INTRODUCTION

When we talked about hitting, we talked about the “Big Challenge” in the game being between the Pitcher and the Hitter.  It has been determined by many people that pitching is 85% of the game.  Your success as a team is based upon PITCHING. Also remember, that in T-Ball, you hit off the T and you will not need a pitcher. When you get to the next level, the “minor leagues”; you will need a pitcher. We are going to provide you with the FUNDAMENTALS of PITCHING (or mechanics of pitching) from the STRETCH POSITION. A lot of Major League Pitchers still use the Stretch Position to deliver the ball to the plate.

 

[PARENT NOTES:  At this level of play, you should encourage your pitcher to focus on “The Fundamentals of Pitching” and not on throwing “curve balls” or pitches that will hurt (or put stress on) their arm.  Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s when the Chinese Formosan teams won the Little League World Series several years in a row; their pitchers threw unreal curve balls that no one could hit.  They were totally dominating the Little League World Series.  In this country, we were highly discouraging our kids from throwing curve balls.  After all, when do you ever see any of these Formosan kids pitching in Major League Baseball?  (We never saw any of these kids playing College Baseball or Pro Baseball.)  How come?   At the time, my theory was that they ruined their arms throwing curve balls without proper development and maturity.  I now believe it was more a “Kinesiology Issue” and lack of maturity of the participants involved.  (OR was it another one of those baseball mysteries passed down by the “Old School”?  Maybe like the movie “Moneyball”?  Huh?)]

 

We recommend that you don’t need to throw a curveball in little league baseball.  Wait until your body is mature enough, maybe at age 16 or older (the later the better). Heck, the last twelve years I coached high school varsity baseball, my pitchers didn’t throw curveballs and we had all-conference pitchers 3 of the last 4 years.

 

[PARENT NOTES:  Most MLB (Major League Baseball) organizations don’t want their prospects (potential professional players) throwing curve balls!  They want to instruct their prospects on the proper mechanics of throwing a curveball.  What they want to see is a prospect that has a live Fastball, a good Change Up, and a third pitch (a Cutter or a Slider) that the prospect can ‘locate’ and throw for strikes. They are interested in players that have a strong “Athletic Success Profile”.  We recommend that you get to a quality Baseball School or Camp to learn the proper way to throw a curveball.  Better yet a qualified PPC (a professional personal coach).  (See the book:  Be A High School Pitcher or the proper method of throwing the curve on our video on the website: www.coachelway.org   (Also see the book: The Student-Athlete Scholarship Handbook at the website or in the bibliography in back of this book and read about the “Athletic Success Profile”.)]

 

There are plenty of good pitches to throw that do not put stress on your arm (i.e. the Fast Ball—4-seam, 2-seam, no-seam, riser, sinker, splitter, etc.; the Cutter—in, out; the Slider (“slip pitch” with no arm twist); the Change Up; the Splitter, the Fork, the Knuckle, etc.)

 

In this chapter you will find described – THE GRIPS for the Fastball, the Change Up, the Cutter, the Slider, and Splitter; and THE MECHANICS of THROWING each pitch -- after we finish talking about THE FUNDAMENTALS of PITCHING.
 

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PITCHING

You can begin pitching in the BACKYARD when you determine that you have a child that wants to be a pitcher.  First, purchase a rubber “home plate”; also purchase the “pitcher’s plate” (or “rubber”).  At the same time you might as well purchase the three bases (1st, 2nd, & 3rd Base) if you haven’t already.

 

[PARENT NOTES:  In the early 60’s, we didn’t have the accessibility to manufactured plates and bases nor the money to purchase them; so we had to improvise!  (If you have some scrap lumber lying around in the garage; you might have a piece of 2 X 4 about 24 inches long.  Drill two holes about four inches from each end.  Then pound two spikes thru the two holes in your 2 X 4.  Find a good location in the Backyard and pound the piece of wood (your ‘pitcher’s plate’) into the ground.  We also made a Home Plate out of plywood -- drill three holes and pound spikes through those holes.  Now ‘pace off’ or measure the distance from the “Pitcher’s Plate” to the “Home Plate”.  The Little League distance is 45 feet; the Junior and Senior Little League (Pony, Babe Ruth, etc.), High School, and Professional; the distance is 60 feet, 6 inches.  Pound the plates into the ground. [See the dimensions on the website for: the Home Plate, the Pitcher’s Plate, and making an “indoor mound” that you can use in the “Backyard’.] Before you begin any practices, in which throwing is involved, it is so important that your pitcher warms up the arm properly and throws with “the right mechanics”.  We focus on the concept that:  “We warm-up to throw, we don’t throw to warm-up.”  Always do the Three Knee-T Drills.

THE THREE KNEE-"T” DRILLS: 1) “Two-Knee-T” Drill, 2) the “One-Knee-T” Drill, and 3) the “No-Knee-T” Drill before throwing off the mound.  After doing “The Three Knee-T” Drills, back out (or back up) to 45 feet, then 60 feet, then back to 45 feet (for little league pitchers); and back up to 70 and 85 feet, then back to the 60’6” distance for junior, senior, American Legion, high school and pro levels.  1) Focus on the “Mechanics of Throwing”, 2) then the “Fundamentals of Pitching”; 3) Locations; 4) Change of Speed; 5) then your Pitches – a. Grips, b. “The Mechanics of Throwing”, c. Location, and d. Change of Speeds.  [In this chapter look for the “progressions” and “routines”.]