Poor Nationals fans. Just when they thought they had a savior for their franchise. Not only did they lose a bonafide number 1 starter, they also lost the 5th most marketable face in Major League Baseball. The culprit is a villain that has claimed many pitchers over the course of baseball history; tommy john surgery. Put simply, the main ligament in a pitcher's arm wears down, frays, and eventually tears from the repeated stress of throwing a baseball. Usually the culprit is poor pitching mechanics, but in Stephen's case, that doesn't appear to be the the reason.
So, from a pitcher's perspective, what does this mean. For starters, it will be a long lonesome road of rehab. Strasburg will go back to the Nationals spring training complex in the off season and report to the training room every day at 7 or 8am. After he has the surgery, he will begin a slow and arduous rehab that starts with light movement drills and will eventually get to throwing. That of course will be handled at the most careful pace possible with a star athlete such as Strasburg. Typically, the rehab process has gotten perfected so much that sometimes pitchers can come back in as little as 10 months. I doubt they will rush things with Strasburg, but another side affect that seems to come along Tommy John Surgery as the pitcher is able to refine his delivery and even gain velocity. Now, I doubt Stephen will be able to eclipse 103mphs, but I guess you never know.
One thing is for certain however. The Nationals will continue to take care of Strasburg as if he is the savior of their team. Quite frankly, I don't blame them. Even a hurt Strasburg will generate media attention and keep the Nationals relevant as their other star, Bryce Harper comes along.
I'll talk more in depth about TJ surgery in another post, but in the meantime, here's to a speedy recovery and even more velocity this time next year.
Until Next Time!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Less Is More Pitching Thesis Statement
Sorry for the delay between posts. It's been a hectic few weeks with tons of pitching lessons taking up plenty of time. As we head back into the fall baseball season, I wanted to take a moment to re-establish the Less Is More Pitching Thesis Statement.
From my years of personal experience pitching at the professional level, working with professional coaches and players, and studying the deliveries of numerous major league pitchers I have come to the following "over arching conclusion" about pitching:
"The better a pitcher can create positive muscle memory through dedicated drill work, bullpens and dry run repetitions, the more likely he will be able to replicate his delivery and get to a consistent release point with out having to utilize "maximum effort." Instead, he will be so familiar with his delivery that he will literally feel looser and smoother the LESS hard he tries allowing him to apply MORE velocity, movement, and depth to all of his pitches at the end of his delivery as it naturally explodes to the plate."
The bottom line is the better you know your delivery, the less hard you will have to try to repeat it. The less hard you try, the looser your muscles will be. Loose muscles are explosive muscles and explosive muscles = velocity.
The path to this goal is through repetition. A pitcher must learn to "try less" by forcing his muscles to be so used to the proper positions of the delivery that it will literally become second nature.
All of my pitching lessons are centered around this goal and utilize light shoulder exercises, proper warm up techniques, long toss, dry run drills, short spin drills, bullpen work and mental exercises to help pitchers all over to achieve this goal.
If you're interested, shoot me a line here or on my website to get connected!
Until next time!!
From my years of personal experience pitching at the professional level, working with professional coaches and players, and studying the deliveries of numerous major league pitchers I have come to the following "over arching conclusion" about pitching:
"The better a pitcher can create positive muscle memory through dedicated drill work, bullpens and dry run repetitions, the more likely he will be able to replicate his delivery and get to a consistent release point with out having to utilize "maximum effort." Instead, he will be so familiar with his delivery that he will literally feel looser and smoother the LESS hard he tries allowing him to apply MORE velocity, movement, and depth to all of his pitches at the end of his delivery as it naturally explodes to the plate."
The bottom line is the better you know your delivery, the less hard you will have to try to repeat it. The less hard you try, the looser your muscles will be. Loose muscles are explosive muscles and explosive muscles = velocity.
The path to this goal is through repetition. A pitcher must learn to "try less" by forcing his muscles to be so used to the proper positions of the delivery that it will literally become second nature.
All of my pitching lessons are centered around this goal and utilize light shoulder exercises, proper warm up techniques, long toss, dry run drills, short spin drills, bullpen work and mental exercises to help pitchers all over to achieve this goal.
If you're interested, shoot me a line here or on my website to get connected!
Until next time!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
In Between Season Long Toss
Now that many of the summer travel ball and legion seasons are coming to a close for most ball players, it is time to turn our sights on the off-season. It is a time that can truly make the difference between repeating the previous years performance or taking the next step toward achieving a ball player's dream of moving from high school to college or college to the pros. As an old sporting goods commercial used to say... " All men are created equal....some just work harder in the off season."
For the professional pitcher (i.e. any pitcher older than 12), this is the perfect time to start a dedicated long toss program. I think it is wise to take a month off to allow the arm to recover from the strain of a long spring and summer season. However, if the fall ball season starts in September or October, then we don't want to take any more than a week or two to ensure that no atrophy of the throwing muscles occur. With that in mind, we can take the extra time without actual games to get with a throwing partner and long toss atleast 3 times a week. The extended distances of the throwing and high intensity of the finish sets of a solid long toss program will allow the arm to build strength with less regard for "throwing strikes." This thought process may seem contrary to what we are trying to do (throw strikes). However, I believe that within the frame work of quality long toss (keeping head on the target, leading with the chin, not falling off to the side, the body must be trained to throw as hard as possible with out trying to throw strikes first. Then, once the velocity is increased, it must be "reigned" into the frame work of a pitching delivery.
So, take some time to get out there at least 3 times a week to begin the program. Try to increase the distance of your longest toss by about 10 feet, once a week. Be sure to mix in a solid weight lifting program and sprint/long distance cardio program. By increasing your overall physical strength in conjunction with the long toss, you can give your body the best chance to increase over all velocity, stamina, and ability repeat a delivery.
Again, this time period starting in mid August and carrying all the way into the winter is a great time to focus on building arm strength. You should try to dedicated atleast 2 solid months of long tossing 3 times a week to truly see any results. But truly, long toss should be a part of a year long throwing program. However, you wouldn't want to do it this often (3 times a week) within the season or pre-season.
If you have any questions about specific distances or actual throwing breakdowns, please comment and I will be happy to respond.
Until Next Time!
For the professional pitcher (i.e. any pitcher older than 12), this is the perfect time to start a dedicated long toss program. I think it is wise to take a month off to allow the arm to recover from the strain of a long spring and summer season. However, if the fall ball season starts in September or October, then we don't want to take any more than a week or two to ensure that no atrophy of the throwing muscles occur. With that in mind, we can take the extra time without actual games to get with a throwing partner and long toss atleast 3 times a week. The extended distances of the throwing and high intensity of the finish sets of a solid long toss program will allow the arm to build strength with less regard for "throwing strikes." This thought process may seem contrary to what we are trying to do (throw strikes). However, I believe that within the frame work of quality long toss (keeping head on the target, leading with the chin, not falling off to the side, the body must be trained to throw as hard as possible with out trying to throw strikes first. Then, once the velocity is increased, it must be "reigned" into the frame work of a pitching delivery.
So, take some time to get out there at least 3 times a week to begin the program. Try to increase the distance of your longest toss by about 10 feet, once a week. Be sure to mix in a solid weight lifting program and sprint/long distance cardio program. By increasing your overall physical strength in conjunction with the long toss, you can give your body the best chance to increase over all velocity, stamina, and ability repeat a delivery.
Again, this time period starting in mid August and carrying all the way into the winter is a great time to focus on building arm strength. You should try to dedicated atleast 2 solid months of long tossing 3 times a week to truly see any results. But truly, long toss should be a part of a year long throwing program. However, you wouldn't want to do it this often (3 times a week) within the season or pre-season.
If you have any questions about specific distances or actual throwing breakdowns, please comment and I will be happy to respond.
Until Next Time!
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