Lower Half Pitching Mechanics: Block – Simplified (Part 4 of 4)

Use your legs. Use your lower half. Sounds great but, “what the heck does it mean”? Coaches often cue this as if it’s one single thing. In reality, a proper use of the lower half has 4 different but connected and sequential components. In Part 4 of this 4 part series on lower half pitching mechanics, we’ll take a closer look and break down what I refer to as the Block.

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Baseball Pitches – A Comprehensive Guide

Baseball Pitches

Baseball pitches come in three basic categories: fastballs, breaking balls, and off-speed / changeups.  Each category, and each pitch within the category, are generally identified by their type of grip, velocity and movement profile also known as “break”. Pitchers generally throw many different types of baseball pitches, in addition to a fastball.  Although, there are a few pitchers in the MLB that throw just about every type of pitch, starters generally throw 4-5 different variations, and relievers and closers throw 1-3 different ones. The primary purpose for the variations in pitching is to throw a batter’s timing off and induce an out: as in a strike out, a ground out, or a flyout.

Now, let’s review each category and the various baseball pitches:

    • Fastballs
    • Breaking Balls
    • Off-speed / Changeups

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Baseball Pitch Grips – A Comprehensive Guide

Baseball Pitch Grips

Baseball pitch grips are a big part of throwing a baseball. Every pitcher has a unique way of holding and gripping every pitch in his arsenal. Since the size of the baseball is “a given”, success with different pitches and baseball pitch grips can be attributable to many things, including hand size, finger size, finger pressure, finger placement, depth of the hold, hand / finger dexterity and most importantly comfort. In this article we are going to review the eight major pitch types, each with its own distinct baseball pitch grip and movement pattern: Continue reading “Baseball Pitch Grips — A Comprehensive Guide”

Lower Half Pitching Mechanics: Drive / Rotate – Simplified (Part 3 of 4)

Use your legs. Use your lower half. Sounds great but, “what the heck does it mean”? Coaches often cue this as if it’s one single thing. In reality, a proper use of the lower half has 4 different but connected and sequential components. In Part 3 of this 4 part series on lower half pitching mechanics, we’ll take a closer look and break down what I refer to as the Drive / Rotate phase.

    • Part 1 – Drift
    • Part 2 – Load
    • Part 3 – Drive / Rotate
    • Part 4 – Block

Continue reading “Lower Half Pitching Mechanics: Drive / Rotate — Simplified (Part 3 of 4)”

Lower Half Pitching Mechanics: The Load – Simplified (Part 2 of 4)

Use your legs. Use your lower half. Sounds great but, “what the heck does it mean”? Coaches often cue this as if it’s one single thing. In reality, a proper use of the lower half has 4 different but connected and sequential components. In Part 2 of this 4 part series on lower half pitching mechanics, we’ll take a closer look and break down what I refer to as the Load phase.