Footage of myself

Pitching Mechanics
#1

That is the direct link to this (small, I know):

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I wish i had better footage, and more of it. Sadly, I don’t, but I will probably get some soon (as I am playing fall ball). Just wondering what you thought of it. I know my front opens up a tad early (shoulders & hips), and that my arm goes inside a 90 degree angle before the 3/4 release. Last year was my first year pitching, and I think I’ve come a long way, but I want to learn more and still keep my velocity. Everything I’ve read concerning the opening of shoulders/hips before the plant foot seems to slow my momentum and decrease speed. Is there something you can add to that concept that may help me?

Thanks, :wink:

Lt. Dan, Junior in HS Rockford, Illinois

#2

Thats some knee lift you got goin on there Ltdan…me and Bubba (What a great movie :smiley: ) think from what we can see you look pretty smooth, if you can, get the next vid (Bigger) from the other side (So we can see your hand break and timing). Have you been clocked?

#3

I haven’t been clocked before. My recent teammates say they think I’m an average low 70’s fastball, which really doesn’t hurt my feelings, but it seems too low for a junior in high school. I don’t throw as hard on the mound, especially if I know I’m gonna go 7 innings (or aim for 7 at least). I don’t know that I’m aspiring to become a MLB player, but I want to show up some high schools this spring.

A little about me: I’m a position player by trade. I love to field, it’s really the only reason why I started playing baseball. I starting pitching for the first time this spring, and I’ve had pretty good success. I like to work in a change-up, and a very good curveball (yeah, very good). My fastball naturally sinks and moves in to righties (two seam). I averaged about 8 k’s in spring every seven inning game. I was a sophomore on the varisty team and finished with a 3-1 record. I’m concerned with throwing too many pitches for how many strike outs I like to get. So if I move into a ground ball, pop-up pitcher, I will want to throw faster. Which is part of the reason I’m on this site, posting.

I hope to get more video, and soon, but my best bet will probably be a non-game clip.

#4

How many pitches did you throw per game? How many no decisions (If any) did you have? 4 complete games shouldn’t be a big cause of worry.
Good job on the record and k’s per game though.

#5

[quote=“jdfromfla”]How many pitches did you throw per game? How many no decisions (If any) did you have? 4 complete games shouldn’t be a big cause of worry.
Good job on the record and k’s per game though.[/quote]

-No idea on the number of pitches per game.
-I had one no decision (in the spring), so I pitched 5 games. It really was a no decision, we went into extras, so I can’t say it was a loss that I got out of, or a win that was blown.
-Most of my strike outs are swinging; like I said, good curve and a tailing/sinking fastball, but that accounts for a lot of full count K’s and many-pitch AB’s. I usually just try to mix up locations, even if it means giving the batter a couple outside of the zone intentionally. This way it seems like they’re seeing a certain pitch for the first time.

My arm is rarely, if ever sore after games, but I fell this summer on my elbow and it has hurt since. I want to make sure I’m not over-using my arm more than anything.

thanks,
dan

#6

The one thing I can definitely see is that you don’t start your center of gravity forward until after your knee lift peaks and your front leg is on its way back down. This results in leading with the front foot instead of the front hip and that opens the hips a bit too soon. In the end, you’re cheating yourself out of some velocity and very likely putting extra stress on the arm (since you waste energy early and are left with mostly arm to throw). Start the hips moving forward sooner. Start off by starting them forward at peak of knee lift. Once you get comfortable with that, then try getting them started forward slightly before the peak of your knee lift.