Which Side of the Mound to Pitch From?

So, there are many things about pitching that are extremely complicated. Something as simple as 'what side of the mound to pitch from' can be analyzed and generate multiple approaches and theories. I am here to set the record straight. The concept is relatively simple. The hand that you throw with should determine what side of the mound you throw from. So obviously, a left handed pitcher will throw from the first base side of the rubber and a right hander from the third base side. Why is this? To create an angle that will make it difficult for the hitter to pick up the baseball out of the pitcher's hand. For a righty, throwing from right side to a right handed hitter, the ball will appear to come from behind the batter. Contrasty, if the righty is throwing to a lefty, the ball will appear to be coming across the plate instead of straight toward the hitter. This change in geometry can really give hitters a tough time squaring up the baseball. This, obviously, translates even further into change-ups and breaking balls.

Of course, as with everything is the game of baseball, this theory is only true 90% of the time. There are certain scenarios where it will benefit for a pitcher to throw from the other side of the mound. For example, a pitcher who steps across his body when he pitches could benefit from throwing from the other side of the mound. By doing this, a "cross-stepper" will end up in the middle of the mound and it will allow him to locate his pitches in the zone with more consistently.

Secondly, sinker ball pitchers also benefit from throwing from the opposite side of the mound. By doing this, the sinker (which moves downward and arm side) has more of the plate to move in and still within the strike zone. Effectively, a pitcher can start with his throwing arm in the of the rubber (by standing on the glove side of the rubber) and, with good mechanics, work his sinker to both side of the plate with more effortless adjustments.

Aside from these two scenarios, the rule of thumb is to throw from your the arm side half of the rubber. The adjustment is very easy to make and will return immediate dividends. Good luck applying this in your next outing and let me know how it goes.

Until Next Time!

Big Leaguer Breakdown: Heath Bell

In much the same way that Brian Wilson established himself as a premier closer with a fantastic 2009, Heath Bell dug himself out of relative Major League obscurity to post an amazing 42 saves for a mediocre San Diego team. His stop and go delivery of a mid-90's fastball and sharp breaking ball allowed Heath to post a 2.71 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP. We've got another great video from youtube user laflippin to look at this week's Big Leaguer Breakdown: Heath Bell.

Peruse this video of Heath Bell warming up to see how he delivers the baseball.

The first thing to do is watch this video all the way through. It is important to notice the short and choppy nature of Heath's delivery. Notice how he lifts his leg low, hitches forward on his hand break, and elevates his entire body through a back foot lift. Then, he jerks down with the glove and the hand fires through with the hip turn. There are many pros and cons to this approach. First, the hesitation in the delivery makes it very difficult for a hitter to pick up the rhythm and timing of the baseball. Usually, a hitter will "load" and stride as the pitcher begins his leg lift down toward the target. This is very difficult to do with a delivery like Heath's because that slide forward has a sort of "hiccup" that changes that timing. However, the hitch can also make the timing of the pitcher's body difficult to repeat unless it is executed perfectly every time. Years of repetition are likely required to ensure the hand break and foot strike are timed perfectly with the elbow and chest and finish.

With this in mind, we'll look at a few keep points in this video. First, the 0:40 mark shows the hitch to which I am referring. By coming up off the heal of the back foot, the front foot is forced downward sooner than the average delivery. This, of course, shortens the stride and forces Bell to throw over a relatively stiff front leg. We do, however, see at this point in the delivery that the requisite "elbows up" position is achieved even without getting very "athletic."

From here, if we just click through the delivery just a few ticks (still the 0:40 mark) we see Heath has turned and released the baseball. His head is well on target but the chest and front leg are very stiff and flat. Generally, we like to see a slight bend in the front knee and some torso flexibility that would all the pitcher to get extended to his target. Bell, however, does not get very far forward over that front leg as he releases the ball, thus preventing himself from getting extension on release.

As with most big leaguers, Heath does a great job of repeating his delivery extremely well. There are some key factors that I, personally, do not love. However, per usual, he has done a great job being effective with his unique attributes.

Take some time and keep studying those deliveries.

Until Next Time!!!

Controlling the Running Game Part II

So far, we spoken specifically about what the pitcher, individually, can do to prevent runners from stealing bases. Approaches such as changing looks, timing, and pick offs are all part of the defenses at the pitcher's disposal to catch would-be base stealers.

In this installment, we will look at a couple scenarios that involve not just the pitcher, but the other fielders to help hold the runner on and prevent him from getting any kind of stealing jump. The first relationship to be discussed is between the catcher and the pitcher. Since the catcher has a better viewing angle on what the runners are doing, he can see, better than the pitcher, what the runner is doing. Regardless of whether the sign originates from the dugout (called by the coach) or solely from the catcher, the catcher can indicate to the pitcher that the runner is taking too many liberties on the base and he needs to pick over. Generally, there is a unique set of signs that indicate to the pitcher that a pick is on. For example, the "horns" series is created by putting the index and pinky fingers down as the first sign, followed by either a 1, 2 or 3. The second sign dictates where the pick should go with first base obviously corresponding to the number 1 and so on and so forth. It is important to note here that it is essential for the fielders to be reading the signs as well. If a short stop or second baseman sees a "horns 2" sign, this indicates a timing pick based on the number of looks is coming to second. This tells the short stop or second baseman to break to the bag as the pitcher looks back toward home (on the predetermined number of looks). After he looks, home, he will continue his rotation back around to start the pick off to second base. Also, from the horns series, the catcher can indicate other unique pieces of the running defense. A "horns - horns" sign can indicate a pitch out and a "horns - fist" can tell the pitcher to hold the ball until the hitter steps out of the box. Just make sure that the first sign is unique enough to tell the pitcher it is not a sign for a pitch.

Another relationship designed for the cessation of base stealers exists between the fielders and the pitcher. At any point in a game, in between pitches, a sign must exist that allows a fielder to indicate that THEY want the pitcher to pick to their bag. The sign itself, of course, can be any number of things as long as it is inconspicuous. A good example would be covering the emblem on the hat as if the fielder was adjusting his hat. The key here falls two-fold on the pitcher. First, he must disciplined enough to look at his fielders after every pitch when a runner is present. It doesn't have to a long look, but just enough for the fielder to cover his hat, for example, to indicate that he wants the pick. With a thousand other things to consider, it is easy sometimes to forget to look at all the fielders. Secondly, it is the pitchers responsibility to acknowledge that he has received the pick sign as well. This sign can be just simple as long as it is discreet. The adjusting of the cup could serve the needed purpose quite well. Generally, speaking, once the pick is put on by the fielder and acknowledged by the pitcher, it is cued off of the head looks of the pitcher. For example, if the first baseman gives the sign, then the pitcher (a righty) will come set, check the runner once, check him twice, and after looking home, spins and picks. For a lefty, the leg lift will cue the pick is coming. The key, of course, is communicate silently to the each other that the pick is coming.
The last relationship involves the middle infielders when there is a runner on second. Sometimes, an opportunity presents itself for the pick off after the pitcher comes set. If the runner extends its lead too far, for example, or seems to loose focus while off the bag, the infielder can indicate to the pitcher to essentially "PICK NOW!" The fielder does this with what is know as the "flash pick." In the case of the short stop, he will wait until the pitcher looks his way and then break to the bag with his glove hand extended to the bag. As soon as the pitcher sees this, he must immediately turn and spin pick, getting the throw to the bag at the same time the fielder gets to the bag. On the flip side, if the second baseman does the break to the bag, he shows an open throwing hand when the pitcher is looking and the picks is timed in similar fashion. This technique should be used sparingly because the element of surprise is the key to making this work. However, if timed correctly, the pitcher can quickly get himself out of a sticky situation.

So there we have it. I know this is a bit in depth and I, truthfully, I could do a post on each scenario. However, this should suffice for now. Let me know if you have any specific scenarios or questions.

Until NextTime!!!

Big Leaguer Breakdown: Brian Wilson

I realized something today. I have been completely biased toward starting pitchers. Besides paying tribute to the former Mets closer, Billy Wagner, I have done no other Big Leaguer Breakdowns that feature relievers. (Unless you count John Smoltz) Well, that ends today. The youtube account, laflippin, continues to put fantastic slow motion videos of many great pitchers and the Sanfransisco Giants closer, Brian Wilson caught my eye. He had a breakout year last year with his signature crossing of the arms to pay tribute to his late father and God. As a fellow believer, I have a huge place is my heart for pro ball players who aren't afraid to show their "true colors" when it comes to their faith. It also didn't hurt that B. Wilson finished the year with a 2.74 ERA, 38 saves, and a 1.20 WHIP. For all of these reasons, he is this week's Big Leaguer Breakdown.

Check out laflippin's latest youtube post of Brian Wilson letting go at 98 mphs!

Right off the bat, we can see that Wilson is very compact and deliberate with all of his movements. In other words, he has no extra rotations or over-exaggerated leg kicks. Basically, he lifts up, down and through to release. Let's stop the video first at the :05 mark to see Wilson at one of my favorite spots in the motion, the height of the leg lift. We do see a slight inward rotation of the upper half, but other then that, the hands are close to the body, the back leg is tall and the front leg is up and in a perfect angle to work back toward the target.

From here, we see the hands break as he leads his body forward with the front hip and front shoulder. There is a slight bend in the back leg but only to allow the body get more athletic as it gets closer to foot strike. We see Wilson here, at the :11 mark, just about to make contact with the dirt down the mound at foot strike. As we know, we must keep the front shoulder on target as the hips begun to turn to generate the power with which we deliver the baseball. We see Wilson doing this at this point in the delivery. The front foot has turned, initiating the hip turn, but his shoulders are still online and waiting for the power of the lower half to force the upper half through and down to release.

We fast forward to the :13 mark to show you what I think is the best part of Brian's delivery. His finish. At this point of the delivery, he has just released the baseball. I want to point out the great job Brian does getting the chest forward and bending at the waist to get extended over his front leg. Of course, he his head is on target and shoulders are square. By getting the foot down and having a slight bend in the front leg, we are able to stay loose through the torso and force the chest and therefore the throwing arm closer to the target on release.

All of this combined contributes to Brian Wilson's ability to throw in the mid-90s. We can learn quite a lot from these key features of his delivery. Most importantly is flexibility in the torso.

Until Next Time!

Controlling the Running Game Part I

As if pitchers don't have enough to worry about when it comes to facing nine hitters trying to take their heads off. If one of those hitters happens to reach base, it is also the pitcher's responsibility to make sure the runner does not get too large of a lead or worse, steal a base. Many times, keeping a hitter on first or second base can make the difference between a runner grounding into a double play or possibly scoring on the same ground ball.

There are two main ways for a pitcher to keep the runner from getting too big of a jump when stealing or too large of a lead on the pitch. Both ways are based on preventing the pitcher from getting into a set routine. Unfortunately, pitchers are bred to repeat absolutely everything when it comes to their delivery. However, if the pitcher does the same thing when he comes set, the runner will be able to time his looks and holds and get the best possible jump. The first way to prevent this from happening is changing the number of "looks" after coming set out of the stretch position. In other words, changing the number of times a pitcher looks over at the runner to prevent the runner from getting a comfortable lead. Unless the runner is looking for you to pick off, he will be forced to stop lengthening his lead or even shorten the lead when the pitcher looks over. Plus, the change in looks forces the pitcher to change his timing before the pitch. This tactic leads us to the second form of holding the runner. In addition to changing looks, the pitcher must vary his holds before delivering the pitch. Sometimes, the pitcher will come set, look once, and then pitcher immediately. Other times, he could come set, look one, hold for a few extra ticks, look again, then pitch. Still other situations would have the pitcher coming set, not looking at all at the runner, and immediately deliver the pitch. You get the idea here. The key is to remain calm and under control. There's no reason to get over anxious, because as long as you hold the baseball, the runner cannot run without risking being picked off.

Another piece of the puzzle is the pitcher's ability to be quick to the plate. After varying looks and timing, the pitcher must shorten his leg lift and release the baseball in shorter amount of time. If you look at it like a math equation, we can deduce how fast a pitcher must be to prevent the runner from having a good chance to swipe the bag. If it takes the normal, above average runner just under 4 seconds to run 80 ft (the distance from a lead off to the next base), the combined time from the delivery to the catcher and catcher to second must be less than that. We know that the cut off mark for a decent catcher's arm from home to second is 2.0 seconds or less. Therefore, a pitcher must be able to start his delivery and get the ball to the catcher in less than 1.8 seconds (leaving a .2 second margin for error). Righties should work a little quicker than this, utilizing some variation of a shorter/quicker leg (known as the slide step) to get the ball to the plate in 1.5 seconds or less. Lefties have the luxury of looking at the runner as they left their leg and can afford to be a bit slower.

So this concludes part 1 of the "Controlling the Running Game" segment here on LIM. I will look at things that the pitcher and the other fielders can do to be on the same page with holds and pick offs to further prevent the runner from moving illegally (stealing the bag).

Until Next Time!!!

Big Leaguer Breakdown: Javier Vazquez

We go off the beaten path only slightly this week for our Big Leaguer Breakdown. Although having been in the Big Leagues for 11 years, it is just recently that Javier Vazquez has begun to get the star caliber recognition he deserves. This sudden awareness may have something to do with the fact that Javy lowered his season best ERA but more than whole point. Or possibly it is that he struck out 238 batters in only 219 innings to finish fourth in the Cy Young Award voting. Either way, after going 15 - 10 for the Braves last year, Javier is now with the Yankees and poised to make even better of a devastating fastball, slider, change-up combination. It is for these reasons that Javier Vazquez is this week's Big Leaguer Breakdown


Check out this great youtube clip from laflippin of Vazquez in slow motion.

We will look at a very early part of this clip to point out something Javy does that I am a big fan of that I haven't noticed on many other pitchers. At the :07 mark of the video, Javier has stepped off to the side for his drop step, pivoted his back foot in front of the rubber and also simultaneously rotated his front shoulder in line with the target. Many young pitchers rush through this step and either over-rotate their front shoulder or never quite get the shoulder all the way closed. By setting the front shoulder on line early, we can be sure that the rest of the delivery has a chance to stay on line as well.

From there, we go to the :13 portion of the video. Vazquez has elevated his leg lift well beyond parallel and his hands are equally as high. This position can lead to some very detrimental variations if the pitcher is not careful. Of course, being a Big Leaguer, Vasquez has been able to repeat this with great effectiveness. For a young pitcher who wants to emulate this, he must make sure to remain tall and not simply fall down the mound from this position. Instead, the front leg most work back down before going forward. We see Vasquez do just that as we go to the :18 mark. His hands have just begun to separate as his body has just now begun to move forward toward the catcher. Very important to notice is that his back leg has not collapsed barely at all. Instead, he's remained very tall with great posture throughout the entire first half of his delivery.

At the :22 mark, we see one of my favorite postures in the all of pitching. We see the hips have "fired" as the front foot is preparing to touch the ground down the mound. More importantly, however, is the fact that the elbows have not yet begun to rotate around. Instead, they are "loaded" and online toward the target. This timing of the hips and elbows are the key to generating a quality delivery and velocity at the same time.

Check out the picture below to see exactly what I am talking about.

From here, Vazquez gets to finish in perfect text book fashion. At the :24 mark, we see his chest and chin squared directly to the target with the glove turned and tucked down without yanking. The front knee is bent and the chest is coming forward. Peculiarly, he seems to elevate his body from this position over the front leg instead of staying down through the release. It is possible that the front knee locked out just a bit as he released, preventing him from getting the desired release. This is a minor gripe on my end, but deserves mentioning as we look at the delivery from this step by step breakdown.

There are many pros and only a few cons from the clip of Javier Vazquez. Most importantly, we must really grasp how well he controls his lower half with such a tall leg lift. Also, his hip turn and upper half timing is impeccable. Take some time and keep studying this clip and any others you can find of Javy.

Until Next Time!!

Updates to Less Is More Website!!

Just a quick update fellas. I've just recently completed Less Is More's youtube account. It has been added directly to the Less Is More website along with a few other updates. There are new tutorials and the format of the tutorial/lesson page is completely rearranged. Take some time to explore the new format and all of the changes to the website it self. The new videos are also full of awesome info.

Click Here To Visit The LessIsMore Website.

As always, the blog will be updated a few times a week. Check back in tomorrow night for the next Big Leaguer Breakdown and next week for my favorite fantasy picks.


Until Next Time!!

The Value of Professional Instruction

As a Professional Pitching Instructor, I understand that this blog post could possibly come across as a bit on the self-serving side. However, I believe strongly in the quality of information and instruction that I provide and have witnessed many young pitchers achieve well beyond what their natural abilities along would take them.

As we consider Professional Instruction, we must first acknowledge many times the other sources of instruction young athlete may be receiving may be incomplete. Many of their coaches are either their parents or friends of parents who may or may not have much playing experience. There is no doubt that they mean well and are a great blessing to the teams they coach with the time and effort they give. When I say that the instruction may be incomplete however, I mean that their parents/coaches most definitely do have some good baseball know-how mixed in with some poor habits born from incorrectly interpreting things they may have seen or done previously.

The role that Professional Instruction can play, is filling in those gaps where a young player's coach may not be able to provide all that he needs. Specifically, when considering a player in the early stages of his career (10 years old or younger) a professional instructor will be able to instill great fundamentals and prevent poor habits from every being formed. It is at this stage that it is essential that those child's parents and coaches are made a part of whatever individual instruction he or she may be receiving. By understanding what the instructor is teaching, the coach and parent can reinforce these good habits throughout his career. Of course, this may require some humbleness on the part of those parents to allow them to learn something new themselves. The ideal situation is where the Instructor and parent can learn together as they meet the needs of the young player.

The other consideration concerning the value of the Professional Instructor is centered around the advanced, high school athlete. In this situation, the athlete has created a style of play that is comfortable to him or her. The changes made here with the instructor will most likely be very small in terms of how "drastic" they are perceived. However, they will also be more technical and in depth in their nature. In other words, the instructor will really be able to delve into the deepest, most technical parts of his trade and share those with the high school athlete. It is here that the athlete is truly able to gain some knowledge about his trade that no other coach will be able to provide. It is especially true when the instructor is a former professional player. These slight adjustments will make the difference to elevate his or her game to the level that may make the difference between playing high school and being successful at the college level.

These two scenarios are just a small glimpse into the value of my personal profession. By adding a professional instructor to your repertoire, you are giving you or your child's game every possible chance to succeed and supersede all of his available potential.

Make sure to contact me to set up your next appointment: foco1515@yahoo.com

Until NextTime!!

Big Leaguer Breakdown: Tommy Hanson

I know we've done quite a few All-Star big leaguers in the Big Leaguer Breakdown segment in the past. So this Sunday, I thought it was time we gave some love to a young gun. Tommy Hanson is an up-and-coming righty whom the Atlanta Braves will be relying on this year to deliver on the promise that his first year showed. And what a first year it was. Going 11-4 with a 2.84 ERA, Tommy was limited to 127 innings, where he struck out a 116. These stats were good enough to place him third in the Rookie of the Year voting and makes him this week's Big Leaguer Breakdown.

Check out this aerial view of Tommy Hanson warming up to study his mechanics.

The first thing to notice is how smooth and calm his delivery is. Of course, some of this can be attributed to the fact that he is warming up. Still, from my experience watching him in games, his ability to repeat that smoothness does not change once the up yells "Play Ball!" Tommy Hanson, out of the stretch here, utilizes a lower leg lift than usual. You can this at the .03 mark of the video. Of course, this may just be, because he is working on being quicker to the plate out the stretch with runners on. Pitcher's must understand that the shorter the leg lift, the quicker they must get their elbows up to shoulder height before throwing their pitch. Out of the windup, a pitcher has the luxury of a high leg lift to make their timing a little slower, and possibly easier to keep "on time."

Here, we see Tommy get those elbows up almost immediately after the front knee works down and out. At the .04 mark, we see that Tommy actually lack s a little bit of the athletic position we look for with those elbows up. With his elbows up, he essentially glides down the mound to foot strike. However, this movement forward allows him to keep his front side (elbow, shoulder, and hips) on target until turning those hips.

If we look at the .20 mark, we see the hip turn beginning to bring the throwing arm forward. As we watch the video past this mark, and see Hanson's finish position. He does a good job of getting the chest over a rather straight front leg. Of course, he does bend slightly at the knee before it straightens out. As a general rule, I don't recommend locking the front knee out, but if you are flexible enough, you can still locate pitches down in the zone over top of a straight front knee.

In that same part in the video, rewatch what Tommy's glove is doing. If you've been following this blog, you'll know that I am a huge fan of a glove turn instead of pulling with the glove. Here, Tommy gets the glove tucked underneath his stomach, keeping his body online throughout the finish.

Overall, I really like Tommy's mechanics. I think if he were able to develop a bit better timing with the elbows and hips, he may be able to develop a little better velocity. However, he seems to be on the right track his ability to repeat what he does through out a long season...so we'll let him stick to what he's doing.

Until Next Time!!

Throwing Harder

I am sometimes frustrated by how concerned all of my pitchers are about how hard they throw. I know I know.... stop yelling... I know scouts care about how hard you throw. That doesn't mean it is the most important thing with which they are concerned. On the forum I post on, there are current threads about how a pitcher can throw 90 - genetics or hard work and all of the different ways to generate velocity. I think my biggest concern is that young pitchers will loose sight of the thing that scouts are really concerned about. Can you get hitters out. I am sure it has been said before but I will say now... "If you could stand on your head and throw underhand and consistently get hitters out... a professional team would give you a job." I truly believe this. Certainly, throwing harder gives hitters less chance to react to certain pitches. Still, a lot of hitters love to hit pitchers that throw above 90. It is the pitchers that have a lot of movement and great off speed stuff that give hitters fits.

Again, I know throwing hard helps. I also know it would be awesome from a bragging rights stand point. But I also know that there are far more important things to work on. Developing secondary pitches, repeating your delivery, and throwing better first pitch strikes would all be much better ways to spend your time. The good news is if you work long and hard enough on your throwing mechanics and other pitches, the consistent throwing and extra work, just may parlay into better velocity on your fastball. Just make sure it isn't the only thing you are concerned about as you work off the mound.

Until Next Time