Pitching Mechanics: A Detailed Account
In an earlier article, I discussed absolutes of pitching.
In this article we will spend more time to go over details of good Fastball pitching. In later articles we will discuss other pitches. The mechanics that I teach and have developed over the years must fall within a framework with 2 key areas of focus
- Mechanics must be safe for the pitcher, or at least as safe as they can be. Good pitchers look effortless in their pitching, and don't force their bodies into odd contortions
- Mechanics are efficient to maximize effect
First a word or two about the rhythm of the pitch. The first half of the pitch is about alignment and power from the legs. From the K down (the second half), the pitch is about exploding down and into a firm front side. I teach my pitchers to think "slow to fast" when they are pitching. Be careful with this though. We want the beginning to be deliberate and powerful. Sometimes they think slow means really slow and weak. Far from it.
Grip
The grip is the basic 4-seam grip. Yes I know that some people teach a 2 seam fast-ball and that has it's place but the foundation is a 4-seam grip and a 4-seam spin against the air. If they get enough snap, this will give the ball a slight bite down at the end. A 4-seam grip with as much space between the ball and the palm as they can handle while not sacrificing control is the best for a solid fastball. Make sure the thumb and birdie finger are opposite of each other.
Foot position on rubber
Stance should be about shoulder width, with the drive foot about half way off the front of the rubber so it can push off the front lip. The back foot should be toed up to the back of the rubber. High School federation allows a step-back when the pitcher gathers but I don't see any real advantage to doing this and they cannot do this in club or college, so I don't recommend it. I also recommend a neutral position on the rubber, not favoring the right or left side so there are no lane violations and you are not giving away any "tells" about the pitch coming up.
Pre-pitch weight shiftThe grip is the basic 4-seam grip. Yes I know that some people teach a 2 seam fast-ball and that has it's place but the foundation is a 4-seam grip and a 4-seam spin against the air. If they get enough snap, this will give the ball a slight bite down at the end. A 4-seam grip with as much space between the ball and the palm as they can handle while not sacrificing control is the best for a solid fastball. Make sure the thumb and birdie finger are opposite of each other.
Foot position on rubber
Stance should be about shoulder width, with the drive foot about half way off the front of the rubber so it can push off the front lip. The back foot should be toed up to the back of the rubber. High School federation allows a step-back when the pitcher gathers but I don't see any real advantage to doing this and they cannot do this in club or college, so I don't recommend it. I also recommend a neutral position on the rubber, not favoring the right or left side so there are no lane violations and you are not giving away any "tells" about the pitch coming up.
For the same reason that a batter gathers back before initiating the attack on a pitched ball, pitchers need to gather their weight back behind the center of gravity. This is not a fast motion. It is slow and controlled, before the center shifts forward. From the gather up until the release of the ball, the pitcher gradually picks up more, and more, and more speed until it culminates at the end on the fingertips. It really doesn't matter if the pitcher throws both hands back on the gather, or just the pitching hand, etc. What matters is getting the weight back and shoulders square to the catcher. I like to have my pitchers bring the drive-foot toe up to show that the weight is mostly on the stride foot during the gather.
Heel drive forward BEFORE turning
Stride-line direction and height to establish pitching ally:
The K position balance point is a transition from Frankenstein and is characterized by the glove arm and shoulder opened (glove facing down) up along with the stride foot (see Jennie Finches K below). This is where the stride-foot and drive foot start to turn anywhere from 90 degrees to 45 degrees, but they must turn. The K position must be achieved before the stride-foot lands
Arm circle: pulling/same plane
The arm circle should be in perpendicular plane to the catcher. I have seen a number of pitchers whose arm circle varies too much from this plane and then corrects as best they can. At best this leads to diminished speed and location inconsistency. At worst it can also lead to significant shoulder issues as the arm must work hard at various angles in order to correct the direction. This leads to undue stresses on various parts of the rotator cuff.
The proper position of the ball during the arm-circle is TRAILING the hand (see the picture of the great Jennie Finch, above, in her K position with the hand leading the ball).There are a great many instructors that teach pitchers to push the ball around the arm circle, but they are losing out on some speed in doing this. For the same reason that, during the overhand throw, the ball must face away at the top of the arm motion right before starting forward with the throw, the ball needs to be pulled or at least face out (facing 3rd base if the pitcher were right handed) during the pitch motion.
Allow me to further explain why this has value: By pulling the ball all the way to the hip, not only do we generate more whip in the arm, but we also get added velocity from the rotation of the hand at the hip in addition to the wrist snap. Still unclear? The shoulder is a ball and socket. Because of this, as the hand approaches the hip (with the hand leading the ball) the arm will rotate at the shoulder which then points the ball toward the catcher. This rotation adds speed to the pitch in the same way that the transition, in the overhand throw, toward a forward target rotates and adds speed to the throw just prior to the wrist snap. Physics tells us that speed from mechanical advantage is additive. When we add this rotational speed to the speed generated from the arm whip and finally the wrist-snap, the ball receives the maximum amount of the speed.
Without fail, every pitcher that I have ever taught this to has immediately increased the velocity of the pitch, unless they were already doing it and did not realize so.
Sequence:
There is a very specific sequence of events that takes place during the second half or "speed half" of a successful pitch. If done in a ascending order and properly timed, not only add velocity but make the pitcher look and feel effortless.
Starting from the K position with the stride-leg still in the air and the drive foot up on the ball, everything needs to occur in proper order so as to unlock the maximum velocity. The ball is not pitched from the arm. It is released from the finger tips but that is the end of the sequence. Where does it start and finish? Let's follow and imaginary energy pulse as it flows from the K all the way to the finger-tip release.
This pulse of energy begins it's journey by landing the stride-foot on the ground. This must be a strong. quick land with a firm, but not locked stride leg. This pulse then travels up the leg through the core to the pitching shoulder. It is at this point that the pitching shoulder starts to bring the arm down from about 12 or 1 o'clock. There should be a slight bend in the elbow (about 10 degrees), so it is not locked straight. The arm should be loose, free and easy. As the pitching arm accelerates to the hip, this pulse of energy is growing. Now the pulse accelerates more as the hand rotates at the bottom of the arm circle (see arm circle above), and the back leg drives forward. It further accelerates as the wrist snaps (think making a claw with the wrist). The pulse maximizes the energy as it travels down each finger and is then transferred into the ball and the fingers push or flick the ball off the end of the finger-tips. An important note here is that the hips should remain perpendicular to the catcher until the pitching arm starts down. At the point of release the hips are about 1/3-2/3 closed but NOT all the way. The hips must remain somewhat open at release (see Cat Osterman below).
Proper sequence summarized from the K to the finish
Drive back leg into, not around front leg
As the hand approaches the bottom of the arm circle, the drive leg must move forward at least a little. If the pitcher leaves this back, the tendency will be for the her to lean over. At the least, the pitch will have less than optimum velocity. The way in which the drive knee moves is important so let's spend some time on that.
Remember that the stride leg has planted and the pitching arm is now at least half way through decent as the knee drives forward. At this point the body is about 1/3 closed to the catcher from the perpendicular (open) position that it was when it was in the K. I tell my pitchers to drive the inside part of the drive knee into the inside part of the stride knee. This is important.
What I mean by inside part of the knee is the fleshy part between their knees as they stand facing forward. Anatomically this is called the medial part of the knee. Truly this is an exaggeration as it is more like half way between the medial part and the front of the knee (See Cat below). By focusing on inside knee to inside knee we eliminate where the foot drags, or if it even does drag. Drag is unimportant. Most pitchers do drag, some don't. By driving inside knee to inside knee the hips stay mostly open. When pitchers move the drive knee forward (knee cap pointing at catcher), the hips close too early and block the pitching arm causing significant location or speed problems.
Snap and relax the arm. It will always be across the body... do not force the arm straight up
Be sure to refer back to my blog post from January 25, 2019 on Pitchers Follow-Through for more detail on this.
After the pitcher releases the ball off the finger-tips, the natural follow-through will be with the wrist turning over (to show the back of the hand to the catcher) and the arm coming across the body. It may go up but if their is significant wrist snap the hand usually stays down but ALWAYS across the body. The best way to teach this is to teach the pitcher to snap as hard as she can and then simply let the arm go where ever it "wants." In other words the arm should continue in the direction of the momentum (see the diagram below of the arm sequence). Under NO circumstances should a pitcher be taught to force their pitching arm to follow through straight up and to the same side shoulder. Again, look back at my blog on follow through.
A quick word about styles and absolutes. The mechanics and sequences that I have written about are absolutes in order to keep the pitcher safe and to maximize the transfer of energy into the ball effectively with location and developing spin in the proper direction. With a 4 seam fastball, all spin should be 12-6. If not then they are probably rotating their arm too soon.
There are some parts of pitching that are styles. One big area of this is the gather part. Some pitchers take both hands back (Jennie Finch), some take one hand back and leave the glove at the hip, some make a small circle with the hands, and on and on. These are styles. The keys about the gather is that both shoulders need to be square to the catcher and the weight must go back to gather. Outside of that, the rest is a style. In contrast, the follow-through is not a style. If a pitcher forces her arm to follow-through straight up and especially to the same shoulder, they WILL put undue pressure on their shoulder. NO MOTION SHOULD EVER BE FORCED against the natural momentum
There you have it. A thorough and very wordy explanation of the proper mechanics that encompass both safety and efficiency.
Consider: Please donate to help me keep this blog going. I am but a humble high school teacher
Weight is back, shoulders square to the catcher. Pitcher is
Using a Softball Power Drive ®
Heel drive forward BEFORE turning
To maximize power and location, the drive foot must rock from heal (at gather) to the ball/toe STRAIGHT toward the catcher. I tell my pitchers to drive heel towards the catcher. From my observations, about 50% of pitchers at your average tournament turn their drive foot open BEFORE they push forward. Yes the foot should eventually open up but not until the pitcher reaches about half way through their pitch. If they open the foot before the stride is started in earnest, the body will go directly to an open position and may over stride their power-line, causing location issues and a significant loss of power or at the least a transfer of power to the shoulder. The drive foot (pivot foot) shoe laces should stay pointed at the catcher until the pitcher reaches almost the top of the pitch, then the shear drive of the body going from Frankenstein to K position, pushes the body open.
 |
| Notice the drive foot laces are facing the catcher |
Stride-line direction and height to establish pitching ally:
I believe that the actual stride-line is established between the balls of the feet when the stride-foot lands and the balls of the feet are turned right as the ball comes down from 12 o'clock to the hip. In this position, if you draw a straight line from the ball of the drive foot through the ball of the stride foot that the line should continue directly toward the desired location. Additionally, the stride-foot should also stride as high as the desired spot.
Allow me to explain this: By striding directionally toward the target, a pitching ally is created that is directly over the balls of the feet. This is the maximum form for power and balance. Also, If they stride to the same height as the spot then they land proportionally to the desired location. For example, if the desired location is high and inside, then the stride angle inside creates the proper angle, If the pitcher strides high then they will land a little farther out which tilts the hips up. There fore the ball goes high and tight. If the desired location is low and inside, then stepping low in will create and angle inside and a low release. The low stride makes the stride foot land slightly sooner, which tilts the hips down. This really works well for locating the pitch. Just tell the pitcher to stride where she wants the ball. I feel it is critical that the pitcher NEVER change their mechanics to change the location they want the pitch to go. The ball should be released the same regardless of location.
Allow me to explain this: By striding directionally toward the target, a pitching ally is created that is directly over the balls of the feet. This is the maximum form for power and balance. Also, If they stride to the same height as the spot then they land proportionally to the desired location. For example, if the desired location is high and inside, then the stride angle inside creates the proper angle, If the pitcher strides high then they will land a little farther out which tilts the hips up. There fore the ball goes high and tight. If the desired location is low and inside, then stepping low in will create and angle inside and a low release. The low stride makes the stride foot land slightly sooner, which tilts the hips down. This really works well for locating the pitch. Just tell the pitcher to stride where she wants the ball. I feel it is critical that the pitcher NEVER change their mechanics to change the location they want the pitch to go. The ball should be released the same regardless of location.
In the process of striding the pitcher MUST pass through the Frankenstein balance point. This is the position where the stride foot is up with the leg bent, and both arms are out in front of the face with the shoulders still square to the catcher and both hands are facing down (see image below). From this position they transition into the K by pushing open with the stride leg and glove arm.
The shoulders
are square to
the catcher
 |
The shoulders
are square to
the catcher
The K position balance point is a transition from Frankenstein and is characterized by the glove arm and shoulder opened (glove facing down) up along with the stride foot (see Jennie Finches K below). This is where the stride-foot and drive foot start to turn anywhere from 90 degrees to 45 degrees, but they must turn. The K position must be achieved before the stride-foot lands
Arm circle: pulling/same plane
The arm circle should be in perpendicular plane to the catcher. I have seen a number of pitchers whose arm circle varies too much from this plane and then corrects as best they can. At best this leads to diminished speed and location inconsistency. At worst it can also lead to significant shoulder issues as the arm must work hard at various angles in order to correct the direction. This leads to undue stresses on various parts of the rotator cuff.
The proper position of the ball during the arm-circle is TRAILING the hand (see the picture of the great Jennie Finch, above, in her K position with the hand leading the ball).There are a great many instructors that teach pitchers to push the ball around the arm circle, but they are losing out on some speed in doing this. For the same reason that, during the overhand throw, the ball must face away at the top of the arm motion right before starting forward with the throw, the ball needs to be pulled or at least face out (facing 3rd base if the pitcher were right handed) during the pitch motion.
 |
| Ball is pulled through |
Allow me to further explain why this has value: By pulling the ball all the way to the hip, not only do we generate more whip in the arm, but we also get added velocity from the rotation of the hand at the hip in addition to the wrist snap. Still unclear? The shoulder is a ball and socket. Because of this, as the hand approaches the hip (with the hand leading the ball) the arm will rotate at the shoulder which then points the ball toward the catcher. This rotation adds speed to the pitch in the same way that the transition, in the overhand throw, toward a forward target rotates and adds speed to the throw just prior to the wrist snap. Physics tells us that speed from mechanical advantage is additive. When we add this rotational speed to the speed generated from the arm whip and finally the wrist-snap, the ball receives the maximum amount of the speed.
Without fail, every pitcher that I have ever taught this to has immediately increased the velocity of the pitch, unless they were already doing it and did not realize so.
Sequence:
There is a very specific sequence of events that takes place during the second half or "speed half" of a successful pitch. If done in a ascending order and properly timed, not only add velocity but make the pitcher look and feel effortless.
Starting from the K position with the stride-leg still in the air and the drive foot up on the ball, everything needs to occur in proper order so as to unlock the maximum velocity. The ball is not pitched from the arm. It is released from the finger tips but that is the end of the sequence. Where does it start and finish? Let's follow and imaginary energy pulse as it flows from the K all the way to the finger-tip release.
This pulse of energy begins it's journey by landing the stride-foot on the ground. This must be a strong. quick land with a firm, but not locked stride leg. This pulse then travels up the leg through the core to the pitching shoulder. It is at this point that the pitching shoulder starts to bring the arm down from about 12 or 1 o'clock. There should be a slight bend in the elbow (about 10 degrees), so it is not locked straight. The arm should be loose, free and easy. As the pitching arm accelerates to the hip, this pulse of energy is growing. Now the pulse accelerates more as the hand rotates at the bottom of the arm circle (see arm circle above), and the back leg drives forward. It further accelerates as the wrist snaps (think making a claw with the wrist). The pulse maximizes the energy as it travels down each finger and is then transferred into the ball and the fingers push or flick the ball off the end of the finger-tips. An important note here is that the hips should remain perpendicular to the catcher until the pitching arm starts down. At the point of release the hips are about 1/3-2/3 closed but NOT all the way. The hips must remain somewhat open at release (see Cat Osterman below).
Proper sequence summarized from the K to the finish
- Stride foot lands with a firm front side
- Shoulder begins to pull the pitching arm down from 12 or 1 o'clock, back elbow leads with a slight bend
- At the bottom of the arm circle, the back leg drives forward (inside knee into inside knee)
- Hand pivots to face catcher
- Wrist snaps and finger flick the ball off the tips
Stride-foot --> Shoulder --> Elbow --> Wrist --> fingers
Drive back leg into, not around front leg
As the hand approaches the bottom of the arm circle, the drive leg must move forward at least a little. If the pitcher leaves this back, the tendency will be for the her to lean over. At the least, the pitch will have less than optimum velocity. The way in which the drive knee moves is important so let's spend some time on that.
Remember that the stride leg has planted and the pitching arm is now at least half way through decent as the knee drives forward. At this point the body is about 1/3 closed to the catcher from the perpendicular (open) position that it was when it was in the K. I tell my pitchers to drive the inside part of the drive knee into the inside part of the stride knee. This is important.
What I mean by inside part of the knee is the fleshy part between their knees as they stand facing forward. Anatomically this is called the medial part of the knee. Truly this is an exaggeration as it is more like half way between the medial part and the front of the knee (See Cat below). By focusing on inside knee to inside knee we eliminate where the foot drags, or if it even does drag. Drag is unimportant. Most pitchers do drag, some don't. By driving inside knee to inside knee the hips stay mostly open. When pitchers move the drive knee forward (knee cap pointing at catcher), the hips close too early and block the pitching arm causing significant location or speed problems.
 |
| Drive knee into kn |
Snap and relax the arm. It will always be across the body... do not force the arm straight up
Be sure to refer back to my blog post from January 25, 2019 on Pitchers Follow-Through for more detail on this.
After the pitcher releases the ball off the finger-tips, the natural follow-through will be with the wrist turning over (to show the back of the hand to the catcher) and the arm coming across the body. It may go up but if their is significant wrist snap the hand usually stays down but ALWAYS across the body. The best way to teach this is to teach the pitcher to snap as hard as she can and then simply let the arm go where ever it "wants." In other words the arm should continue in the direction of the momentum (see the diagram below of the arm sequence). Under NO circumstances should a pitcher be taught to force their pitching arm to follow through straight up and to the same side shoulder. Again, look back at my blog on follow through.
 |
| Follow through across the body |
A quick word about styles and absolutes. The mechanics and sequences that I have written about are absolutes in order to keep the pitcher safe and to maximize the transfer of energy into the ball effectively with location and developing spin in the proper direction. With a 4 seam fastball, all spin should be 12-6. If not then they are probably rotating their arm too soon.
There are some parts of pitching that are styles. One big area of this is the gather part. Some pitchers take both hands back (Jennie Finch), some take one hand back and leave the glove at the hip, some make a small circle with the hands, and on and on. These are styles. The keys about the gather is that both shoulders need to be square to the catcher and the weight must go back to gather. Outside of that, the rest is a style. In contrast, the follow-through is not a style. If a pitcher forces her arm to follow-through straight up and especially to the same shoulder, they WILL put undue pressure on their shoulder. NO MOTION SHOULD EVER BE FORCED against the natural momentum
There you have it. A thorough and very wordy explanation of the proper mechanics that encompass both safety and efficiency.
Consider: Please donate to help me keep this blog going. I am but a humble high school teacher
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