They All Say
He Has an Unorthodox Pitching Style, But He’ll be
Pitching in the Majors this Year!
I’m talking about a
former teammate of my son. Tim Lincecum, a right
handed pitcher from the University of Washington, is
now in the Giants organization. The first time I met
Tim was at an Office Depot right when school started
last year. We were shopping for school supplies for
my son, and Bryce introduced my wife and I to Tim
while Tim was looking for a desk I think. He
certainly didn’t look like the best college baseball
player in the country then. But he is now.
I heard a lot of the
hype and the distracters last year while Tim was
still in college.
He’s too small, they
said. Tim is listed at 5’ 11” and 170 pounds. That’s
a little generous, if you ask me.
Tim won the Golden
Spikes award past year. If you don’t know what that
is, it’s the Heisman Trophy of college baseball. An
incredible award.
Tim is a lot of fun
to watch as a pitcher. He’s really funny to watch
off the field too. My son shared stories with me
about Tim that would crack you up. He’s a gifted
athlete and quite the joker too.
Tim throws hard. He
brings it like you wouldn’t believe. I’ve personally
seen him throw the ball 101 miles per hour. He’s got
an incredible curve, a slider, and a change up. He
can throw all the pitches for strikes too.
I believe he will be
starting the year out in AAA Fresno for the Giants.
But look for him to be pitching along side Barry
Zito and sharing the locker room with Barry Bonds
this year.
Couldn’t happen to a
nicer kid too.
Unorthodox style they
say? Tim does look a lot like Bob Feller and a
little like Juan Marichal too. Unorthodox? Well,
being compared to Feller and Marichal not all that
bad.
If you see pictures
of Tim, he does get a lot of tilt to his spine
angle. He’s a true over-the-top style pitcher. We
advocate a little more natural posture, but hey, I
don’t throw the ball 100 miles per hour.
What Tim does well
though is maintain his posture throughout his
delivery. It’s consistent. Tim works a lot on
flexibility. He’s not the bulk-up type pitcher. He
has a slight frame, but gets a ton out of it.
What’s the tip for
this week?
Just watch and learn
from Tim. You’ll see he’s an aggressive pitcher. He
goes after the hitters. He challenges them instead
of trying to miss bats. He has confidence in his
pitches. He hasn’t let anyone slow him down going
after his dream even though he doesn’t fit the mold
of a prototypical pitcher.
That’s the lesson I
learn from Tim. Go after your dream. Work hard.
Don’t bulk up for the sake of bulking up…and
challenge the hitters. Have that killer instinct
while pitching.
Watching Tim, you’ll
see a very athletic and explosive pitcher. You have
to be to throw the ball 100 miles per hour!
Want to be a little
more athletic and explosive?
Check out our
More
Explosive and Athletic Pitcher DVD.
Until next time…
Keep training like a
champion today!
|
