Check out the article, then read the comments; it becomes a substantial debate on long toss between myself and Mr. Mills.

Wall Street Journal Article: Throwing Long to Throw Short

The camp was 4 days and geared mostly toward mental training, which I will discuss more in another post. Though I have been a lifetime self-taught long-tosser, I learned a few things from Alan that have had a profound affect on the way I’ve approached the training in my Warbird Academy since I returned home.

Warming Up Slowly

After getting some blood flow and performing a long set of arm circles and his J-Band routine, we started throwing. I’m used to starting off with somewhat crisp, though light, throws from 40 feet or so. My throwing partner on Day 1 was Mike Montgomery, a 1st round pick from ’09 with the Royals, and he has been in Jaeger’s program for a long time. He tossed me throw after throw at a lob from all of our distance up to about 180 feet (it rained this day and we threw on tennis courts). The next day when we threw on ball field, I went with lob approach and really liked it.

Alan’s idea is to “let the arm open up naturally.” This means just taking it really slow and listening to your arm; when it’s ready to move back, it will tell you. I found all this to be true. When I unconsciously started to nearly over throw my partner, it was time to move back. So we did.

Living in the cold Midwest, I was eager to bomb it out. I’ve been on my own program, the Warbird Program, since December and as such was ready to go full tilt. Seeing a pristine, green field with the sun shining was more than enough motivation to let it go. I’d had a lot of success this winter figuring out how to throw harder, and it was my intention to try them out while throwing. The biggest thing? Being less circular and more linear with my arm path. To me, this means letting my arm extend later while reaching out more toward the target. I allow my head to go down, off the target, to let me upper body pull as hard as it wants to. Let me tell you, it worked out there on the field.

Pulling Down HARD

Jaeger’s long toss program entails slowly going out as far as possible, and staying at max distance as long as feels comfortable. Once you start coming back in, what he calls the pull-down phase, the goal (the most important part of all of this) is to crunch the max-distance throw into a lower-trajectory throw. As he went around and critiqued, he used terms phrases like “That throw wasnt quite hard enough; it was 330, not 350 [referring to the distance, in feet, of the max throw]. If you can crunch a 350 foot throw into 60 feet, it should be about 94 miles per hour. This isn’t easy, however.

The biggest thing I took home was how difficult it was to keep the gas pedal down as you come closer doing pull-downs. I did a pretty good job (I saw stars regularly, if that gives you an idea of my effort level) but often fell short in what he saw from my arm speed. When my partner got all the way in to 60 feet or so, it was very, very difficult to keep throws below chest level. To really get everything you have in your arm, you have to get that max-distance throw to 60 feet. And by 60 feet, I mean the ball is nearly hitting the ground at 60 feet, not chest-high where it would fly another 100 if not stopped by a baseball mitt. To crunch 380 (my max) into shin-high 60 feet was hard; so hard, that I realized I had never done or even tried to do it before. I was excited.

What I learned about myself and velocity was and is the following:

1. I can throw a baseball about 370-380 feet, which most long-toss gurus, Alan included, translate into 96+ mph arm strength.
2. I have never effectively crunched my 380 feet into a pitch, as seen by my average pitching velocity of about 90-91mph with peaks at 93.
3. It’s really, really difficult to throw 380 feet into the ground at 60 feet. I couldn’t reliably do it, but am improving with practice (I want to throw 97, damnit!).
4. The most important, generalizable thing I learned was that the arm wants to decelerate at steeper angles, but has no problem accelerating at higher angles. This is shown in the above 3 points – your body just really wants to slow the arm down as it throws at steeper and steeper downward angles. It was a challenge crunching 380 feet into 60 feet at flat ground; getting it off a mound takes it even a step further.
5. Cleats are necessary. You can’t even sniff your max on a turf mound. The short reason why is slippage at a time when you need a braking effect. I’ll be making a video about his phenomenon soon. I hate turf so much, I can’t even tell you.

How have I applied my findings? For one, I’ve altered my latest block of Warbird academy to include more long-toss and pull-down throwing. So far, it’s going outstandingly well with a number of my students breaking through plateaus. The Warbird Academy has always been a hybrid program of over/underweight and over/undersize balls, contrast throwing, locomotive techniques and long toss, but I’m increasing the role of long toss within this. Having seen great results already, I’m excited for even more gains. I’m never done learning and adapting for the better.

If you aren’t familiar with Alan Jaeger’s work, check out his website.

The Long Toss Benefits

1. Stretches the arm out while under tension

2. Utilizes a slightly different motion compared to mound throwing, allowing for a new muscle stimulus

3. Teaches one to reach out and really extend toward the target

4.  Allows the body to find peak arm slot efficiency in throwing the ball as far as possible (i.e if you pitch over the top, but throw farthest at 3/4, maybe it’s time to pitch at 3/4)

5. Develops synchrony in the body’s movements, which helps cure mechanical timing issues

6. Teaches to pull the arm down hard when coming back in, developing more arm speed and even more forward reach

How To

First, a disclaimer: A very good warm up should always precede a long toss session.

The best way to long toss is to go out as far as possible in 30 foot increments, making 3-6 throws at each distance (assuming you are well warmed up).

Once max distance is achieved, I usually make 6-15 throws at that distance, depending on how I feel, then start coming back in from 200 feet.  I don’t like pitchers to come back in a few feet at a time because if you are to maintain the same arc, you will only be slowing your arm down, which isn’t the goal.  So cut down to 200 feet and immediately start compressing your throws into a hard, low line. 

Again, when coming back in, the goal is to throw on as hard and as low a line as possible, compressing that max distance throw into a shorter distance throw; This is where arm speed is created.

I usually end at around 70-75 feet, throwing 5-10 as hard as I can, really trying to follow through to the grass.  It’s helpful to think about trying to throw the ball into the ground and make it rise up to your partner (though this isn’t physically possible).

Alan Jaeger is a big proponent of long toss, and has a great article on the subject, as well as the following video which explains his long toss method (largely the same as my own).  It’s well worth the four minutes.

The only issue with long toss is finding a home for it within one’s pitching schedule.  I usually long toss the 2nd day after a start, and maybe have another short one two days out from the next start.  Relievers have to get them in after games in which they don’t pitch or whenever they think they might get a rest day.  

The offseason, however, allows the time to get three good long tosses in per week, which over a period of a 6-8 weeks or more can really provide good velocity gains. Consistent long toss coupled with a good strength training program is where tons of guys come into their own and put on a bunch of MPHs.

Throwing is the same way: throw sparingly and you won’t develop your arm to its potential.  Throw often and your arm will be strong and durable.  Ever see an infielder, especially a catcher, go down with arm problems?  Probably not too often. But if you’ve been around baseball long enough, you’ve surely noticed that outfielders complain about their arms hurting as much as anyone.  The reason for this is that outfielders infrequently throw, both in practice and in games, and when they do it is often with maximum effort.

Why, physiologically, does throwing a ton make you throw harder?  Your body just recognizes the need to build strength because the muscle group is consistently stimulated.  This is why climbers have incredible hand strength, and cyclists have monster calves and thighs.  They’re both just doing what they do for hours a day, and their bodies respond by sending the muscular reinforcements.

Pitchers should not consistently go hard and rest on alternate days.  It’s stressful, the arm doesn’t learn to recover quickly, and the repetition needed for growth isn’t there with too many off days. Off days are needed every week, but limiting them to 1 or 2 is ideal, and the other days should be filled with high volume, low intensity throwing to keep your muscles working.

The Repetition Recommendation:

-Add more high-repetition, low-intensity throwing days into your weekly workload.  As long as one’s arm is without pain and deadness, then throwing 5 or 6 days per week should have a very positive effect.

What does one of these high-rep days look like, you ask?  

100-140 very light but crisp throws from 45-75 feet.  This is the time to work on mechanics and pitches, all without stressing the arm. If done at the correct intensity, you should breeze through the 100+ throws without fatigue, and feel fresh the next day.  This is going to get your body used to throwing often, making it able to recover faster.  Additionally this will give you tons of reps to perfect mechanics, arm slot, pitches, etc, all of which add up to better pitching performance aside from velocity.

These high-volume days should be combined with regular bullpen sessions, as well as long toss, which is extremely important and is another huge contributor to throwing that cheese.