After the pain in my arm finally subsided—it was so bad on Thursday afternoon that I was forced to drink my post-tryout beers with my right hand as my left arm hung limply by my side like a vestigial tail—I had a burning desire to know how I stacked up in the scouts’ eyes after my performances on the mound.
I know I put up solid numbers in Fort Myers, which proved to me that I can compete and hang with players vying for independent league roster spots and that, most importantly, I can get batters out (which, at its root, is what pitching is all about).
But, as I mentioned in the final video last week, I was not offered a contract and I wanted to know why. I sent an email to the main pitching scout running the showcase and asked for some qualitative, scout-like feedback on my mound sessions.
He said that everything about me was fine except my velocity. My mechanics were sound and the command of my changeup and curveball were there, but my fastball just didn’t have the giddy up necessary to warrant a contract offer. It sat around 78-79 with periodic stops in the 82 MPH range. For a left-handed pitcher, my fastball velocity, according to the scout, must never dip below 86 in the independent leagues.
Now, this can be construed as both good and bad news. Good, in the sense that I only have one thing to work on. It’s not like he said my delivery needed a complete overhaul or anything; I just need to increase my velocity.
The bad news is that the majority of velocity is God-given. I don’t know if my DNA contains the necessary material to throw consistently in the mid to upper eighties, but I sure as hell am going to try my best to see if it’s possible.
I know I can throw harder than I did in the tryout. For early February, not to mention being asked to pitch on consecutive days this early in the season, I was pleased with the way I threw, but the lack of velocity tells me that I need to up my throwing volume to see the radar gun tick upward.
Once a week just isn’t cutting it anymore. I’m in the process of organizing more throwing sessions for myself and I can’t wait for the weather to get nicer so I can start throwing long toss again, which I believe is the secret to greater velocity.
I’m glad I had the opportunity to test myself in Fort Myers
Building up my arm strength and stamina on the hill so I don’t run out of gas is going to be the key for me moving forward. The showcase was validation that I belong and I can be successful against these hitters. The next time I attend a tryout I won’t be going in with that reservation hanging over my head.
I’m toeing the rubber and letting fly with my best stuff.
Tewks, Tewks, Tewks. After months of highfalutin talk about back-breaking workouts and intense conditioning, I was expecting more. Namely, I was expecting for your fastball to be making regular forays into the mid-80s and not languishing in the intercounty purgatory that is the high 70s. No matter how sharp your deuce and no matter how deceptive your change, 80 is mere BP to an everyday independent league hitter. You could argue that you have always been a finesse pitcher whose bread and butter have been location and changing speeds. However, I think that 80 simply will not suffice anymore, even if you’re living at the knees and painting the corners. You could also argue that many pitchers (Greg Maddux, Cliff Lee, Shaun Marcum) find success in the majors with BP-type fastballs, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.
ReplyDeleteIf you work out as hard as you say you do, you’re strong enough to throw at least 85. I’m sure the power is there; I’m sure your arm, core and legs are all packing heat. You’re just not using it. If I may, allow me to diagnose the problem.
Please bear in mind that I have never pretended to be a shining example of strength, conditioning, discipline, finesse, good hygiene or moral fortitude. (As an aside, neither does Tim Lincecum, but even at 5’11”, 170 lbs he can throw 95.) However, I am a left-handed pitcher of a similar style with perennial velocity trouble. My collegiate-level coach, whose master’s thesis was on pitching mechanics, in collaboration with a half-drunk, homeless-looking fan at one of our games who apparently knows a ton about pitching, recently told me why. I’m passing it on to you because I really believe you have the same problem.
The first thought that ran through my head when i saw your delivery (albeit from a shoddy camera angle) was “his back leg is as limp as a dead fish.” Terry Fox generated more power from his ill-fitted prosthetic than you do from your left leg when you push off the rubber. The back leg is where much of a pitcher’s power comes from, and to me, your limp-thighed delivery is the reason why you’re throwing 5-8 mph slower than you could be, given your strength. My suggestions for changing your delivery to address this: lengthen your stride, emphasize power from your left thigh (explode with it) and get lower in your delivery. Throw more like Billy Wagner (see http://www.metstoday.com/wp-content/Billy_Wagner13.jpg) and less like Tim Wakefield (see http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slideshows/363/slideshow_36315/display_image.jpg?x=500417).
This is what the half-drunk, homeless-looking man told me: “You throw like a kid who’s had it easy. You throw like you’ve always been athletic and co-ordinated but you’ve never really committed to being excellent at anything. You’ve got all this razzle dazzle with your high leg kick and your rocker step, but when the time comes to punch it, you’ve got no explosion, no heart. You don’t commit your body and your back leg is completely dead. You’re weak.” He then looked at me wide-eyed, as if he was seeing me for the first time, and walked away.
A good drill to work on incorporating ‘back leg push’ into your delivery is to throw long-toss using only 80-90% of your arm strength but with an exaggerated crow-hop where you hop twice on your back leg, get low on it and push hard with it as you release the ball. Training to use your back leg more in long toss will eventually transfer to your pitching delivery.
To this point, I think you’ve overemphasized the finer details of your delivery while overlooking the simple tenets of power generation. Don’t try to generate more velocity with your arm, you risk hurting yourself. Tweak your delivery to maximize the power you’ve already got.
Good luck on your march towards 85 mph. I believe in you brah, hope all is well.
Love Always,
TDR