Telian Like It Is
Baseball Lessons for the Dedicated Athlete
Friday, July 24, 2015
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Pitching Basics - Stretch
The Stretch
FOCUS ON THE PROCESS NOT THE RESULTS
BE CONFIDENT IN EVERY PITCH YOU THROW
STAY BALANCED, STAY WITHIN YOUR FRAME
NEVER EASE OFF YOUR PITCH, THROW INSIDE
On the mound - When
pitching out of the stretch, you want to start in a comfortable, relaxed
position. Set up with your feet shoulder
width apart and your hands at your sides.
As you come set, pick up your front foot and move it back to just within
shoulder width and bring your hands together just above your waist. You should have your weight on your back leg
and a little bend in that back knee.
This position will allow you to pitch with a leg lift, slide step, or
pick off.
Slide Step – When
using a slide step, it isn’t a race to throw the pitch as quickly as
possible. You still need to get to a
powerful position before striding, and give your arm time to get in the right
position – the key is to do this without bringing your knee up to your
waist. When you’re ready to pitch, bring
your front foot up off the ground just a few inches and bend your knee. That will load you on your back leg allowing
you to push down the mound. We are still
lifting our hands has our front leg comes up, its just a quick motion. An we must still get our hands going down
when our leg goes down, again its just quicker in order to get our hands up
when our front foot lands.
Stride - As your knee comes down from your balance
point, your hands should come down with them, breaking in a downward motion as
if you are flicking your thumbs at the ground.
Once your leg has come down, its time for your stride. Your stride does not begin with your leg or
your foot; it starts from YOUR HIP. You
want to lead with your front hip down the mound. As you stride, you want to stay within your
frame, do not let your foot or arm swing out to one side or the other. Keep everything moving towards your target. You want to stride out as far as you can,
landing with your foot just slightly closed.
When you have landed on that front foot, your glove or lead shoulder
should be pointed at the target and the ball should be pointed straight behind
you with your throwing elbow above your shoulder.
Pitch & Follow
Through – Once your foot lands down the mound, its time to turn your
shoulders and hips, and throw your pitch at your target. As you turn your body, still remembering to
stay within your frame, turn your glove over and pull it in towards your body. This will help rotate your shoulders, keep
you compact, and get you in a better fielding position. As you throw, you want to reach out as far as
you can towards your target, this will get your more velocity and help start a
strong follow through. As you release
the ball, you should be reaching to the ground to get your body through the
pitch. Finally, your back leg should
come off the ground and follow the same path your arm just went through. The higher your leg comes off the ground, the
further you can bend down, which gives your arm more time to slow down. Land with your feet square to the plate and
get ready for a line drive back at your face (which won’t happen if you’ve
followed all these steps).
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Pitching Basics - Windup
The Wind Up
FOCUS ON THE PROCESS NOT THE RESULTS
FOCUS ON THE PROCESS NOT THE RESULTS
BE CONFIDENT
IN EVERY PITCH YOU THROW
STAY BALANCED,
STAY WITHIN YOUR FRAME
NEVER EASE OFF
YOUR PITCH, THROW INSIDE
Mentally Prepare – Use
your time in the dugout and the bullpen to prepare your positive pitching plan
before every inning or appearance. Be confident in your pitches and always
have a reason why you’re throwing that pitch. You are in control of this game,
go at your own pace, pitch when you are ready.
WIND UP
Rock Step – We
want to start with our heels on the rubber and our toes on the dirt in
front. If you choose to take your rock
step back, diagonal, or to the side, make sure it is a SMALL STEP. The bigger your rock step is, the further you
are going from your balance point and the more work you must do to get
back. The sole purpose of this step is
to take the weight off your foot in order to turn it parallel to the rubber.
Leg lift &
Balance Point – If you don’t have a consistent leg lift and balance point,
you will never be a consistent pitcher – EVER.
Bring your knee up to at least your waist every time in order to give
yourself enough time to get balanced. We
want to slightly turn our hips, showing just a little of our back pocket to the
batter. You should feel as though you
could freeze in this position on every pitch; if not, you are rushing through
your balance point and your arm will lag behind. Make sure you are pointing your toes to the
ground, this will ensure that you land on the ball of your foot when you stride
down the mind. Finally, when you lift
your legs, your hands (which are still together) should come up with them, this
will allow them to come back down into a circular motion when you stride.
Stride - As your knee comes down from your balance
point, your hands should come down with them, breaking in a downward motion as
if you are flicking your thumbs at the ground.
Once your leg has come down, its time for your stride. Your stride does not begin with your leg or
your foot; it starts from YOUR HIP. You
want to lead with your front hip down the mound. As you stride, you want to stay within your
frame, do not let your foot or arm swing out to one side or the other. Keep everything moving towards your target. You want to stride out as far as you can,
landing with your foot just slightly closed.
When you have landed on that front foot, your glove or lead shoulder
should be pointed at the target and the ball should be pointed straight behind
you with your throwing elbow above your shoulder.
Pitch & Follow
Through – Once your foot lands down the mound, its time to turn your
shoulders and hips, and throw your pitch at your target. As you turn your body, still remembering to
stay within your frame, turn your glove over and pull it in towards your body. This will help rotate your shoulders, keep
you compact, and get you in a better fielding position. As you throw, you want to reach out as far as
you can towards your target, this will get your more velocity and help start a
strong follow through. As you release
the ball, you should be reaching to the ground to get your body through the
pitch. Finally, your back leg should
come off the ground and follow the same path your arm just went through. The higher your leg comes off the ground, the
further you can bend down, which gives your arm more time to slow down. Land with your feet square to the plate and
get ready for a line drive back at your face (which won’t happen if you’ve
followed all these steps).
Keep in mind, these are just the basics. I will talk about all of these topics in more detail in later posts. There are also smaller parts of the pitching motion like arm path, grip, and body frame which I will also discuss later. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at TelianBaseball@Gmail.com or leave a comment.
Welcome
Thanks for checking out Telian Like It Is. I'll be covering a range of topics from situational hitting to pick off moves, off speed pitches to the mental side of the game. Hopefully you'll learn a few things from me and I'll learn a few things from you as well.
See you soon!
Adam
See you soon!
Adam
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