating both his hips and his trunk into the ball release position. This early extension of the front leg causes a jarring action of the body and for the pitcher it’s like throwing at a moving target. This early straightening of the front leg also can pull the back leg away from the ground much too early so the pitcher is now trying to hit a target while losing the stability of being on two legs as his body is rotating at high speed.

The same jarring action from the front leg straightening that reduces control also adds additional stress to the low back and the arm…and to the front knee and hip.

I often hear from high school and college pitchers that their coach has them shorten their stride so they can get up and over their front leg and be closer to the hitter. And yet shortening the stride is a sure way to be further away from the hitter than you were before.

I often wonder where these coaches come up with these ideas on how to improve performance by making these types of mechanical adjustments. I guess they feel like they always have to be coaching and saying something…even if they have no idea of the poor results that they are forcing on these aspiring pitchers.

A pitcher’s stride length is a big indication of whether he fully understands how to move from his back leg to his front leg. A short stride says he doesn’t. And it is costing him better performance while reducing the stress to his arm.

This one change this season can make all the difference for most pitchers. The problem is that the large majority of coaches out there don’t have the knowledge to even recognize that there is a problem…let alone how to fix it.

It’s no wonder that pitchers continue to struggle to throw harder with better control while reducing sore arms. And parents and coaches will spend an entire season scratching their heads wondering why these pitchers can’t throw harder with better control.

Dick Mills website www.pitching.nexcess.net

If you have questions about this blog post or on any phase of pitching—mechanics, strength and conditioning, mental training, strategy send those questions to dickmills@gmail.com and I will answer them here.

If you want to boost velocity 5-7 mph with better control you need to get my Free Report . We won’t waste your time. We show you how to recognize exactly what is holding back most pitchers…find the problem—fix the problem. I show you a comparison between two high school pitchers, a Little League pitcher and a major league pitcher who throws mid to upper nineties. You will see the biggest problem that reduces velocity in the majority of pitchers.

(If you are a high school or college coach, email me at dickmills@gmail.com and ask for our special Free Coach’s Report.)