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So
You Want to Be a Consistent Pitcher Like Some of the
Top Professionals?
After “how can I gain
more velocity on my fastball”, the next question I
get most as a pitching coach is how to become a more
consistent pitcher.
We’ve all seen it.
Regardless of age or level of play, the pitcher is
lights out one game, the next he can’t find the
plate.
Now velocity is one
of the first ways to get attention from coaches,
scouts, fans, and just about anyone who is a fan of
baseball.
But let’s face it,
consistency is why they pay the guys in the big
leagues the big bucks.
Is
Consistency Genetic?
Well, like most
athletic activities, there is some natural ability
involved. However, your consistency with your
delivery can be improved.
How?
Through smart work,
planning, and the proper drills.
Notice I didn’t say
hard work.
I’m more in favor of
smart work. Make the most of your time.
I’ve got a friend who
is a professional golf instructor. We’ve had lengthy
talks about instruction and what successful athletes
do to prepare and compete at the highest level.
The one thing that
stands out in my head about our conversation is how
focused the professional golfer is while training.
My friend Todd said the difference in a professional
golfer and an amateur is the structured practice and
the focus on each swing.
Todd estimates that
during a bucket of 100 golf balls, the professional
is focused on about 95 percent of those balls. What
that means is that about 95 of the 100 golf swings
the professional golfer takes, he is swinging with a
purpose. He is trying to accomplish something. Not
just swinging the golf club for the heck of it.
Now look at the
professional pitcher. In season, the pitcher has his
outing. Throwing around 100 pitches let’s say.
Before his next start, the professional pitcher will
throw one or two bullpens working on his pitches,
location, speed, movement, and a host of other
things. He will also work on flat ground drills
during the week, again, working on something
specific. Maybe his curve is struggling; maybe the
change-up is a little flat. When all is said and
done, there will be a few hundred throws in any
given week. I’ll bet the same 95% focus of the
professional golfer applies to the professional
pitcher.
You’ve
got to ask yourself, am I totally focused with each
and every throw?
I’ll bet not.
I see it all the
time. Most guys are thinking and talking about the
latest movie that came out, what’s for dinner, a
girlfriend, whatever pops into his mind while they
are throwing. I’ll ask any given pitcher what they
are working on during a session and inevitably, they
say, “I’m warming up.” That’s not gonna get you to
the next level and have a consistent pitching
delivery.
You’ve got to warm up to throw, not throw to warm
up!
Use your warm up time
to get your body loose, warm, and prepared to throw.
Don’t use your throwing to warm you up. That’s where
you’ll do some damage to your joints.
You can look at just
about any professional athlete and you’ll see them
get their body well prepared before they get going
with there activity.
Do You
Have A Practice Plan?
This is another big
area I see most pitchers fail.
They don’t have a
plan to practice. Not sure why. It takes a little
effort to plan. It takes discipline to execute that
plan.
Doing drills and
practice can be boring at times. This is what
separates the high performers from the average
performers. The high performers work through the
tedious stuff because they know it will make them
better and they have a burning desire to be the
best.
A good friend and my mentor once told me that it’s
not always the best athlete that rises to the top,
it’s the best prepared athlete that is successful.
You will need a set
of drills, or teaches that will help you get better
and also stay on track.
That’s where I see a
big downfall with a lot of amateur athletes do the
drills, get to a comfort zone and are pitching well.
They stop doing their
drills that got them there. I think they believe, I
found it, I won’t lose it, I’m invincible.
Then they start
having problems. They have a bad outing or two.
Their curve isn’t working well. They try to change
their grip. The coach wants them to change their
delivery. Still no improvement.
All the while, if
they had kept doing what got them there, they would
have stayed at that high level for a long time.
How Smart
Are You Willing to Work?
Now I know I said to
work smart. It does take sweat to get you to the
next level too.
I’ve got a couple of
high school student pitchers that are brothers.
These guys are both great pitchers. And I say
pitchers. They don’t throw 100 miles per hour, but
they have incredibly efficient deliveries, smooth as
you are going to see.
How did they do it?
Well, they believe in our pitching principles and
they practice them every day. And I mean every day.
They get up in the
morning and do 100 towel drills each before school.
That’s 100 pitching deliveries every day. They may
mix in some drills with those, meaning not the full
delivery, but they are working on it every day.
While the kids they
are competing against are still sleeping or spending
time text messaging their friends, these guys are
working on getting better.
If you ask them, it
really doesn’t take that long to get 100 towel
drills done. I suppose they do about 20, switch, and
then do another 20 and so on. How long can that
take? I’ll bet they are done in about 15 to 20
minutes.
Is it worth a college
scholarship or even a lucrative pro contract to
spend 15 to 20 minutes a day to work on your
delivery?
Your Body
is the Engine that Throws the Ball
I probably should
have started this special report talking about how
your body plays into the pitching delivery and
contributes to consistency.
It’s pretty simple.
If your body does not have the flexibility,
strength, endurance, power and explosiveness that it
needs for a great delivery, then you have no chance
to be able to pitch the ball when and where you want
it, game after game.
We’ll explore your
body and your delivery in another article, but you
need to know that proper training, at any age, is
critical to the pitcher’s success.
The Post Game Show
Developing a
consistent delivery is pretty simple, it’s just not
easy to do or else everyone would be doing it.
It takes persistence,
patience, and planning.
Work smart by using
your time wisely. Base your pitching on a set of
principles, not someone else’s style. Plan your
drills based on those principles. To be consistent,
you need to be consistent with your training. Day in
and day out.
You’ll also need to
spend time properly training your body. Find your
weaknesses in your body and make them your
strengths.
Train like a
champion!
About the
Author
Bill Mooney
is the owner and lead instructor at the BioForce
Baseball Academy in Beaverton Oregon. Here’s what a
couple of former Major League Pitchers and Pitching
Coaches say about Bill Mooney and BioForce Baseball.
“Bill Mooney is one of few
pitching coaches in the nation who has been
Certified by The National Pitching Association and
Functional Fitness, Inc. I have found that Bill is
one of the finest young pitching coaches in the
country today. His knowledge and instruction are
the most up-to-date and progressive you’ll find.
With his knowledge, teaching skills and background
Bill does an outstanding job helping pitchers
perform at their peak and remain healthy.”
~ Dr. Tom House
Dr. Tom
House is a performance expert, Former Major League Pitcher,
and
Former Major League pitching coach. Current coach
and mentor to many star major league pitchers such
as Randy Johnson. Co-founder of the National
Pitching Association
“As
a former major league pitcher, pitching coach and
former coordinator of pitching for the Montreal
Expos/Washington Nationals, I am always searching
for information and instruction that can help me
improve. Most would guess that the best, most
informative teachings come out of the professional
game, but it has been my experience that the
instructors who have dealt with hundreds of kids
from all ages really have seen what works and
doesn’t work.
Such is the case for Bill Mooney and
BioForce Baseball Academy. Having watched him
interact and teach what we know today to be right, I
would not hesitate to allow him to work with our
pitchers. To place that trust in someone is the
highest compliment I can pay to a fellow pitching
coach. Without question, Bill Mooney is an
outstanding coach and one worth learning from and
training with.”
~ Brent Strom
Brent Strom
is a
former major league pitcher and former pitching
coach for the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals
To find out more
about Bill and BioForce, go to the website
www.bioforcebaseball.com. To contact Bill, you can
email him at support@bioforcebaseball.com.
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