Video Review

My indoor session last Wednesday was one of the best bullpens I’ve thrown all off-season. My fastball stayed consistently at the bottom edge of the strike zone and had plenty of life (both velocity and movement). Also, my curveball was really diving into the strike zone and had lots of depth. I think it’s benefited from this commitment to better mechanics more so than any other pitch.

How hard was I throwing? I don’t want to get anywhere near a radar gun until absolutely necessary—most likely the end of April showcase in Massachusetts—because falling in love with the numbers on the gun is what causes most pitchers to overthrow, abandon all semblance of mechanical consistency and throw primarily with their arm.

Sandwiched around my bullpen were two throwing sessions at a nearby park where I threw ball after ball into a fence practicing my new, lower-half dominant (hopefully) delivery. The video above is four pitches from that session taken from the side. This is where I need all of you armchair quarterbacks (I’m looking at you TDR) to pore over the footage like it’s the Zapruder film and look to see if I’m properly utilizing the big muscles in my back and legs to propel the ball to the plate.

My thoughts on the video? My delivery is definitely better than it was down in Fort Myers, but there is still a lot of work to be done. I can see a little more action and drive off of my back leg. However, there still seems to be a little bit of ‘laziness’ in my mechanics. There is still more power to be derived from my body, but I haven’t yet figured out how to harness it. My delivery needs to be more violent and ‘harder’. I can’t be soft when I pitch.

This is where things get difficult. To counteract the laziness or softness, one would think it makes sense to move faster through my delivery, thereby creating more power, right? Wrong. Yes, I need greater rotational force and stronger drive with my hips, back and shoulder, but speeding up all of the complex moving parts of a pitching delivery can throw things out of sync and actually lead to slower pitching speed which is the antithesis of what I’m looking for (here is video of four pitches from the back).

While visions of perfect mechanical efficiency dance around in my head, two analogies keep cropping up to help (or hinder?) me in this process. The first is from Forgetting Sarah Marshall when Koonu (Paul Rudd) is trying to teach Peter (Jason Segal) how to surf. Koonu advises Peter to “do nothing” and “do less” on his board as trying to do too much can lead to complications once you’re on the water.

Unfortunately for my analogy, Koonu was an idiot, but I think the point is salient. If I try to do too much with my delivery and rush, I am going to mess myself up. I need to stay calm and relaxed out there. And not get eaten by a shark.

The second analogy is akin to shifting gears in a car. I have to hit first gear before moving to second gear. And second gear before third gear. And third before fourth and so on. I have to pitch with the same sequence in mind. I have to generate power from my back leg before my glutes. And my glutes before my hips. My hips before my back and my shoulder before my arm. If I miss a step, the car won’t go as fast. Neither will my fastball.