Posted on

What Makes Kevin Gausman’s Splitter So Effective?

With San Francisco Giants ace Kevin Gausman generating NL CY Young consideration for much of the 2021 season, the effectiveness of the splitter has become a hot topic of conversation. Let’s take a deep dive to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of this particular pitch. A splitter is an off-speed pitch that should play directly off of a fastball, similar to the use of a changeup. It has reduced spin rate due to a stiffer wrist and wide grip (fingers placed on the outside of the baseball) which induces downward movement with occasional horizontal break. Continue reading “What Makes Kevin Gausman’s Splitter So Effective?”

Posted on

Where Mocap Can Help Fill the Gaps!

Most of you already know that while we are big believers in using data/tech, the human element should never be replaced, just simply “enhanced”. So let me start with this great quote by PT (and super smart guy) Bill Hartman:

Technology provides answers that are stored or calculated. It serves me. It is not creative or curious nor has the capacity to ask the important questions. Those qualities are purely human.

However, as I have said before there is great value to data, especially in areas where you can’t necessarily observe what’s happening during the delivery, but it can be measured.  Today, we’re going to look at an example of the merging of the eyes and data. I decided to write this article after reading a recent thread posted by RPP Pitching Coordinator Justin Friedman. Continue reading “Where Mocap Can Help Fill the Gaps!”

Posted on

How Can Poor Hip Mobility Impact Arm Health?

hip mobility pitchers

Improving arm health in pitchers is a topic which is typically viewed in reference to the arm itself rather than all the other parts of the body. This way of thinking can potentially lead to arm health issues. When assessing the lower half of a pitcher’s mechanics, often hip mobility issues surface and should be addressed. The purpose of this article is to help provide insight on how we initially assess hip mobility; common issues associated with a lack of hip mobility and ways to improve hip mobility issues. Understanding that fixing poor hip mobility is not an overnight fix is critical in helping the expectations of the progress that can be made if an athlete is consistent in their training. Continue reading “How Can Poor Hip Mobility Impact Arm Health?”

Posted on

Off-season Pitching Program – Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of “frequently asked questions” we receive on our off-season pitching program.  Hope it’s helpful, but please feel free to reach the front desk at 201-308-3363 with any additional inquiries at any time or set up a visit / “consult session” where we can give you an on-site tour and review the programming.

Pitching Program Q&A

Q: Is your winter pitching program also a velo program? Continue reading “Off-season Pitching Program — Frequently Asked Questions”

Posted on

Assessing Pitchers in the Age of New Tech (Inside Pitch Magazine)

inside pitch magazine

Interested in a hard copy of the article please click here.

Baseball, like every other industry, is under siege from new technology and it’s making sure the game evolves in many ways.  Some love it, some hate it, and everything in between.  Whether you’re a fan of technology or not, it’s difficult to ignore. It’s here in full force and it’s changing baseball with it.  Those that are too close-minded to take the time to expand their knowledge of the new performance metrics run the risk of being left behind, both in terms of overall knowledge about the game and improving an athlete’s efficiency in performance. Continue reading “Assessing Pitchers in the Age of New Tech (Inside Pitch Magazine)”

Posted on

Sean Hard’s Path to New Jersey State Champion

Sean Hard

As many of you know, senior pitcher Sean Hard and his high school team St. Joe’s (Montvale, NJ) recently won the New Jersey State Non-Public A Group Tournament.  They actually won their league, county, sectional and ultimately the state championship, all in the same year. Sean’s record for the season as a pitcher was 8-0, 50.2 IP, 87 K, 2 R, 0.62 WHIP, 0.36 ERA.  He topped out at 95 mph at the final game of the year.  There are a lot of things Sean has done right during his development and it’s important to highlight how he got here, as no one has worked harder at this craft than this young man. Continue reading “Sean Hard’s Path to New Jersey State Champion”

Posted on

Why and How We Incorporate Long Toss in Our Programs

long toss program

Long-toss is a concept that we see many athletes under-utilize, misinterpret, or perform improperly. We use our long-toss program in a variety of ways to help our athletes maintain proper throwing volume and intensity depending on where they are during the season or their throwing program.  But generally, it is our belief that long-toss should be a staple in every pitcher’s routine, specifically to increase intensity in the throw and get the arm and tissue used to the stress of throwing (otherwise known as Davis’ Law). Continue reading “Why and How We Incorporate Long Toss in Our Programs”

Posted on

How to Improve Unintentional Cut on a Fastball

cut fastball

Improving an unintentional cut on a 4S fastball can be particularly challenging. It’s a habitual release pattern of the ball with a cut and trying to change years and years of a specific movement pattern moving at high speeds requires dedication and work. In this article, we are going to review many of the methods we’ve have used with some success when addressing excessive and inadvertent cut on a fastball.

However, this article does come with a disclaimer: We’re not necessarily suggesting that you must fix a cut on your 4S fastball. If a cut fastball is an effective pitch for you, and you would like to continue to throw your 4S fastball this way, you should continue throwing it that way. This article is meant for those who have a cut and would like to adjust their fastball to move like a regular 4S fastball with additional back spin and perhaps higher velocity. Continue reading “How to Improve Unintentional Cut on a Fastball”

Posted on

Early Trunk Rotation and Losses in Pitching Velocity

early trunk rotation

While performing hundreds of video analysis and mocaps yearly, “early trunk rotation” rears its ugly heads more than 90% of any other disconnect we see. An early trunk puts the upper body in a more compromised position to accept ground reaction force and effectively block with the lead leg while negatively affecting timing issues and transfer of force up the chain. It can also contribute to a late arm or an arm that “drags”.  All this, of course, can ultimately lead to losses in pitching velocity.  The key is finding what is causing this early rotation, training it and putting the arm in its “sweet spot”. Continue reading “Early Trunk Rotation and Losses in Pitching Velocity”