How do you think you would feel if you were on the mound throwing a no-hitter into the seventh inning in the Major Leagues and your coach pulls you out of the game?  That is exactly what happened today when Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pulled Kevin Slowey off the mound after 106 pitches. Was the manager in the wrong stripping a possible no-hitter from a pitcher that may never get a chance to have that opportunity again?

Sometimes, regardless of the situation, coaches have to make decisions that are difficult, yet correct decisions.  Too often in super League tournaments you hear of kids throwing a ridiculous amount of pitches in a given day or week.  Most leagues have rules for pitchers only allowing 3 maximum innings pitched each day throughout tournament play, but some don’t take into consideration how many pitches some of these young athletes actually throw and how much damage, regardless of how awesome their pitching mechanics are, how damaging this can be on a throwing arm.

Coaches are out there to win we can understand that.  But to jeopardize a young pitchers arm by overthrowing them when you know better is simply bad coaching.

If Major League starting pitchers don’t like their pitch count over 100 a game, (and they are usually on a five day rotation) why do some coaches allow little league pitchers to throw over 100 in a game, two days in a row?  It just boggles the mind.  It is important to develop many pitchers on your team so when tournament play comes you can save the arms of the stars so they can continue to shine when it counts.

To learn more about the smart coach that pulled the pitcher with a no-hit game going in the seventh click on the article below:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=300815109

Summer Pitching Mechanics DVD Sale

Pitchers are leaders! There is no question about it.  Great pitchers are emotionally mature and can carry their team to victory just by their mere presence on the mound.  It’s true that there are those pitchers who can influence the attitudes of each player on the team in a positive manner.  Other pitchers who carry a chip on their shoulder, tend to have bad things happen to them; position players bobble the ball more often when they pitch.  Why does this happen?  Do your teammates play better when you pitch or are they intimidated by your negative attitude praying they don’t mess up because they don’t want to deal with you between innings? What type of pitcher do you want to become? What is your demeanor on the mound?

It takes mental toughness to be a great pitcher. It is the nature of the game that we cannot control at times; the odds.  We know that Hall of Fame pitchers win only 50% of the time.  Pitchers can’t win all of the time.  Eventually we have an off day.  Sometimes we have a great day but the opposing pitcher also has a great day and your team can’t produce runs.  Here’s the kicker; sometimes we feel great and throw great and because of certain circumstances (one ball left up 3 inches to high, you throw a pitch right down the middle of the plate, too many errors on the field etc) you get beat.  What great pitchers do under those circumstances is keep a good attitude regardless of how difficult it can be.  Those are the pitchers whose odds are in their favor and end up with more wins than loses at the end of the season.  My point: stay positive regardless of the circumstances.

Homeruns happen; get over it! This is the nature of the game.  This is where pitchers need to be mentally tough.  You cannot let the failure or the success of your last pitch affect the next.  There is nothing greater than to see a pitcher get back in the groove and strike out the next two or three batters after they give up a dinger.  How long does it take you to get back in the groove after someone lights you up?  Get over it!  Homeruns and long innings happen to the best of pitchers.  The sooner you get rid of the negativity the sooner you calm down and get back into your groove.

Sometimes our greatest fans can influence us in a negative way when they are trying to help us succeed.  Don’t let any negativity into your head when you are performing. You get beat most of the time under those circumstances.  You are in control of your attitude and nobody else.  Don’t let the negative energy from anyone else effect your confidence on the mound.  Some of you are dealing with heckling fans, others heckling parents and coaches; yes even the people who care about our success just as much or more than we do, are the ones who can’t handle the pressure and they often say the most damaging things to us at times.  Even though their intentions are good; what they say can hurt at times.  We as pitchers cannot let that negativity influence our decisions and our attitudes when we are on the mound.  You know when you don’t throw with confidence what’s going to happen out there.  You get shelled!  Keep the negative thoughts and the negative people out of your head and you will perform much better.  Again, you are in control of your attitude, nobody else can take that from you.

Finally, there are literally a million things that can distract you from being your best self on the mound.  So much of pitching is mental toughness and awareness.  Learn to control your emotions and you will be surprised how much better you will become.  Others will respect you for who you are and what you can accomplish on the mound day after day.

The baseball season is a marathon; it takes endurance.  I know there were days where I would drag myself to the park thinking that I was so tired of going through the warm-up routine, etc. for the day.  While I loved every minute when the game started, sometimes the preparation was a bit taxing.  I learned later in my career that preparation is the most significant factor involved in created top notch athletes.

In this specific post I want to make sure you are continuing to prepare in one specific area: your hitting mechanics knowledge and refinement.  Why this late in the season should you pay close attention to your hitting mechanics?  Because when you aren’t getting better, you’re loosing the ground to your competition.  I live in Seattle and recently we (Seattle Mariners) dealt Cliff Lee to the Rangers.  We got a few prospects in return, 1B slugger Justin Smoak was one of the athletes.  It was just this off-season that the M’s thought they had solved their 1B woes by signing Casey Kotchman… 68 games and a .208 batting average later, he may be out of a job.  What do you think he would give now for some consistent and effective hitting mechanics?

One great way you can learn what the guys in Bigs are doing is to study their hitting mechanics.  But, you have to know what you’re looking for as well, otherwise your efforts will be ineffective.   That’s where I come in.  I’ve got a mini collection of clips I’m frequently posting on the video analysis tab above.  You will find many current MLB sluggers.  Watch their clips and read what I’ve written for each.  While it’s not an in depth hitting mechanics 101 lesson, you will gain some valuable clues to your own hitting mechanics if you watch enough of the right swings.  Do yourself a favor and prepare now, there will be a time you will need to draw from your prior knowledge and practice… hopefully not in the same way as Kotchman.

I have never seen any hitter be kept out of the lineup if he is a constant performer.  I don’t care if someone if playing in “your position”, your coach will find a spot for you if you can crush the baseball.  Sure, defense matters and you can’t neglect that.  But, when your coach sits down to draw up the lineup, if you’re swinging well, you’ll play. (I should note that if you’re young, or on a strictly developmental team you may platoon positions regardless of your bat.  Things will change as you get older.)

So, if you know your stick will keep you in the lineup, why aren’t you working harder on your hitting mechanics?  I think there are numerous factors; however, I think most reasons lead back to desire.  If you’ve figured out where you want to take baseball, your work habit should be defined to some extent already.  That is, if you say you want to play college baseball you should be working harder and longer than if you just want to play baseball in the summer for fun.  If you haven’t thought about how far you want to take baseball, you’ll be less likely to put the hours into your hitting mechanics.

Either way, rec ball or competitive baseball, you lose the right to complain about your playing time if you choose not to develop your skill in hitting a baseball.  Summer is a great time to get outside and have fun bettering your hitting mechanics.

Some of the most common flaws pitchers make while transferring energy toward the plate is shortening their stride and not utilizing their hips to generate power.  Pitchers rely heavily on upper body strength for rotational power instead of complete hip rotation.  This inhibits a pitchers ability to utilize complete body involvement with each pitch.

In this pitching video I demonstrate what your hips should do right before your landing leg hits the ground.  This is an integral part of pitching mechanics and should not be ignored!  Here’s why: Your hips are connected with your core; your core connects to your upper body; as your upper body continues to rotate it brings your throwing arm around to release of the baseball.  Therefore your arm is simply “along for the ride” if your mechanics are in check.

If you want to be a power pitcher and keep your arm healthy, it is imperative that you learn the following pitching techniques demonstrated here.

To learn more about pitching mechanics visit our other site www.simplifiedpitching.com.

Want to increase pitching velocity, accuracy and overall dominance on the mound?

A strong core is critical for generating the power necessary to become an explosive and controlled pitcher. Whether you are throwing a fastball, curveball, slider, or any other pitch, you will be able to enjoy optimal control, balance and dominance on the mound. You will also reap the benefits of maintaining proper pitching mechanics finish the game stronger than you started.

WHAT IS THE CORE ANYWAY?

An easy explanation as to what the “Core” consists of is ANYTHING ATTACHED TO THE SPINE! So basically, your core includes your torso, shoulders, hips and abdominals. There are many movements required when throwing with proper pitching mechanics that involve these muscles both directly and indirectly. For example, when you throw the baseball you not only rotate (rotation) but you transfer your body’s force from the lower body through the upper body (weight transfer).

WHY IS CORE STRENGTH SO CRITICAL TO A PITCHER’S SUCCESS?

The easy answer is: Your core is the hub that connects your entire body’s kinetic chain. So, in order to transfer energy from the ground to your arm, that energy needs to transfer through your core.

Here is a list of your core muscles, locations and functions. This list will help you realize how important a role your core plays for athletic success.

Rectus Abdominis Abdomen Flexes the trunk

Transverse abdominis Abdomen Supports the abdominal wall

Internal Obliques rotate the trunk

External Obliques rotate the trunk

Multifidus Muscles Back Extend and rotate the spine

Spinal Erectors Back Laterally flex and extend the spine

Quadratus lumborum Low Back Laterally flexes the trunk

Gluteals, hamstrings, hip rotators Hips Extend and laterally rotate the hips

Throwing the baseball is a feet to fingertip exercise. You are only as strong as your weakest link. Therefore, If your weakest link is your core, you will have a difficult time generating optimal pitching velocity because of poor energy transfer from the hips through the torso to the throwing arm. You will also be more prone to injury as energy transfer will be inefficient and place undue strain on joints, ligaments and tendons. Pitchers increase their risk of developing lower back, shoulder and elbow injuries that can limit a promising future when they have a weak lower back, abdominals, or hip muscles.

In the past, many athletes ignored the core and did not take it as seriously as they could have. Much of this stemmed from the lack of knowledge available regarding the important role the core plays in an athlete’s stability and power.

It is highly recommended that as you follow a core program you focus on mastering the core movements first to activate and engage the core musculature. This will provide a strong foundation to build upon for effective and efficient movement in later on in your workout. Before you begin your pitching workout, it is crucial that you first take the time to warm up and prepare your core for the workload that pitching will require. You will create an effective and efficient delivery, prevent injury and optimize the time you are spending to improve your game.

If you want to take advantage of a pitching specific core workout program take a look at Simplified Pitching.

I was out working with a team a few days ago when I got a text message from a coach whose team I working with.  The text said, “Blown ump call costs Detroit pitcher a perfect game – can you believe it!”  I got home and found the replay on mlb.com and sure enough couldn’t believe the call.  Wasn’t even close.  By now I’m sure you’ve seen the infamous Jim Joyce missed call during Armando Galarraga’s perfect game bid.  But if for some reason you’ve had your head in the sand the last few days, you can watch the replay here – Galarraga’s Imperfect Perfect Game.

I’m not going to discuss the call, we all know Joyce made a mistake; I feel bad for the guy.  I do want to take the opportunity to tell you the rest of the story and provide you a valuable take away.  After the game, Jim Joyce found Galarraga in the clubhouse and apologized profusely to him for blowing the call.  Galarraga accepted.  The next day, Joyce was set to work behind the plate and was clearly emotional coming out of the tunnel.  But as Peter Gammons writes in his article (video as well), Tigers, Joyce show class, all the parties involved have acted with utmost civility.  This then is the lesson we must take away from this unfortunate blunder.

Too many times I watch players, coaches, and parents scream at umpires for missed calls.  I know umpiring mistakes occur every game.  In fact they happen all too frequently at the lower levels of baseball.  But patience, class, and sportsmanship is what is needed in these times of frustration.  A quick tongue only makes it more difficult to stay focused on the job at hand, regardless of your role.  Plus, a missed call isn’t that big of deal.  Seriously.  We need more Galarraga’s out there who understand perspective.

Take a look at what utter stupidity does if you lose perspective. Remember, play the game hard, fair, and create a good image of yourself always.

Many students come to me for the sole purpose of increasing velocity.  One of the first questions I ask these students is “what do you think gets a hitter out?”  Some of the responses I get are throwing strikes, I don’t know, movement on the ball, blowing the ball right past a hitter and so on.  Not many pitchers get it right.  What does get a hitter out?  Is it velocity?  The answer is a variety of things do and that is why a pitcher cannot rely on velocity alone to succeed.  Change of speed, movement on the ball and location get a hitter out.  That is what keeps the hitter off balance.  So does velocity matter?

Of course velocity matters.  The harder a pitcher throws any of their pitches the more rotation the ball will have.  Therefore, the ball will have more movement.  The more movement on the ball, the more difficult it is to hit.  It’s that simple.

So if velocity matters, how does a pitcher increase their pitching velocity? I will do my best to try and simplify this process.  First of all, most pitchers use too much of their throwing arm while trying to pitch; even in the collegiate levels.  A sufficient stride is very helpful because it allows you to not only explode toward the plate it allows a pitcher to release the ball closer to it.

It is also important for pitchers to explode to foot strike while they are striding.  If they mosey on down to foot strike they end up throwing with their upper body more than their legs and hips.  To get explosive power a pitcher should push off the ball of their pivot foot (while maintaining balance of course), use their landing leg as a leveraging tool to propel themselves forward and also use what is called delayed shoulder rotation.  Delayed shoulder rotation allows a pitcher to utilize more of their hips while throwing the ball, while keeping your upper body closed a bit longer for more torque. For further explanation on these methods I recommend you visit www.simplifiedpitching.com.

Through the years I have worked, and continue to work, with a ton of talented pitchers.  I absolutely love it!  When I start working with pitchers, one of the first questions I ask them is “what would you like to accomplish with your pitching this year?”  99.9 % of the time pitchers mention how they would like to increase velocity, however; their method for improving velocity hasn’t worked for them and never will.  Why? The common perception is that if they increase arm strength, they will increase velocity.  This, of course, is the wrong idea and is sure to lead to arm injury in the future if they don’t learn how to throw with their legs and hips using proper mechanics.

As you can imagine, it is common to see incorrect movements that need to be corrected in order for them to throw faster.  The majority of the mechanical flaws relate to: improper weight transfer toward home plate, not being explosive enough in combination with a wimpy stride, not utilizing legs and hips properly and using to much arm to throw.

Want to pitch faster?  Take a peek!

For the last seven years I’ve been working frequently with identical twins on the hitting mechanics of their baseball swings.  This past weekend was the opening round of the state tournament here in Washington State and I went out to watch the two seniors perform in what could be their last game as high school athletes.  As the baseball gods would have it, it was.  One of the twins had an amazing season hitting over .450 and has signed to go play community college baseball and work on getting his academics up.  The other will pursue golf in college.  The kid who hit .450 had two great hits off a lefty throwing upper eighties.  His brother, the golfer has had some troubles with is baseball swing as of late and had a rough game.  The reason I’m sharing this brief story with you is because of the irony of the ending to this story and what you may take away from it.

Last Thursday I met the twins to hit prior to their state opening game two days later.  We were taking a few swings in their garage into a net.  One was ready to work on his baseball swing and the other stayed up in his room.  Towards the end of the hitting mechanics lesson, the kid who’d been struggling came down and said he wasn’t hitting because the coach was only using him as a runner, since his bat has been cold.  He figured he only had a handful of games left and would ride it out; then focus on golf.  I left that day warning him that he could never know what circumstances might change that would see him thrown into the game.  No luck, he never took any hacks that day.

Back to the game I was watching.  Top of the second, a guy drives a ball deep to left.  The hit carries the left-fielder to the wall where something wrong happens and the kid goes down.  After things shake down, the outfielder is out of the game with a severely sprained ankle.  Guess who gets the call to fill in?  You got it, the kid who didn’t work on his baseball swing two nights earlier.  He finished the game with two k’s at the plate…

Here is what you need to take from this:

1.  Never stop preparing.  You never know when you may get called on to fill a role.  Put the time in now on your baseball swing because mark my words, you’ll find yourself in a scenario where you will want to be well-prepared.

2.  In the theme of the first point, be willing to work harder than those around you.  I was fortunate to play a little ball with Willie Bloomquist.  Not a household name but he’s got 9 seasons in under his belt at the MLB level.  The only reason he’s still on a MLB roster is because he can play anywhere aside from pitcher.  He works extremely hard at being marketable if someone should go down with an injury.  This makes him valuable and insures he’ll collect his $1.7 million Big League check this season.

Want to learn solid hitting mechanics?