Pitching Progress

I was able to throw off a mound twice last week; on Thursday night and then again on Saturday morning. The session on Saturday was less than optimal, but I was just happy to get on the hill again and practice my mechanics.

On Thursday, the radar gun was brought out for the first time since I started my offseason training and throwing regimen. For the middle of January, I was very pleased with the results. My fastball speed ranged from 80-85 miles per hour. That’s exactly where I thought it was during last season (most likely consistent in the lower end of the range with a periodic appearance at the top end when I really reached back for something extra).

The fact I am able to hit those numbers in the middle of the winter, without having thrown consistently in recent weeks, and having my body in basically a constant state of fatigue due to my strenuous workouts each day leaves me feeling emboldened about my Fort Myers tryout.

I feel the last point is the most telling in terms of my ability to pitch better than I did last summer. During the past season, it took me a couple months to find a good balance between my in-season training program and pitching in games.

At the start of the year, I would workout right until the day before I pitched and, on the mound the next day, I would invariably run out of gas by the fourth or fifth inning and my pitches would lose their sharpness, velocity and break. My strength and stamina would just be sapped and it always happened at that juncture of the game without fail. It was like I was Cinderella and the clock has just struck midnight (I’m not quite sure what represents my Prince).

After tinkering with my program, I realized that I needed two full rest days from training before I pitched to be at one hundred percent when I took the mound. Right now, I’m training right until Thursday’s throwing session, sometimes working out on Thursday as well. The fact I’m still able to throw with a good velocity, whilst tired, bodes very well for Florida where I plan to be fresh (I’ll train the Saturday before I leave and then rest Sunday, Monday, Tuesday before taking the mound on Wednesday).

So, Thursday was a great session and I left very happy with my velocity (command and control were still just a bit off). As I mentioned previously, Saturday wasn’t that productive because my arm was sore from Thursday. It felt good until I started throwing and then my arm began to throb considerably. I only lasted about twenty pitches or so before calling it a day. I couldn’t even practice my mechanics properly as the pain in my arm precluded me from working at full speed.

Nonetheless, the extra practice proved to me that my stamina is nowhere close to midseason form (nor should it be as the only way to build arm stamina is to throw, throw, throw and then throw some more).

Pitching is an interesting athletic activity. The only way to get better at something is to practice, but the stress of pitching at full speed prevents daily practice. Mirror drills and the like can only take you so far. It’s like asking a basketball player to work on his jumper, but only letting him shoot once or twice a week. I’m basically stuck in a Catch-22 situation until I am able to throw on a regular, multiple times a week basis.

I also think I figured out the disconnect between throwing off flat ground as opposed to toeing the rubber. The slope of mound is causing me to rush through my delivery (simple gravity: I’m falling towards the plate at a faster rate than my ability to get in a proper throwing position). I need to stay back more on my left leg so my arm can catch up with the rest of my body. Thus, I will be in a proper throwing position when I violently rotate my hips towards the catcher.

This Thursday will be the first time I will face live hitters since my season ended in September. Fingers crossed I don’t embrace my inner Rick 'Wild Thing' Vaughn and kill anyone with an errant fastball.