Proper Throwing Mechanics
3/12/2007
While some people will tell you
that pitching and throwing are two completely different things, I
am of the opinion that they are actually very closely related. I think pitching is just a modified form of throwing. I believe the only
real difference between delivering the ball to the plate and
delivering the ball to first base is the acceptable margin of error; it's
obviously much smaller for a pitcher.
That's why I often say that pitching is just throwing
with less margin for error.
As a result, I
believe that every person who plays baseball should be able to at
least pitch batting practice (meaning that they can at least throw
strikes). The problem is that too many people can't even throw strikes in batting practice,
much less a game.
Over the years, I have found that this is usually due
to an underlying problem with a player's throwing mechanics. While I discuss
those underlying problems at length in my
Pitching
Problem Troubleshooter, let me quickly discuss how I teach my
players to throw.
Sideways, Shift, Swing, Step, & Throw
The mantra I use when working with my players on their
throwing mechanics
is "Sideways, Shift, Swing, Step, and Throw." If you stand next
to me at a practice (regardless of whether I'm coaching 6U's or 11U's),
you will hear me constantly repeating this phrase. Here's what I mean
when I say that.
Sideways
The first, and most important, element of proper throwing
mechanics is to start out standing sideways to the target
like a pitcher in the Set (aka Stretch) position such that lines
drawn through your heels, your hips, and your shoulders would
point directly at the target. At this point your feet should be
slightly more than shoulder width apart with your weight
balanced across both your feet, both of your
hands should be at the level of your belt buckle with your
elbows slightly bent, and your eyes should be locked on the target.
Getting sideways to the target is critically important
because it enables you to throw with your entire body and not just your
arm. Too many people who don't get much on the ball -- who
are guilty of
"throwing like a girl" -- do so because they aren't utilizing the
rotation of their hips, torso, and shoulders to propel the ball.
Instead, their only source of power is the extension of their elbow
and wrist and the internal rotation of their shoulder. The
problem is that, while
you can get some power that way, because of the relative size of
the muscles involved -- small for the rotator cuff, elbow, and
wrist versus large for the legs, hips, and torso -- you can
throw a ball much harder if you throw with your entire body and not just your arm.
If I was a coach or a parent of a young ballplayer, and only had
time to work on one thing with them, then getting them to always start
out sideways to the target would be the one thing I would
focus on. If you get this step right, then many other things
will fall into place pretty much naturally. If you don't, then nothing else
you do will make much of a difference.
Shift
As Charley Lau Sr. said with respect to hitting, you have to go
back to go forward. The same principle applies to proper throwing
mechanics. Before going forward toward the target, you first
must shift your weight onto your back or Pitching Arm Side foot. This will create
linear momentum that will be converted into rotational momentum
and help to pull your shoulders around.
Swing
As you shift your weight back onto your Pitching Arm Side
(PAS) foot, you should break your hands and
pendulum swing both arms down, out, and up to the Ready Position as Greg
Maddux is doing in the photo below.
Greg Maddux
Like Greg Maddux, you want to break your hands early -- as you shift your weight onto
your back foot -- so
that you give your pitching arm plenty of time to get up into
the Ready Position before your Glove Side (GS) foot lands and
your shoulders start to rotate.
I define the Ready Position as one in which your shoulders
are level, your elbows are just below the level of your
shoulders, your PAS elbow is bent either 45 degrees or 135
degrees (not 90 degrees), and you are showing the ball to Third Base.
That is what Greg Maddux is doing in the photo below.
Greg Maddux
At the Ready Position, your Glove Side (aka GS) arm should be pointed
directly at the target as Kenny Rogers is doing in the photo
below. This is to ensure that your shoulders
stay "closed" for as long possible. As your hips open as
you step toward the target, this stretches the muscles of the
torso and increases the force with which they pull the shoulders
around.
Greg Maddux
When swinging your arm up to the Ready Position, there are
several other things that you want -- and do not want -- to
do.
First, when swinging them up to the Ready Position, your arms
should move in line with the target, not to either side (e.g.
behind your back).
Second, you do not want to pick up your forearm
or break your hands with your elbows to get to the
Ready Position. Instead, you want a longer arm swing. I like players to
start out with their hands at their belt buckle when they are in
the Sideways Position because that it
reduces the temptation to short-arm the ball; it makes it less
likely that they will pick up the forearm and get to the Ready
Position by bringing the ball past the ear rather than down, out,
and up.
Third, you do not try to
keep the fingers on top of the ball and you do not want to show the ball to Center Field
(or Second Base).
The problem with following both of these --admittedly very common
-- pieces of advice is that it puts your forearm in a problematic
position and may increase the load on your UCL. Instead, at the
Ready Position it is better if your palm is facing Third Base. This will force you to pronate your forearm to
get your palm to face the target at the Release Point, which will
decrease the load on your UCL.
Finally, as you throw the ball you never want to
bring your PAS elbow above the level of your shoulders. Some
people believe that the way to throw from a higher arm slot is to
get the elbow up. The truth is that the way to throw from a higher
arm slot is to tilt the shoulders, as Jeff Suppan is doing in the
photo below. That way the hand goes up but the PAS elbow always
stays below the level of the shoulders (the white line).
Jeff Suppan
Step
After shifting your weight onto your back foot and starting to
pendulum swing your arms up into the Ready Position, you should step directly toward the target, landing with your GS
toe pointing at the target. This step should be as
long as the steps you take when walking at a brisk pace.
Sandy Koufax
Don't worry about powerfully striding toward the target.
Contrary to what many people believe, that is unlikely to give you
much additional power. In fact, trying to get too much power from the
stride can even decrease your power by
limiting how much your hips can rotate or messing up your timing
(which is known as
rushing).
Instead, the point of
stepping toward the target is to open the hips and stretch the
muscles of the torso while keeping your shoulders closed (facing 3B
for a pitcher). This stretching of the muscles of the torso
allows them to powerfully pull the shoulders around.
Tim Lincecum
One thing to keep in mind when stepping toward the target is that
it is critical that your hips rotate ahead of your shoulders
as is happening in the photo above of Tim Lincecum. If
you have a hard time getting anything on your throws, then the
problem may be that your shoulders are rotating with -- or worse,
ahead of -- your hips. The longer your can keep your
shoulders closed (with your glove still pointing at the target)
while your hips are opening up underneath them, the more power you
will be able to get on your throws.
Throw
Once your Glove Side (aka GS) foot is planted on the ground, you should allow your
shoulders to be pulled around by the rotation of your hips and
torso. To maximize the velocity of your throw, it is important
that you do not starting rotating your shoulders -- or more
accurately speaking let your shoulders be rotated -- until your GS
foot has landed on the ground. If you start rotating your
shoulders before your GS foot is planted on the ground, then you
will end up throwing more with your arm than with your body. This
will rob you of power and may increase the risk that you will
injure yourself.
If you are also a pitcher, then to ensure
that you finish in a strong fielding position, as you start to
rotate your shoulders you want to bring your chest to your
glove. You should also try to bring your PAS
knee past your glove-side knee, rather than leaving your PAS foot
stretched out behind you, since this will maximize the
ability of your hips to rotate. After you release the ball, it is best if you finish
standing relatively upright with your glove at your GS pec as Greg Maddux is doing in
the photo below.
Greg Maddux
This will maximize the ability of your
shoulders to smoothly rotate and, if you end up pitching, will enable you to defend
yourself against a ball hit toward your face or sternum.
How My Son Throws The ball
I came up with this approach to teaching throwing as a result
of teaching my sons, and the other boys on their baseball teams,
how to throw the ball. I am sure that some of you will be
interested in how my boys turned out, so below is a video of my
8 year-old son throwing the ball around at baseball practice.
My Younger Son Throwing
There are a couple of things to notice in this clip.
First, and most importantly, notice how he starts out
sideways to the target. This enables him to throw the ball with
his entire body, which is one reason why he can throw the ball
as hard and as far as he does.
Second, notice how he swings his arm down, out, and up
into the high-cocked position. Also, notice that his arm is up
and in the high-cocked position before his glove-side foot
plants.
Third, notice how, rather than keeping his fingers on
top of the ball as long as possible and showing the ball to
Center Field/Second Base, he shows the ball to Third Base
relatively soon after breaking his hands.
The only thing that obviously needs work in my son's
throwing motion is that he flies open with his glove. I would
prefer that he brought his chest to his glove rather than
letting it fly out to the side. However, this is something that
can be fixed relatively easily.
Other Examples
I have gotten a ton of interest in, and questions about, this
article, so let take a few minutes to give some other examples of
exactly what I'm talking about. In most cases I'll do this using photos of "ordinary"
people (e.g. non baseball players) throwing out ceremonial first
pitches. While some people will object to this approach, in my
experience most people don't want to look like an idiot in front
of tens of thousands of people, so they tend to try to deliver a
reasonably good pitch (but rarely succeed).
Brittany Lincicome
The photo below of Brittany Lincicome is an example of someone
who doesn't use the motion I describe above, and who "throws like
a girl" as a result.
Brittany Lincicome
Leaving aside the whole flip flop thing (she obviously didn't come
prepared to play), Brittany has a couple of serious mechanical
problems.
First, it looks like she started out facing the
target rather than sideways to the target; this caused a
cascade of problems. Second, she's taking a very short stride; in
fact, given the elevated position of her PAS foot (it's unusual
for the PAS foot to be in the air at this point), I wonder if she
took a step at all with her GS foot. As a result, she is throwing
largely with her arm, and not her body, will probably not be able
to get much on the ball. Third, and likely as a result of the
first two points, her shoulders look like they are rotating ahead
of, rather than behind, her shoulders. Finally, her PAS elbow
looks like it's slightly above the level of her shoulders. If she
were a real pitcher, I'd be concerned about her developing
shoulder problems.
I do at least like her arm slot; it will help her use
her height to her advantage and maximize the vertical movement of
her pitches.
Danica Patrick
So that you know that I'm not prejudiced against women, let me
now show you a photo of Danica Patrick throwing a ball with pretty
much perfect mechanics.
Danica Patrick
There are a number of things to notice in this photo.
First, she clearly started out sideways to the target;
notice how her PAS toe is parallel to the pitching rubber and pointing
toward 3B. Second, notice that she is taking a decent-sized stride; this
will help her establish some momentum toward the target and help
her hips rotate. Third, notice that she has come to something
resembling the Ready Position. Her PAS elbow is bent more than I
recommend (you could argue that she is short-arming the ball), but
I don't think it's that big of a deal. Also, while her GS forearm
arm isn't pointing at the target, her GS elbow and GS upper arm
are pointing at the target. Fourth, notice how her hips
are rotating ahead of her shoulders (notice how the line of
buttons down the front of her jersey curves toward the plate as it
goes down her chest); this will enable her to throw with her body
and not just with her arm and get more on the ball as a result.
Finally, notice how her shoulders are fairly level and still
pointing at the target.
Harold Ramis
This photo of Harold Ramis throwing out a ceremonial first pitch shows
pretty much the same mechanics as the photo of Danica Patrick with
one important exception.
Harold Ramis
In the photo above notice how Harold Ramis is at pretty much the same
point in the motion as Danica Patrick, and generally has pretty
solid mechanics -- including rotating his hips ahead of his
shoulders -- but his PAS foot has rotated so that his PAS toe
is pointing pretty much toward the target (while the toe of Danica
Patrick's PAS foot is pointing at 3B). This is a small mechanical
flaw that some people have that I believe robs them of power (and
possibly accuracy as well) by
reducing how much the muscles of the torso are stretched and thus
reducing how powerfully the hips pull the shoulders around.
Hideki Matsui
As a sanity check, let's now take a look at a picture of Hideki Matsui
throwing the ball around in the outfield.
Hideki Matsui
First, notice how he started out
sideways to the target with his PAS foot parallel to the path of
his stride. Second, notice how he's taking a good-sized stride. I
do believe that you can overstride and mess up your mechanics, but
I also think that a reasonable stride (e.g. 70% of your height)
can improve your velocity and accuracy. Third, notice how his GS foot is
rotating to plant on the ground and his hips are rotating ahead of
his shoulders. Finally, notice how he is pointing his glove toward
the target; this helps to keep his shoulders closed as long as
possible and increases his velocity.
Dave Winfield
As a second sanity check, he's a photo of Dave Winfield
throwing out a ceremonial first pitch.
Dave Winfield
Notice how he's striding sideways
to the target, is pointing his GS toe at the target, has his PAS
foot parallel to the rubber, has his PAS elbow just below the
level of his shoulders and bent 90 degrees, and is showing the
ball to 3B (not CF or 2B).
While it looks like Dave Winfield's PAS elbow is above the
level of his shoulders at the Ready Position, it actually is
just below the level of his shoulders since his shoulders are
tilted downward toward the catcher.
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