Hi everyone,
I have lurked here for a while and really, really enjoyed reading the expertise and conversation here. There are some really knowledgeable people here, and while I am frankly embarrassed posting this video, I am hoping I can ask a favor for a few of you to help me out.
I am 28, 5’7 and in decent shape. I play in a very competitive adult baseball wood bat league (2 games per week, practices all winter 2 times per week) and I enjoy the heck out of it. The average skill level is probably 10% garbage, 30% advanced high school, 40% ex-division 3 college, 10% ex-division 1, and 10% older retired ex minor and major leaguers. We even had a former rookie of the year on our team last year!
I had to pitch a decent amount last year. My movement is good so I did okay, but my velocity is probably 15mph below average in the league and I struggled to put people away on strikeouts. Most people sit between 70 and 80, with the rare pitcher in the upper 80s. Me, on the other hand - I am sitting 60mph consistently.
This is really frustrating. There are guys in the league my size and smaller that are clocked at 70+. If I can hit 70 I can be more than an effective pitcher due to my curveball and changeup, but I need to pick up 7-10mph for my stuff to play in this league.
Watching the video, I can notice several things right off the bat.
- Lack of explosiveness and hip action
- Lack of hip and shoulder separation
- Collapsing on my back leg
- Too short stride
- Throwing across my body which limits hip rotation
The issue is, I have been reading like crazy here trying to fix it and nothing I do works. I still look the same after practicing for a few months with zero gain in velocity.
Does anyone have suggestions on what I can do to fix this? I try everything and my velocity doesn’t budge. I appreciate you taking the time to help a washed up pitcher like me try to get some more enjoyment out of this game we love.