I agree with you. But I also agree with ultimatepitcher, they should both be used in a program. I believe there hasn’t been any research showing that long toss is effective of ineffective because it’s different for every person. I believe if you long toss consistently with enough intensity, just like with nay workout, you will see an increase in arm strength. I also believe the same with weighted balls.
Fall of my junior year I threw 73 mph. With a winter of hard work, a crazy exercise class, weighted baseballs, and constant throwing, I threw 79-82 that January at tryouts. I never long tossed because I live in Ohio and that’s impossible to do when there’s a foot of snow plus 2 degree weather.
A thought just occurred to me, could these programs be combined in the same workout. I wouldn’t be able to throw weighted baseballs before games, but I wouldn’t want to either. But say on a day where I was throwing to strengthen my arm, I long toss, like the Jaeger program, then after my final pull-downs I threw my weighted baseballs? It seems like the best of both worlds.
Also, I have another question, how many throws should I make at each part of the pull down? Is it just a ‘how you feel’ thing like when you are moving back?
Let me know what you all think. Thank you for your input!