Throwing Weighted Baseballs For Release Point Control

Today I was throwing weighted baseballs, casually, just working on improving my capacity for throwing. Throwing only 55-65 mph, I decided I would just mix in different weighted balls as I went through my mechanics and target-throwing routine.

My first throw with the 80z baseball sailed about 5 feet above my target. The next throw with an 80z ball? Right on target. Then, I asked myself: how did I do that?

Actually, I know how – I made the exact same adjustment I make when I leave a regulation (5oz) ball up in the zone. Throwing an 8oz ball after a 5oz ball is similar to that magical time in the 7th inning when you start getting tired. When fatigue sets in, the ball goes up. When the ball goes up, good pitchers make it go back down. For me, it’s a subtle, almost imperceptible cueing of my arm swing to reach the top sooner. I get my hand “above” the ball a fraction of the time sooner, allowing me to ensure that I propel it on a downhill angle. I also stay on my back leg just a hair longer and perhaps slow my tempo a tick.

Can We Simulate Fatigue and our control over it?

So, a light bulb went off – maybe we can use different weighted balls to simulate fatigue, giving younger, more inexperienced pitchers practice at making on-the-fly adjustments.

The goal: to learn to make release point adjustments in real-time.

To get really, really good at something, repetition has to be very high. It’s the #1 factor in skill, in my opinion. So, a low-speed program that would be suitable for a higher volume of throws could be ideal. I prefer low-speed whenever possible because it reduces potential for injury and overuse. When acquiring a new skill, 100 throws with perfect technique does more for embedding good mechanics than 30 throws at high-speed.

Here’s a video of my throwing session and the explanation of this concept.