Above all, I am trying to write about what I know, and I know how to squeeze more velocity out of an unexceptional arm.  

How do I know this? Because I have an unexceptional arm, and I’ve done a lot of squeezing.  I learned how to get the absolute best out of it, and for me, I believe the best is yet to come.  

As a high school senior I pitched at 78-81.  As a college sophomore I pitched at 85-89.  By Junior year (before my elbow went) I was sitting at 89-92.  

Thing is, I’m not special.  I just had good coaching, a great strength and conditioning coach, and a terrible, desperate desire to throw harder and develop into a good pitcher, one worthy of a chance at pro ball.  

The following are the 9 things that I credit with making a big jump in velocity, and which will continue to provide me with gains.  The bottom line is no matter how hard you throw, you can throw harder if you are willing to put all your effort into the list below.

1. Total Body Strength

      • This means just getting in the weight room, and increasing your strength and size as a whole.  This is the first step, the foundation for creating tremendous strength in more pitching specific areas.  Many youngsters simply haven’t the general strength to throw a ball in the 80s or 90s, and while some areas are more important to throwing than others, the body works as a whole.

2. Excellent Conditioning

     • Again, this is fundamental and adds to general body strength, but in a different way.  I can’t say exactly why being in great, great shape makes a pitcher throw harder, but I think it has something to do with creating a body that is fatigue resistant, because every part of you gets tired when you’re running and pushing yourself past your previous limits.

3.  Excellent Mechanics

       • This is often not accomplished until the previous two points are covered, because general body strength is needed to create the body control which is the basis for good mechanics.  Throwing with excellent mechanics maximizes your body’s muscular potential.  Thing is, getting to the point of having pro-quality mechanics takes tremendous repetition and the ability to make subtle changes, which a person of poor body-control simply cannot do.

4. Long Toss

      • Long toss stretches the arm out and teaches you to really get out in front with the ball.  Reaching out and extending your body is a big factor in throwing hard. Long toss also allows your body to find it’s own maximum mechanical efficiency, in that you are trying to throw the ball as far as you can; your body figures out with each throw how it best accomplishes that.  

5. Prehab (specific attention to shoulder/elbow)

     • I talked about prehab in a previous post, saying how it is the only thing keeping pitchers in the game and off the DL.  While it does prevent injury, it also strengthens the areas that are chief in throwing a baseball, i.e. the rotator cuff and forearm.  Pitchers who have extraordinary shoulder and forearm strength are almost certainly going to throw harder than those who don’t.

6. Core Strength with Emphasis on Rotation

    • Throwing is both linear and rotational, with the legs driving toward the plate and the core/hips rotating the torso to deliver the ball.  Again, total body strength is key, but a pitcher should take his core a step further, and aim to have the midsection of a gymnast.  

7. Strong Legs

     • Most people know this one.  Your legs carry and drive you toward the plate.  The more drive you can get out of them, the harder you should be able to deliver a pitch.  

8. Flexibility and Joint Mobility

      • You’ve see the beanpoles and the Tim Lincecums throwing gas.  They do this because they can move in any way they choose, and their joints and muscles don’t impede each other’s movements.  Have tight hips?  You won’t throw as hard,  I promise.  Tight shoulder capsule? You’re losing MPHs and increasing the likelihood of injury.  I know because I’ve been there.  

9.  High Repetition

       • Throw more.  Make sure you rest enough, but throw more.  

More Information to Come

Keep tuning in, because I am going to make a detailed individual post on each of the 9 items listed above.  As always, I’m open to comments, as this blog is a way for me to share the things that have helped me become a better ballplayer, though I still have a long way to go.