New guy Who has no clue were to post this

[NYRoss]

Hello, I am a 16-17 year old living in Philadelphia, and I am interested in getting started with baseball. I wanted to ask for some advice and stuff, if you guys can give it to me (and if this is not posted in the wrong area, sorry).

I am a 6"2' 170 Lbs. right hander, and I prefer to be a pitcher. The reason I would prefer to be a pitcher is because I have no talent with a bat, seeing myself getting quickly impatient and swinging at bad balls (Though I do have rather long arms, so contact is not a problem if I can get the ball in my sights, and it's not too fast :hide:).

I wanted to ask a couple things. I want to bring my body into peak form to be able to pitch at maximum strength. What work outs would you guys recommend, specifically for a pitcher? Also, I am looking at various delivers and trying to see which I feel most comfortable with. Anything you guys can telll me would help, basically :)

[kgrifeyjr30]

You have a good body type to be a pitcher so thats good. The most important thing is that you learn proper pitching mechanics and secondly to get out and throw every day. As for lifting I would stick to lower body lifting. You can do light weight shoulder exercises as well. But the most important thing in getting your arm developed is to throw everyday with a friend and to long toss once in a while. Hope this helped -Will

[NYRoss]

Got it. So, basically find the mechanics that are the most comfortable for me.

As for the throwing partner, I think I can manage and find some one...

I lift for football too, so I think I can add some more lower body/running training

Thanks for your advice, now I just gotta see if I wanna be explosive for a few years and risk injury (A more Joba type of throwing style) or a more conservative, safer type of style (A more Matt Cain type of style)

[phantom]

check out the "ask the training coach" thread.....great info in there....good place for you to start.:cap:

[mudvnine]

Ross, have you played organized baseball at all in the past, or are you just starting out now as I think you are saying in your post? The only reason I ask this is because at 16 or 17 and if you haven't played before, I think you might have to go about things a bit differently then if you had already played for several years.

If you are just starting out now and want to concentrate on pitching, I would suggest you find a reputable pitching instructor in your area and get started off right with your mechanics. I assume you are looking to play for your high school team and you will competing with guys who have had the time to learn their skills by trial and error over many years which you have not.

I think it's great that you are looking to get into this wonderful game and by getting trained properly from the beginning may just be an advantage for you in that you haven't developed any bad habits that can plague some long time players who haven't been taught proper mechanics and you don't have any of the arm problems (injuries) that start showing up in some HS players who have already pitched for many years.

Please keep us updated on your progress, you are somewhat unique starting at this age and I think we can all learn a lot from your development.


Good luck,
Mud

[NYRoss]

Thanks Mud. I am completely new to baseball, have not learned a thing about it in my life before. I was toying with the idea of joining the HS team, but even that is not set in stone. I wanna first learn how to play the game right, then I can move on from there. I will try looking for some instructors in my area to help (Though, I likely doubt that I will have the $$ to pay for them, seeing as I am on a tight budget with gas and all and my parents give me no cash).

Is it possible to learn this stuff on your own? Or will that only screw my up further?

[rkbenn]

Thanks Mud. I am completely new to baseball, have not learned a thing about it in my life before. I was toying with the idea of joining the HS team, but even that is not set in stone. I wanna first learn how to play the game right, then I can move on from there. I will try looking for some instructors in my area to help (Though, I likely doubt that I will have the $$ to pay for them, seeing as I am on a tight budget with gas and all and my parents give me no cash).

Is it possible to learn this stuff on your own? Or will that only screw my up further?

if you can't afford instruction, check this site out. it worked really well for my kids. plus, the video's are very reasonable. tom house is very well respected. good luck.

rk

http://www.nationalpitching.net/

[NYRoss]

Nice site man, I will make sure to look it over most throughly. I am slightly cheap, so I might look at some other free stuff first. But, if that does not satisfy me, then NPA it is!

Thank god we have an unfinished basement, though. I draw a strike zone on the wall and practice as much as I wanted with having to worry about breaking anything + my parents don't care about basement cracks. Win, win :)