Tim Lincecum and joel Zumaya back leg

Pitching Mechanics
#21

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1427/658721717_9cb33d36b5_b.jpg

Wow he does really push that is amazing lol. I think I’m starting to understand how he gets the leg to turn over it’s through a push right before landing againest the rubber

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1267512223&size=o

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Look how he gets on the toe late and pushes at the last second so the leg comes off the ground and tunrs over.

#22

[quote=“RIstar”]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1427/658721717_9cb33d36b5_b.jpg

Wow he does really push that is amazing lol. I think I’m starting to understand how he gets the leg to turn over it’s through a push right before landing againest the rubber

Look how he gets on the toe late and pushes at the last second so the leg comes off the ground and tunrs over.[/quote]

Like I wrote in my previous posts, he uses the front leg to propel him forward.

Right before landing his back foot is preparing to drag in order to stretch his right hip flexor muscles at landing. This aids in separation. It also aids in hip rotation because most of the muscles of the hips get stretched and will “reflex”.

Two things you can try with the back foot to see what works for you:

Position it so that it’s angled pointing somewhere between home and 3B so that it gets the knee turned in already, a la Koufax.

Or, position it so that it’s pointing somewhere between 3B and SS. You may be surprised that it’s easier to “push” away from the rubber with this positioning.

Look at the ninth clip of Lincecum in the pitching clips section and use your left and right arrows to move back and forth frame by frame. Look at where his back knee is pointing before it turns over. Once it turns over, there is no more push.

#23

It’s pointed to 3rd or to SS a little.

I will do some dry throwing off the step today and see what results I get. Also I will video tape it to see the difference between pointing it more towards home or more towards SS.

Also we sweeps his leg around then half way through he gets a second boost of energy to home what is this? the step over?

#24

I do what your talking about and it helps my velocity. I actually use my back foot turning over as a split second check point so that I know that its time to bring my arm through. It didn’t come naturally to me either. I think its all in the hips. I actually make a conscious effort to make sure that foot turns but my upper body (my arm even more importantly) stays back, than once that foots turned over and my lead foot touches down, I explode that arm foward, full of all that built up tension, utilizing all the momentum I have gained as well along the way. I most note also that separation is split second occurrence. The science behind any separation movement is the stretching or lengthening of the muscles. When a muscle is lengthened and immediately contracted it contracts more powerfully. However if it’s lengthening for an extended period of time (which isn’t really too extended being that we’re talking about split seconds here), the stored energy actually begins to get released from the muscle as heat! Which would explain why separation is so hard to see in full speed with the naked eye (without of course the luxury of a pause button). So focusing on separation, done right, done fast, I think can come in very handy. Of course that’s not to say the rest of your mechanics should be neglected.

I should also add that I do drop and drive. I’m not exactly sure if that helps my hip turn, but I definitely push off. I actually drop before I come forward. I don’t necessarily recommend this, given the fact that me, Zumaya, and David Cone are the only people i know who do this. (I don’t feel seaver dropped than drove, I actually think he kind of drove and fell, or drove into a drop, but thats a completely different topic) But it feels comfy, and works for me.

Sorry for the long response and any unnecessary points I may have made. I just love pitching and mechanics and tend to have a hard time shutting up once about them once I get going. Hope this helps somewhat.