I’m not so sure of this. He may not in his books, but most guys who have been influenced by him end up with remarkably similar arm positions (e.g. upper arms level with forearms hanging down vertically).
[/quote]
Having gone through the coach’s certification program with Tom House and the NPA back in November, I can assure you Tom does not recommend specific arm positions.
Then the problem is that he doesn’t discourage certain arm positions. In my opinion, just because a pitcher comes up with an arm position, and just because it is opposite and equal, doesn’t mean that it is a good idea.
Rather, I believe that certain arm positions significantly increase the risk that pitchers will injure themselves.
I believe that Mark Prior, Paul Byrd, and Anthony Reyes – and the injury problems that they are experiencing – are examples of this.
[quote=“Chris O’Leary”]
By definition, a fastball is straight. Otherwise it’s a cutter or a sinker.[/quote]
Chris,
You’re mistaken. It’s all about rotational axes and spin velocity. Most superb major league fastballs have late, arm-side run. Cutters tend to move to the glove side and velocities tend to be off the pace by at least several mph. Straight 100mph fastballs leave the yard in a hurry.
My son throws four distinctly different fastballs that can move to EITHER SIDE of home plate at fastball velocity. They are not cutters or sinkers. His sinker is a -10mph pitch and it moves downward to the glove side. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Marshall’s mechanics. A conventional pitcher cannot throw a true fastball that has glove-side run.
Coach45
[quote=“Chris O’Leary”]The logic is that pitching is a game of creating and then dissipating energy. My theory is that by stiffening the glove-side leg you reduce its ability to dissipate energy. This then requires other parts of the body to dissipate that energy. This may end up overloading them and increasing the likelihood that they will break down.[/quote]Chris. Have you ever heard of the concept of the “kinetic chain” for pitching? You know, passing on energy from larger muscles/mass body parts to smaller ones in an intricately timed, sequential fashion? Let that front leg/knee “drift” and you will absolutely “dissipate” energy. That’s exactly what you DON’T want. That energy you just “dissipated” can also be described as energy that’s just been “lost”, never to be passed on to the ball, thus lowering your potential velocity.
I’m not sure what you mean when you use the term “drift.”
What I’m talking about is locking the glove-side knee around the release point. Most major leaguers don’t do that and the one that do lock their knees seem to be more prone to injuries.
[quote=“Chris O’Leary”]I’m not sure what you mean when you use the term “drift.”[/quote]I mean any excessive movement.
[quote=“Chris O’Leary”]What I’m talking about is locking the glove-side knee around the release point. Most major leaguers don’t do that and the one that do lock their knees seem to be more prone to injuries.[/quote]The pitchers I’ve looked at video of, with the exceptions of Nomo and Rivera, all land on a flexed front leg but straighten it out at or near release.
What do you mean by “locking the glove-side knee”?
he has pretty bad mechs but he still is a good pitcher