Pitching Instructors or Pitching Quacks! The Weighted Ball Advocates

It seems that just about every baseball pitching website has jumped on the weighted baseball bandwagon. And that doesn’t surprise me at all. I fully understand that they believe that they work and that there are a couple of “studies” that conclude that they work. But the studies are seriously flawed and I believe we will be able to prove that they are flawed in the not too distant future with some additional research.

Not one weighted baseball advocate has explained in plain language the actual sports science principle of training that would support why weighted balls work to boost velocity. Not one. They say that weighted balls increase arm strength.

Those that use arm strength as a reason are telling you at the same time that they do not fully understand pitching mechanics and how the body works in pitching since velocity has little to do with arm strength. Pitching velocity again is created by the summation of all the forces of the body put together because of the pitcher’s ability to put as many muscles on stretch as quickly as possible.

If you doubt this then stand on the outfield foul line facing centerfield. Have someone hold you so that neither your hips/pelvis or your trunk can move or rotate. Then see how far and fast you can throw the ball…using just your arm. You will find that you will end up throwing a “lollypop.” Not very powerful indeed.

Do you think then that throwing weighted baseballs would allow you to increase the distance and speed of your throw doing the same exercise a second time…after training with weighted baseballs? I think you will find no difference at all in the speed of your throw.

Now why is this demonstration important? Because as you can see the ability to move the arm rapidly in pitching is totally dependent on using the rotation of the pelvis and the trunk. That’s why biomechanists say it is the combined summation of all the forces of the body…the large muscles deliver the small muscles of the arm. The arm is the source of control of the ball rather than the source of power as the weighted ball advocates would have you believe.

It continues to disturb me that so many are now pushing weighted balls because many youth, high school and college pitchers will waste a lot of time trying to gain more “arm strength” when they really want more arm speed which you can only get by speeding up the ability of the body to put more muscles on stretch more quickly. You can only get more velocity from pitching mechanics…not from long tossing or throwing weighted balls or going into the weight room.

I recently posted an article about a HS/college baseball pitching coach who tried hard to make weighted ball training work for his pitching staff. He had no luck even though he consulted with the person who sold him the balls and then went a step further and consulted with another weighted ball advocate who lauds them in his pitching book. And after the consults with both advocates he still was not able to make them work.

I could have saved him both the wasted time and money. Here is the article title which you can read and what this pitching coach has to say:

HS/College Baseball Pitching Coach Has No Success With Weighted Baseballs

“We followed the directions precisely and my kids were very very dedicated to the program as they are to all including yours. I used this program and also had phone conversations with supplier of these balls as well as the author of a well known book which advocates and instructs on the use of these balls.

Again, the predicted increase in velocity just wasn’t evident.”

Try to remember why weighted balls may “seem” to work. They only will seem to work with pitchers who are not trained. In other words a pitcher who is not in good throwing condition will show velocity increases by doing just about anything that helps him get into better overall condition. He could run, ride a bike, play handball or go hiking. If he did those things from an untrained state he would get stronger and would be able to use his body better to throw.

But he would also get that by going out and throwing a regular five ounce baseball.

I suggest that you make the weighed baseball advocates explain fully why weighted baseballs work to improve throwing velocity. Give me a good reason. A reason that would be supported by sports science principles.

If they are supposed to increase arm strength…which exact muscles are strengthened, how are they strengthened using such a light load and why are these particular muscles or muscle groups important for producing more throwing velocity?

Walt Disney built his creative empire by asking people their opinions about his ideas. If most of the people were against them, which they usually were (a mouse as a leading character!) he used that as a reason to immediately begin working on his ideas turning them into priorities. Why? Because he said the masses are not well informed and if you want to be successful find out what the masses are advocating and do the opposite.

Find out what most of the pitching instructors or coaches are advocating such as lots of long toss, throwing weighted balls and getting bigger and stronger in the weight room all for more velocity.

What do you think Walt Disney would tell you to do?

I believe the advocates need to put their collective heads together and write a well researched article about how weighted balls improve throwing velocity.

Will we ever see that? The chances I believe are extremely slim because these advocates will have to use their beliefs as proof rather than real evidence.

Dick Mills

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 an explosive body and explosive mechanics you need to get my Free Consumers Report on Pitching. 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, ask for our special Free Coach’s Report.)