January 29, 2013 | 
Author This is going to be a quick story. A few years ago in 2009 I was getting ready for the spring season. In early December I threw my first full-speed bullpen and had the radar gun on to see where I was at, just to get a baseline. I wasn’t putting too much stock in it, as it was my first pen, but it was good to see what I was working with at the start. I threw 87-91 and was pleasantly surprised. I knew it would come up a handful of miles per hour in the next few months, as it always does, so that let me optimistic that I might be completely above the 90mph mark. Cool, I thought.
Fast forward one month, and I was sitting 84-86. I was throwing as hard as I could, but it just wouldn’t go. My arm didn’t hurt, and I wasn’t, seemingly, doing anything differently. I got concerned as this dry spell of pansy velocity lasted a solid 2-3 weeks. I couldn’t shake it.
So, I recruited this old pitching coach who did lessons at the facility (I was in Baltimore at the time) to watch me. I had a good handle on my own mechanics, but maybe I was missing something. I was.
“You’re stopping short – holding back. I know you think you’re throwing as hard as you can, but you’re not – your arm is slowing down early.”
I thanked him for his analysis and made a plan. What was this plan, you ask?
My next bullpen was for the radar gun, and I told my catcher to set up down the middle and be ready for anything. I told him I didn’t care where it was going – I was basically going throw myself down the mound and let that ball go as hard as I could possibly throw it. If my arm exploded, so be it. But, I was surely NOT going to slow my arm down early. I still remember this pen vividly and how reckless and out of control my body felt. I also recall being completely exhausted when I was finished. This was just the point – I had been too much in control, and my velocity was suffering for it.
It went great – I absolutely wore my catcher out. I basically peppered him at the head with the occasional low missile almost hitting him in the junk. I wasn’t pitching to him, I was just throwing, and trying to downright hurt him (if I’m being honest). I reminded my arm and my body what 100% truly was, and after that bullpen it was very clear that what I was doing for the previous week was NOT 100%. 90% maybe. Probably more like 85%.
That day I gained 5 miles per hour and was right back around the 90mph mark where I should have been the whole time. I didn’t get stronger, didn’t “refine” my mechanics or any of those typical fixes. Rather, I just removed the filter that I didn’t realize I had. I was holding back trying to spot all of my pitches and be accurate, and once I stepped back from that and got a reminder to throw full bore all the time, I was good.
This problem never happened again. Why? Because my first two or threw bullpens of the year are always 100% max-effort, “I don’t care at all where it goes” bullpens. I wake my arm up, get to full-speed, and then learn to harness that speed and corral it into the strike zone. Just food for thought as bullpens get near for almost everyone.
Wow thanks dude
Hey Dan,
As you found out sometimes one just needs to air it all out, sometimes one will think themselves right out of the game by thinking about every step along the way, actually as you did when working on top velocity over one’s basic now velocity one needs to just shut down one’s mind on the control aspects and air it out for a period of time then again as you said come back to control and then fuse the two together. It is a shame that baseball parents, players and coaches are immune to change and making necessary positive adjustments unless it is their own opinionated idea or some other persons opinionated idea do not diligently follow scientific research proof or at least get out of their old conventional, opinionated way’s and “BE VERY PARTICULAR” about their athletes learning process and seek out a coach if available who’s teachings are based on scientific facts, “NOT ON OPINION” a guessing game, which is the norm, it seems.
Hey, the best of luck with your rehab and most of all, your come back, playing pro ball at any level is great fun I always, every day
wish I would have taken the great opportunity bestowed upon me by the Phillie’s and ran with it to wherever it may have taken me, for no particular reason other than total immaturity I became disgusted with myself walked off and went home after a banner season that any player pro. or amateur at any level would love to have , I do have fond memories though and have gained an enormous amount of experience and knowledge from studying, picking the minds of some of the best and above all becoming a keen student of team play and most interesting of all individual player skills at the positions and at the player.
Well I recon that I have talked and bored you too much and long enough.
Again, the very best of luck with your rehab.and your big come back.
Don Ervin