How Pitching Coaches Reduce A Pitcher’s Velocity

If you watch major league baseball, you will see dozens upon dozens of pitchers who could easily improve their pitching velocity anywhere from 6-10 mph. And yet, coaches do nothing to help them make needed adjustments.

I am sure this is also true at the minor league level as well. Knowing how to improve all minor league pitcher’s velocity would allow major league baseball to focus on development of their pitchers instead of always having to spend millions on the draft which seems to be more a game of luck than getting future major league pitchers.

I would expect that every major league organization has amongst their minor league pitchers the equivalent of ten first round draft picks. However, because instructors do not fully understand how to improve velocity or recognize what kills velocity, these prospects go unnoticed.

The fact is that most coaches and instructors help reduce velocity and control by telling pitchers to slow down, be more controlled, take a small step back or to the side, hit your balance point, shorten your stride or other useless and velocity reducing movements. Or even more radical—slow down your delivery.

Of course, sports science research fully understands how foolish this type of advice is and how it actually reduces velocity and control…and increases the risk of arm injury. Pitching is supposed to be an explosive movement where the pitcher’s focus should be to go from the back leg to the front leg as quickly as possible by forcing the entire mass of the pitcher’s body away from the rubber. The faster a pitcher moves his body the less chance of error.

I find it frustrating to hear stories of coaches or instructors telling pitchers to slow down their deliveries as if slow produces a benefit.

A recent article in Sports Illustrated makes the point:

The point is in most cases the pitcher knows more about what is good for his performance than the pitching coach or instructor.

One of the more explosive deliveries in major league baseball with a high speed of movement component is Francisco Rodriguez, better known as K-rod. From his first movement his delivery is all about quickness and getting to landing as fast as possible. Here is what K-rod had to say about his experience with former pitching coaches, which should get you wondering:

“Who should you listen to anyway?” K-rod may employ the major’s quickest, most violent delivery. “I’ve had it since I was four,” says the 25-year-old closer. “When I got to the academy (in Venezuela, at age seven), they tried to correct it. They talked to me about it in the minors, too. But it was natural. I tried different mechanics, and it would hurt my elbow or shoulder. We decided in 2002 to leave it.”

That was the year of his big league-debut; since then he’s saved 110 games and has a 2.30 E. R.A.

—Sports Illustrated, April 23, 2007

The word that sticks out in that article is “violent.” Why would they call his delivery violent. His delivery is actually the exact opposite. They should call all slow-controlled deliveries violent because they will contribute far more to injuries than K-rod’s.

When a pitcher moves his body slow he will have to try to gain the energy to produce velocity from his upper body and therefor add more stress to his arm. There are countless slow-controlled deliveries in professional baseball that could be dramatically improved simply by helping the pitcher understand mechanics and how force on the ball is produced.

Force is mass times acceleration. That means if you want a better fastball you will need to move the body faster and preferably over a longer distance by producing momentum sooner so that the pitcher strides out 100% of his body height to several inches beyond.

Short strides can reduce velocity and like Kerry Wood produce an upper body thrower who must try to get his velocity from only his upper body and much more from his arm. This increases the risk of arm injuries.

If you are a parent and have an instructor who focuses on building your son’s arm strength or tells him to shorter his stride or works on his balance position, or has him doing endless towel drills and never videotapes his lessons, then fire this instructor immediately. You are wasting your time and money. And you are getting your son closer to an arm injury.

If you want your son to throw harder then help him build more momentum sooner in his delivery without any balance position to slow him down so that he propels his body out away from the rubber into a very long stride that is at least 100% of his height…as fast as possible.

That is what Nolan Ryan did until he was 46 years old. That is what helped Sandy Koufax become one of if not the best left-handers of all time. Both of those pitchers had outstanding velocity.

Pitching velocity is a speed of movement of the body activity…not an arm strength activity.