Since Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee were awarded the top spot in this Friday's blog about the best 1-2 Combos in the MLB, I found the timing perfect to have a look at the one of these guys for this week's Big Leaguer Breakdown. King Felix's numbers this year were those fit for a.....well you get the idea. He was fantastic, going an amazing 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA. He also struck out 217 while walking only 71. With those numbers, he could rule any rotation on any team.
Let's take a look at this outstanding video of Felix's delivery.
What you should notice immediately is the high hand slot and the issue inward turn of the front hip and leg on the leg lift. Stopping the video at the 4 second mark shows a front side that is completely closed off, showing the numbers on the back of his jersey to the hitter. His chin is tucked down by his shoulder (which I like) and his weight is perfectly balanced over the back leg. As I've said a million times, this over rotation is fantastic for generating an explosive lower half and hiding the ball from the hitter. However, it requires impeccable timing that only a few guys are able to execute perfectly. When you think about this type of movement (AJ Burnette and Dontrelle Willis would be other examples) it is important to realize how the pitcher must return to the midline and still finish directionally to the target to allow the delivery to be repeated effectively.
If we watch the video to the 10 second mark, we see the timing of the leg swing and hand break are simultaneous. He also keeps his shoulders tilted fairly high, causing the throwing hand to break downward as the leg swing out and then down the mound. Again, a lot of this is a direct result of the upper half rotation we just looked at. There are many pitchers who utilize the high front shoulder/low throwing arm posture (Andy Pettite, Zack Greinke) but it requires very athletic and quick elbow loading as the foot gets foot strike. Even from this position, Felix must get shoulders back to parallel and ultimately finish down hill.
When you get to the 13 second mark of the video, you will see has done just that. The front foot has just hit the ground and the hips have just begun to open. However, the elbows are now perfectly level, the shoulder blades are loaded, and the front side (glove and shoulder) are still directly on target. This chain reaction will allow the hips to generate the power to deliver this pitch.
From this position, we see the ball being released as the glove is turned down and is quickly and the chest works forward and over top a bent front leg. This goes to show that a lot can be down in the first half of the delivery that may not be text book. However, if the second half the delivery is text book (as Felix's is) then it can be combined in to a very unique delivery that is as devastating as King Felix's.
So study this video and the others out there. You see a lot of these young guys generating their power this way. Just understand that it requires a high level of body control to be that wild!
Until Next Time!!
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