More Baseball Pitching Velocity Secrets—Here Are Six Big Ones!

Here are six baseball pitching velocity secrets that you can find any day by just surfing online going from one baseball pitching website to the next. This kind of advice is handed out free everyday and I would imagine if you really worked at it you could find 100 more very easily. The question that parents and pitchers should ask is… how valuable is the information online about baseball pitching performance…even though it is all free for the asking?

Here is what seems to be the large majority of thinking that you’ll find online about how to boost baseball pitching velocity…by high school pitchers, parents and coaches.

What are some excercises you can do to add a few MPH to you fastball?

1. I have found that working with your legs helps a ton. I have put on about 10 MPH in the past year or two. I used to think that if I worked upper body, that would be the answer. Then I started working on my core, and I noticed an imediate difference. If you look at major league pitchers, their legs are huge ie. Mark Prior or Roger Clemens just to name a few.
2. Running to build leg strength, swimming also
   LONG TOSS—LONG TOSS—LONG TOSS
3. I’m throwing low 90′s as a 17 year old from throwing long toss 3X a week.
4. Running is more important to build stamina. LONG TOSS,LONG TOSS, LONG TOSS and more LONG TOSS.
5. I agree that long toss is good for velocity. The most important thing of all is an all around program of weight training, nutrition, running, stretching, core work (physio ball, med ball, ab work, lower back and rotational work) shoulder and arm care with a scapular stabilization program, plyos, agilities, sprinting, interval running, long tossing, dry work, flat ground work, mound work, and weighted ball work.
6. A weighted glove (for the throwing hand). You throw gradually adding small amounts of weight to the back of the throwing hand, and then going back down the same way. It works on training your arm to move faster. We saw good results with it, and no perceived strain on the arm.

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What’s wrong with this thinking which of course runs rampant at online forums where wisdom in baseball pitching performance is all free for the asking? Everyone has an answer. And these answers all come with scientific evidence as proof. Of these seven statements or secrets to velocity all are just forms of general overall conditioning. Of the seven respondents I seriously doubt if any of them understand how pitching velocity forces are generated from the mechanics of pitching. Notice that not one mentions mechanics or throwing from a pitching mound. It seems to be just build leg strength and arm strength and you will cruise to 90 mph.

Pitching performance and success today seems to be all about velocity. You don’t hear very much about building the skill of pitching…throwing that fastball with command or changing speeds or mentally preparing.

Also notice the deductions that are made regarding velocity increases. The thinking is that by doing this certain activity I will get this direct result.

“I worked my legs a ton and got 10 mph.” (it was all leg workouts that did it)

“Notice how huge major league pitchers legs are.” (as if a leg workout will turn your legs into Mark Prior’s legs—good luck on that one. Did Mark Prior get his legs from the weight room or from his parents?)

“Running and swimming.” (very general conditioning activities)

“Long toss, long toss, long toss.” (3X a week got me to 90 mph—It had nothing to do with growth and development? This implies that 3X a week of long toss will get you to 90 mph. Again good luck wasting your time on that one)

“Running to build stamina.” (what kind of running?)

“Try a little of everything and eat right too.”

“Weighted balls or even weighted gloves.” (the advocates cannot explain how either of these work to generate more arm speed…which is what velocity is rather than arm strength.)

As a former major league pitcher and a skinny 6’3″ 170 RH out of high school who threw harder than most in my area growing up South of Boston and scouted…I never did any of that except running and mostly throwing from the mound.

I played in the era of Koufax, Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Gibson, Palmer…etc none of who did any weight training or much long toss if any. We ran, did general body fitness exercises and did a lot of throwing including off the mound where we worked on mechanics.

The question that needs to be asked is how on earth were all the pitchers prior to weight training or long toss able to throw fastballs in the above average velocity ranges? I believe Nolan Ryan was clocked in the low 100′s prior to ever picking up a weight. Or Koufax…high 90′s.

The answer—general fitness and throwing off the mound a lot of the time. There were no weight rooms, weight balls or weighted gloves and pitchers did little long toss that I remember.

Is there something to be learned here? It may be that basseball pitching velocity is not about arm strength or leg strength at all. That pitching is a skill of throwing from a mound.

I wonder if it just may be that gaining pitching velocity is more about using all the forces of the body with efficient mechanics throwing downhill from a mound focusing on hitting a target at game speed intensity…using a well conditioned body and doing it a lot of the time.

That is what the majority of all hard throwing pitchers did prior to advent of weight training and long toss. And it seemed to produce a lot of exceptional and many, many hard throwing pitchers who could throw deep into games with maybe even less risk of injury.

Are we seeing more and more better pitchers today? I don’t see the evidence of that.

Something to think about.

Dick Mills

If you have questions about this 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.

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This free information will 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 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.

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