Today, we’re sitting down with Brandon McDaniel, VP of Player Development with the Los Angeles Dodgers, to discuss the many considerations when training the Elite / Pro athlete. Topics Include:
With pitch design and pitch data becoming so prevalent in the game of baseball today, pitches like the sweeper and splitter are increasingly popular by pitchers ranging from youth to professional. A question that is always asked by parents and athletes is: “Is this pitch bad for my arm?” In this article we will dive into elbow torque (stress), how it is measured and break down which pitches put more “strain” on the arm/shoulder than others. Essentially exploring the “myths” that come with specific pitches.
Now let’s dive in…
Continue reading “How Different Are Torque Levels Across Various Pitch Types?”
Today we’re sitting down with new Pitching Coordinator Matt Hartshorn. This guy shows up with a plethora of knowledge on pitching, assessing and movement. Topics Include:
Nate Byrd, 6’4″ Senior RHP from Post University, has had quite the story as a collegiate baseball player. After topping 93 mph as a freshman in Junior College, injuries plagued the right hander who had 2 elbow surgeries in a 5-year span, resulting in velo loss with him not seeing 90 mph in over 3 years. Nate came in-house this past summer with the goal of gaining back his velocity. His summer began with a complete assessment, from movement screen to strength and power testing, and a mechanical breakdown of his delivery combining both motion capture and video analysis. This past spring, Nate topped out at 87mph. Fast forward to this fall, he topped out at 91 mph (first time in over 3 years).
How did he do it?
Today, we’re sitting down once again with Mike McFerran, Head of Player Development at Wake Forest University, to discuss his process for creating efficient throwers. Topics include:
With the fall upon us and the never ending questions about “Shut-Down” vs. ”No Shut-Down”, I thought it would be a great time to get my buddy Alan Jaeger on the podcast again to help break down this never-ending dialogue…
Continue reading “Podcast #74: Early Off-season Throwing Protocol with Alan Jaeger”
Declan Hickey, Sophomore at JUCO County College of Morris, joined us this past summer as part of our Summer Throwing Program. Previously a catcher, Declan was looking to convert himself into a pitcher that would be capable of competing at the college level. Starting the program at 6’4” 207 lbs., Declan definitely had the frame to throw hard, but was only sitting 75-78 mph when he arrived. His goals for the summer were to improve his mechanics in hopes that it could translate to more velo on the mound. Declan’s summer began with a complete assessment, including a movement screen, strength and power testing, and a mechanical breakdown of his delivery combining both motion capture and video analysis. Fast forward to this fall, Declan sat 85-87 mph, a 10+ mph pickup from where he started in June. He put in hard work all summer long, and it’s definitely paying off!
How did he do it?
This week we’ll finish up our “Best of 2022” podcast series with past discussions featuring:
Enjoy!
Today we’re sitting down with Adam Moreau. Adam and his father Darryl are creators of the Flex Pro Grip, a device being well-received in the baseball community in regard to strengthening the pronator mass, the muscles responsible for grip strength as well as protection against fatigue of the UCL’s first responders.
On its website Flex Pro Grip highlights the following benefits:
Continue reading “Podcast #72: Talking Grip Strength and UCL Protection with the Flex Pro Grip”
Today, I’m flying solo and talking a bit about how we use the weight room to help address data from our motion capture reports. I’ll be reviewing 5 of the “big players” we see in our mocaps:
Continue reading “Podcast #71: Correcting Motion Capture Data Points in the Weight Room”
