Football is a contact sport, so it makes sense for players to want to bulk up with plenty of muscle and weight to fly across the field and make tackles. Baseball, on the other hand, is not a contact sport. While physical skills are certainly required by the game, brute strength isn’t one of them – most especially if you’re a pitcher (who people don’t expect to be the world’s best hitter or runner). Why, then, do too many baseball pitchers train for strength when they should be working on improving pitching techniques?
Which physical skill do you think helps more: strength or speed? When it comes to pitching a baseball, speed wins. No, strength training isn’t necessary to gain speed, either. First, the mind has to understand pitching mechanics, then the body has to practice them – so that executing proper position and form is as natural as slipping a hand into a batting glove. Since the body and not the arm controls speed, once a player learns the proper body positioning, everything else falls right into place.
What are some dos and don’ts that will encourage a pitcher to gain speed via pitching mechanics instead of attempting to increase strength? Don’t do weight training, throw weighted balls, or focus on the long toss. Remember, this will only make the arm stronger, not increase speed. In fact, these are sure ways to simply increase chance of injury, so it is doubly important to avoid them. Neither are drills or other excessively repetitive exercises helpful.
Should the pitcher, then, instead do the complete opposite and simply practice by playing “catch” or doing anything less than game intensity pitching? No. Just because the pitcher should be working on training his whole body to use proper pitching mechanics – instead of focusing on his arm through tunnel vision – doesn’t mean his practice on the whole should be any less intense.
Keep the body under control by eliminating unnecessary and speed-decreasing movements. Don’t rotate your trunk or hips. Don’t step to the side before lifting your leg or lift your leg too high. Implement a longer stride, however, to put you closer to the plate and improve your overall control. While position is important, don’t obsess over “staying tall”, as this can actually shorten your stride. Don’t forget: In pitching, speed outranks strength, and speed is gained not through strength and pitching drills, but through mechanics. With good mechanics, a baseball pitcher will simultaneously acquire both faster speed and better control.
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January 30, 2009
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