Pitching in the Modern Era

 Short Versus Long Arm Action By: Adam Jeannette Joe Kelly with a short arm action What is a Short Arm Action?     -The term short arm action can be a bit confusing to pitchers around the world. Almost any pitcher has heard the phrase "stop short arming the ball" at some point in their career. This leads you to think that a short arm action is not what is ideal off the mound. However, a short arm action does not mean "short arming" the ball. Having a short arm action is actually not a negative way of throwing. For some, it can be a career saver while for others it doesn't make a difference. Now on to the question at hand, what is a short arm action? Short arm action is simply an arm action that takes a minimal, or short, path from glove break to the fully cocked position where the arm is up before layback. Below is an example of a pitcher, Lucas Giolito, who made a drastic change to his arm action over the course of a year and as a result, has had incredible suc...

PFP's- Pitchers Fielding Practice By: Frank Fraschetti   Pick-offs to First/Second/Third Base:     These are the set off pick off moves that are done throughout a PFP workout. For the first base, there are a couple different moves that can be done. The first is a quick move. This is the move that is done when you think the runner is taking a big-league quickly or you want to catch him sleeping. The next one is a common step off the mound and throws over to keep the runner close. The moves to the second are different. The first one is an inside move. This is done when the runner is getting a secondary lead before the pitcher's leg goes forward to deliver the pitch. Next, is the flip move which can be a timed play off the catcher. Finally, to this, you lift your leg and then step toward the base and throw over. These moves are very important.  Plays to First:     There is a set of balls that will be hit to make the pitcher ready for anything that may be hit a...

Does Mass = Gas For Pitchers? By: Adam Jeannette Intro     -The saying "mass equals gas" has been around the game of baseball for quite some time now.  What is meant by this saying is the more mass a pitcher carries, the harder it is believed they will throw. To most people, this seems way too simple to work. I mean can just gaining weight increase fastball velocity? That is what I am going to discuss here today to find out if there is any merit to the saying: Mass = Gas. Examples of Mass = Gas      -Some pitchers that come to mind that fit the narrative, mass equals gas, are Noah Syndergaard, Michael Lorenzen, and Jos é Alvarado. Noah Syndergaard is listed at 6'6" 242 pounds. These are the dimensions of a mass monster. Is it a coincidence his average fastball velocity was 97.9 mph in 2017 ( 1 )? Moving on, Michael Lorenzen is listed at 6'3" 220 pounds. Pictures of him demonstrate that he is a mass monster as well. This ma...

3 Main Lifts for Pitchers   By: Frank Fraschetti Squats:     Squats are a big lift for pitchers. The reasoning behind this is because while pitching you use your legs so much. This is a good exercise because it also works more than just your legs. This lift also works on your core strength which is also very important when pitching. Also, there are different types of squats. For example, there are hold squats, lightweight quick rep squats, or just your normal squat. These different types of squats help with leg power also.  Deadlift:     This is another big lift for pitchers. This is another leg workout that increases power and strength. This is most pitchers' heaviest lift. This can be done in a couple different ways. This can be done with a straight bar like in the picture above, or a hex bar which is a little different, but you get the same outcome. By looking at a pitcher, you can tell how strong their lower body is just by looking at their legs. Some g...

Conditioning For Pitchers by: Adam Jeannette Old School Conditioning What is it?     -It was common practice up until the last few years to have pitchers run long distances as a form of "conditioning" and "recovery." Coaches would tell players to jog a few miles the day after an outing to "flush the system" or "get rid of lactic acid." Most coaches even believed that running long distances would help pitchers increase their stamina on the mound, leading to longer starts. All of this is complete nonsense and has been proven wrong in recent years across all levels of baseball.    Why does it not work?      -I will start with the reasoning why running long distances is not an effective method of conditioning pitchers. The reason for this is pitching is a max effort movement performed over the course of a few seconds with anywhere from 15-20 seconds of rest between pitches. This gives the athlete time to catch their breat...

Certain types of throws/catches By: Frank Fraschetti   Long Toss:     Long toss is a very important thing to a pitcher. It has been proven to benefit pitchers. This is done on certain days, and not done every day because the point of this is to throw the ball as far as you can. In the major leagues, you will see the pitcher before a start throwing from foul pole to foul pole. This is a way that the pitcher gets loose. Not every starter does this, but it is something that a lot of pitchers do. Some pitchers like to do this after they throw, meaning a couple days after because it helps stretch the arm out.  90 Feet:     If you hung out at a baseball practice you would hear the pitchers say "want to go 90 today?" This is pretty normal for pitchers because the pitching mound is 60ft 6 in, and going 90 feet is kind of stretching it out, but is no too much. This is a very good distance for pitchers because it helps them get a feel for their arms that day and is a...