Pitching Basics

PITCHING BASICS

START –

Hands together, hide grip, step back, shift weight back, slide pivot foot inside rubber

BALANCE –

Raise knee waist high with thigh parallel to ground, body perpendicular to rubber, front foot over back foot, back straight, back leg flexed, weight back, hands lift, front shoulder action is up then down.

APPROACH –

Hips slide for home as you stride. Hands back from glove as arm action is down, back up, and over. Cock wrist. Fall forward – don’t push off rubber, heal leads stride, keep hips closed, toes down, back of glove toward plate, keep front shoulder closed, good balance, stride foot flips open before landing, land flat with weight on balls of feet. Landing foot should be slightly open from perpendicular so you don’t throw across your body.

RELEASE –

All motion should be toward the plate, rotate the front hip and explode as the front shoulder opens , snap wrist and release ball and bend at the waist, chest over thigh, chin to plate, front arm to chest.

FOLLOW THROUGH –

Pivot foot goes out and up, throwing arm opposite the stride leg. The glove is thrown at the hitter, then down and to the left, not behind body. Get in fielding position – square up, glove in front.

COMMON PROBLEMS –

Rushing – body finishes motion before arm is in position to throw. Don’t rotate hips and open the front shoulder too soon.

Overstriding

Throwing across body – closed stride

Poor follow through – not bending

DRILLS –

(1)Knee Drill for upper body focus.

(2)Slo Mo Full Delivery Drill w/o Ball. Isolate the start, balance, approach, release and follow through sequences.

(3)Play catch throwing curves and 2-seamers, getting used to the grips and arm action.

(4)Bend the Back Drill. Touch a hat on the ground to emphasize follow through.

GREAT REFERENCES –

BASEBALL PLAYBOOK, by Ron Polk; Mississippi State University, 1978.

BASEBALL SKILLS AND DRILLS, American Baseball Coaches Association; Human Kinetics, 2001.

COACHING BASEBALL TECHNICAL AND TACTICAL SKILLS, American Sport Education Program; Human Kinetics, 2006.

COACHING YOUTH BASEBALL THE RIPKEN WAY, by Ripken, Ripken, and Lowe; Human Kinetics, 2007.

THE HITTING EDGE, by Tom Robson; Human Kinetics, 2003.

LEARNING HOW BASEBALL, by Dick Siebert; Creative Educational Society, 1961.

PITCHING: THE BASIC FUNDAMENTALS AND MECHANICS OF SUCCESSFUL PITCHING, by Bob Shaw, 1972.

THE SCIENCE OF HITTING, by Ted Williams and John Underwood; Simon and Schuster, 1986.