Introduction - 23 year old Amateur Pitcher (first video, too)

[dougmac]

Originally Posted by kylebee

GFK,

Thanks for the input. I'll definitely get some side shots and look up "arm action." I tried Googling it but didn't see much - I'll try searching the forum, though.

Do you recommend any particular posts off-hand?

http://dmcmillan.topcities.com/grearview.mpg

Here is a close up clip of a 19 year old. Check out his arm action and delivery. You can learn some things watching this young man.

[dougmac]

testing the message board

[kylebee]

Hello all - long-time reader, first-time poster!

My name's Kyle. I pitched in HS and a bit in college, but eventually gave it up to drink, eat, and live the good life. Well, after moving to Seattle last year to startup a new investment consulting company, I've gotten the itch to play baseball again. I joined a gym, dropped 25 pounds, and now I'm 193 lbs @ 6'0". I'm 23 years old and I played in a rec league here (PSSBL) for half the season at the lowest rung, playing second base. While there, I batted .380/.450/.460 or so (lost the last few games' worth of stats), and struggled to hit very basic pitching with little movement and generally poor velocity.

I'm now trying to make it as a pitcher first, and middle infielder second.

In the off-season I've been lifting, focusing heavily on core strength and stability, flexibility, and fat loss. My workout routine looks something like this:

3 days per week in the gym:
-Full stretching routine: Currently focusing on groin, quads, hamstrings, and shoulders extensively
-Squat/Deadlift/Clean: 5 reps of each in sets of 3 @ 90 lbs
-Cable Rotation: 10 reps from each side in sets of 3 @ 90 lbs
-One-Arm Chest Fly: 10 reps from each arm in sets of 2 @ 115 lbs
-Ab Bench: 25 reps in sets of 3
-Shoulder Isolation: 10 reps in sets of 3 w/ 8 lbs in each hand
-Balance Step-Ups / Box Jumps: 10 reps in sets of 3
-Leg Press: 10 reps at varying angles in sets of 3 @ 210 lbs
-Elliptical Trainer: 20-30 minutes at medium-high intensity, interval course

(Sometimes I switch it up and put preacher curls, tricep extensions, pronation/supination work, push-ups, dips/chin-ups, or treadmill running just so I don't get too bored.)

1 day per week outdoors:
40-50 pitch bullpen session - throwing to hitters
20-30 long toss 90/120/150 feet
5-7 Pole sprints
Batting practice - work off a tee and live pitching

1 day per week indoors:
Pitching lessons with Jeff Petersen (Giants organization, UW graduate, AAA-level)
-Work on fastball, circle change, slider (new pitch for me)
-Stress "getting out in front" of all pitches and finishing forward; keep the weight back; stride sideways to the target; get all the weight going forward rather than shortening up
-Need to work on using my glove arm to generate more torque (can see this in my video), finishing out front and getting the weight forward are also big concerns-
-I usually throw 40-60 pitches from the indoor mound

My food intake / supplement list:
-Multivitamin w/ iron
-Calcium Pyruvate
-Glucosamine
-Quercetin and Bromelain
-Flaxseed Oil / CLA Capsules
-Generic Thermogenic
-75g in protein shakes/day (fortified with L-Glutamine and other amino acids)
-Less than 2000 kcals/day, 6 days per week (one cheat day of 3000 kcals)
-Low-fat and high-protein meals whenever possible
-No drinks with calories in them with the exception of milk

I am restricting calories in an attempt to drop fat pounds.

My current reading list is:

Fit to Pitch, Tom House
Playing Better Baseball, Rick Wolff

I'm thinking about buying Dick Mills' "The Science and Art of Baseball Pitching" for reference. All other comments and suggestions with regard to good materials (books, DVDs, etc) would be well-received!

I'm not sure how fast I throw, but I'd guess it's somewhere in the high 70's or low 80's. I bought a glove radar to help me figure that out (should be here in a week or so), but it's really not a big concern of mine - learning to pitch well and efficiently first is. I know velocity is important, but I want to learn how to throw effectively, throw my pitches for strikes, and then worry about brute force!

So, without further ado, here's my first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epm7aW7t5-s

Unfortunately I shot it from behind the catcher, which in hindsight, was probably a bad idea. In the future I'll take video from behind myself as well as some side shots. In the video I am throwing a mix of fastballs, changeups, sliders, slow curve, and a gyroball variant that I'm working on. (I have plans to fly to Indianapolis to meet Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus and learn how to throw a gyroball, as well as learn more about double-spin mechanics.) The audio isn't great, but you can probably hear me call out some of the pitches.

Well, it's good to be on the board, and if you have any books/DVDs/exercises to recommend, please do. All other comments are welcome, too. Thanks for having me!

[wigglestrue]

Tonight I was fantasizing about getting in shape and trying to make it as high as pitching in an independent league, and I was going to start a thread here asking for some basics on how to...well, basically exactly what you wrote. Thank you, and best of luck! May the force be with you, particularly the gyro-force. Please let us know how it goes with Carroll if/when you make that happen.

[flea45]

not a whole lot to say here really....


but here goes. since when is 380 not good?? but it looks like your pregram is pretty wel balanced, i think you can be pretty successful in your league. Just a side note, i know thats only a side session, but it doesnt look at all like you would be throwing 80mph. I think 80 could be a realistic goal for you too reach as a velocity for next season.

[kylebee]

Originally Posted by wigglestrue

Tonight I was fantasizing about getting in shape and trying to make it as high as pitching in an independent league, and I was going to start a thread here asking for some basics on how to...well, basically exactly what you wrote. Thank you, and best of luck! May the force be with you, particularly the gyro-force. Please let us know how it goes with Carroll if/when you make that happen.

Yeah, my biggest goal is to make it in an independent league within 4-5 years of pitching. I played about 30 innings in a high NABA league here where a few of my teammates were independent league ball players (Jason Clark of the Reno Silver Sox) and a few guys were ex-pros. It was a real eye-opener as to how much work I need to put in to even get to THAT level - but I'm willing to work extremely hard to get there, starting with the basics.

I should be meeting up with Carroll in about 2 weeks if everything goes right. I'll be sure to post pictures and videos!

[kylebee]

Originally Posted by flea45

not a whole lot to say here really....


but here goes. since when is 380 not good?? but it looks like your pregram is pretty wel balanced, i think you can be pretty successful in your league. Just a side note, i know thats only a side session, but it doesnt look at all like you would be throwing 80mph. I think 80 could be a realistic goal for you too reach as a velocity for next season.

.380 is certainly good - depending on the level of play you are at. The level of play at the lowest rung of PSSBL is really just basic recreational league - not a whole lot different than softball. If anything, I probably got a bit lucky due to poor defense and my decent speed out of the box - if I was really hitting well, then my slugging percentage wouldn't be so low!

And yes, this is a side session - I think when I am reaching back and throwing my hardest from the mound, I've hit low 80's (I did in HS before). However, like I said before, velocity isn't that big of an issue for me - it was more of an educated guess! I just want to focus on mechanics and efficiency first, then velocity and movement.

Also - go Tribe! I moved from Cleveland out to Seattle, but still love the Tribe and follow the team from across the country. The trade for Barfield should be great!

[GFK]

Kylebee,

I took a look at the video and saw a few things. A side shot (from 1B or 3B) zoomed in would tell a better story but it looks as if you need to develop arm action. (First step is to do a search for posts and other information pertaining to "arm action".) It looks as if you are taking the ball out of the glove and going to what some refer to as the "High Cock" position. Then your arm stops and restarts.

If your goal is to throw strikes without regard for velocity, go with what you are doing now and practice with emphasis on control. If you are serious about pitching at a semi-pro level, you will need control and velocity. The first, and I think the hardest, step would be to develop your arm action.

[kylebee]

GFK,

Thanks for the input. I'll definitely get some side shots and look up "arm action." I tried Googling it but didn't see much - I'll try searching the forum, though.

Do you recommend any particular posts off-hand?

[EdmondsFan#1]

The video stops at 33 seconds for me... so I only saw the very first pitch... Looks like you need to get some more velocity, it didn't look like you were trying to throw that hard though. However you have nice movement and it looks like you have pretty good control. I can't say much mechanically wise because i only go to see the first pitch...

[Baseball gLove]

In your side session you are rocking to the left even though you are pitching from the stretch. You will find that a lot of the A's pitchers have a small step even when pitching from the wind up. Huston Street being the exception. This may be causing you to over rotate and cause you to drag your pitching arm. Instead of stepping to your left, pull your glove side knee up and back toward your middle. Slip it back down and stride with control. You want some counter rotation of your hips. Keep you shoulder closed to home until foot plant.

Look at video of your favorite pitchers and see how it compares to your video.

[Baseball gLove]

This thread seemed to fall off. I'd like to see this kid get some more advise.

[tadlock11]

Originally Posted by dougmac

testing the message board

Are his initials GM?

[CoachMJ]

Originally Posted by kylebee

Hello all - long-time reader, first-time poster!

My name's Kyle. I pitched in HS and a bit in college, but eventually gave it up to drink, eat, and live the good life. Well, after moving to Seattle last year to startup a new investment consulting company, I've gotten the itch to play baseball again. I joined a gym, dropped 25 pounds, and now I'm 193 lbs @ 6'0". I'm 23 years old and I played in a rec league here (PSSBL) for half the season at the lowest rung, playing second base. While there, I batted .380/.450/.460 or so (lost the last few games' worth of stats), and struggled to hit very basic pitching with little movement and generally poor velocity.

I'm now trying to make it as a pitcher first, and middle infielder second.

In the off-season I've been lifting, focusing heavily on core strength and stability, flexibility, and fat loss. My workout routine looks something like this:

3 days per week in the gym:
-Full stretching routine: Currently focusing on groin, quads, hamstrings, and shoulders extensively
-Squat/Deadlift/Clean: 5 reps of each in sets of 3 @ 90 lbs
-Cable Rotation: 10 reps from each side in sets of 3 @ 90 lbs
-One-Arm Chest Fly: 10 reps from each arm in sets of 2 @ 115 lbs
-Ab Bench: 25 reps in sets of 3
-Shoulder Isolation: 10 reps in sets of 3 w/ 8 lbs in each hand
-Balance Step-Ups / Box Jumps: 10 reps in sets of 3
-Leg Press: 10 reps at varying angles in sets of 3 @ 210 lbs
-Elliptical Trainer: 20-30 minutes at medium-high intensity, interval course

(Sometimes I switch it up and put preacher curls, tricep extensions, pronation/supination work, push-ups, dips/chin-ups, or treadmill running just so I don't get too bored.)

1 day per week outdoors:
40-50 pitch bullpen session - throwing to hitters
20-30 long toss 90/120/150 feet
5-7 Pole sprints
Batting practice - work off a tee and live pitching

1 day per week indoors:
Pitching lessons with Jeff Petersen (Giants organization, UW graduate, AAA-level)
-Work on fastball, circle change, slider (new pitch for me)
-Stress "getting out in front" of all pitches and finishing forward; keep the weight back; stride sideways to the target; get all the weight going forward rather than shortening up
-Need to work on using my glove arm to generate more torque (can see this in my video), finishing out front and getting the weight forward are also big concerns-
-I usually throw 40-60 pitches from the indoor mound

My food intake / supplement list:
-Multivitamin w/ iron
-Calcium Pyruvate
-Glucosamine
-Quercetin and Bromelain
-Flaxseed Oil / CLA Capsules
-Generic Thermogenic
-75g in protein shakes/day (fortified with L-Glutamine and other amino acids)
-Less than 2000 kcals/day, 6 days per week (one cheat day of 3000 kcals)
-Low-fat and high-protein meals whenever possible
-No drinks with calories in them with the exception of milk

I am restricting calories in an attempt to drop fat pounds.

My current reading list is:

Fit to Pitch, Tom House
Playing Better Baseball, Rick Wolff

I'm thinking about buying Dick Mills' "The Science and Art of Baseball Pitching" for reference. All other comments and suggestions with regard to good materials (books, DVDs, etc) would be well-received!

I'm not sure how fast I throw, but I'd guess it's somewhere in the high 70's or low 80's. I bought a glove radar to help me figure that out (should be here in a week or so), but it's really not a big concern of mine - learning to pitch well and efficiently first is. I know velocity is important, but I want to learn how to throw effectively, throw my pitches for strikes, and then worry about brute force!

So, without further ado, here's my first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epm7aW7t5-s

Unfortunately I shot it from behind the catcher, which in hindsight, was probably a bad idea. In the future I'll take video from behind myself as well as some side shots. In the video I am throwing a mix of fastballs, changeups, sliders, slow curve, and a gyroball variant that I'm working on. (I have plans to fly to Indianapolis to meet Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus and learn how to throw a gyroball, as well as learn more about double-spin mechanics.) The audio isn't great, but you can probably hear me call out some of the pitches.

Well, it's good to be on the board, and if you have any books/DVDs/exercises to recommend, please do. All other comments are welcome, too. Thanks for having me!

your workout looks solid. want to move to ct and pitch for me? jk. the only thin i saw you miss is hip flexibility. that is the most important part of the body in all of sports. as far as flexibility goes. good job kid. wish my temamtes had half as much dedication as you. MJ

[kylebee]

Originally Posted by Baseball Love

In your side session you are rocking to the left even though you are pitching from the stretch. You will find that a lot of the A's pitchers have a small step even when pitching from the wind up. Huston Street being the exception. This may be causing you to over rotate and cause you to drag your pitching arm. Instead of stepping to your left, pull your glove side knee up and back toward your middle. Slip it back down and stride with control. You want some counter rotation of your hips. Keep you shoulder closed to home until foot plant.

Look at video of your favorite pitchers and see how it compares to your video.

My windup is a side step, not unlike Huston Street's. I've experimented with a rocker step back, but I don't particularly care for it. I'll try it some more, though.

[kylebee]

Thanks for the replies so far - I shot another video from the side and from behind me, and it really looks like I am not trying to throw hard. It's really strange seeing myself from a side view!

I think that there isn't enough upper body movement - my arm is coming through fast enough, and my torso isn't exploding with a rotation. I'll edit the clips and upload them tonight.

[kylebee]

Originally Posted by dougmac

http://dmcmillan.topcities.com/grearview.mpg

Here is a close up clip of a 19 year old. Check out his arm action and delivery. You can learn some things watching this young man.

Interesting. I think that's the most important thing I am lacking - the end torso explosion and arm action/delivery portion.

I'll upload a clip that shows this deficiency. Now only if I knew how to fix it...

[Baseball gLove]

Originally Posted by kylebee

My windup is a side step, not unlike Huston Street's. I've experimented with a rocker step back, but I don't particularly care for it. I'll try it some more, though.

You do not appear to pitching from the wind up, that is why I question the side step. When you pitch from the wind up, your body faces home plate.

This first clip is from the stretch.



The second clip is from the wind up. Notice there is no rock back and almost no side step.

[kylebee]

There is no real difference between the two with regard to power - Huston Street's large sidestep is a windup as well. You don't necessarily have to face home plate to enter the windup.

[Baseball gLove]

Originally Posted by kylebee

There is no real difference between the two with regard to power - Huston Street's large sidestep is a windup as well. You don't necessarily have to face home plate to enter the windup.

Yes you do:

Official Rules: 8.00 The Pitcher
8.01
Legal pitching delivery. There are two legal pitching positions, the Windup Position and the Set Position, and either position may be used at any time.
Pitchers shall take signs from the catcher while standing on the rubber.
Rule 8.01 Comment: Pitchers may disengage the rubber after taking their signs but may not step quickly onto the rubber and pitch. This may be judged a quick pitch by the umpire. When the pitcher disengages the rubber, he must drop his hands to his sides.
Pitchers will not be allowed to disengage the rubber after taking each sign.
(a) The Windup Position. The pitcher shall stand facing the batter, his pivot foot in contact with the pitcher’s plate and the other foot free. From this position any natural movement associated with his delivery of the ball to the batter commits him to the pitch without interruption or alteration. He shall not raise either foot from the ground, except that in his actual delivery of the ball to the batter, he may take one step backward, and one step forward with his free foot.
When a pitcher holds the ball with both hands in front of his body, with his pivot foot in contact with the pitcher’s plate and his other foot free, he will be considered in the Windup Position.

If you try it from the set position, you're going to get called for Balks.

[kylebee]

How does Huston Street get away with a large sidestep, then?

[CanadianKid]

Your workout looks good. However you should try incorporate these two exercises. Rotator cuff is something to strengthen as well, I use 5-8lbs dumb bells for this. A good core exercise is to use those stability boards (the ones that swivel) and take a 10-12lbs medicine ball and hold it with both hands on one side of your body and use your hips to swing the ball to the other side of your body. The last ones a little tricky at first but it's a good exercise none the less. You seem to have good movement but like someone already mentioned build on the velocity. Overload/underload training can help but if it is done incorrectly can lead to arm problems. A friend and I do overload/underload and we throw about 5-8 with each weight (start with normal baseball and work up to I believe 12oz). The heavier balls are not meant to be thrown hard we simply go through our mechanics and try and fix any flaws. Anyways good luck with your training!

[Baseball gLove]

Originally Posted by kylebee

How does Huston Street get away with a large sidestep, then?

Notice in this clip Huston Street's first warm up toss is from the set position. His subsequent tosses were from the windup. Notice that he faces home plate before using the huge side-step of his.

[CarmelPitcher]

Originally Posted by kylebee

Hello all - long-time reader, first-time poster!

My name's Kyle. I pitched in HS and a bit in college, but eventually gave it up to drink, eat, and live the good life. Well, after moving to Seattle last year to startup a new investment consulting company, I've gotten the itch to play baseball again. I joined a gym, dropped 25 pounds, and now I'm 193 lbs @ 6'0". I'm 23 years old and I played in a rec league here (PSSBL) for half the season at the lowest rung, playing second base. While there, I batted .380/.450/.460 or so (lost the last few games' worth of stats), and struggled to hit very basic pitching with little movement and generally poor velocity.

I'm now trying to make it as a pitcher first, and middle infielder second.

In the off-season I've been lifting, focusing heavily on core strength and stability, flexibility, and fat loss. My workout routine looks something like this:

3 days per week in the gym:
-Full stretching routine: Currently focusing on groin, quads, hamstrings, and shoulders extensively
-Squat/Deadlift/Clean: 5 reps of each in sets of 3 @ 90 lbs
-Cable Rotation: 10 reps from each side in sets of 3 @ 90 lbs
-One-Arm Chest Fly: 10 reps from each arm in sets of 2 @ 115 lbs
-Ab Bench: 25 reps in sets of 3
-Shoulder Isolation: 10 reps in sets of 3 w/ 8 lbs in each hand
-Balance Step-Ups / Box Jumps: 10 reps in sets of 3
-Leg Press: 10 reps at varying angles in sets of 3 @ 210 lbs
-Elliptical Trainer: 20-30 minutes at medium-high intensity, interval course

(Sometimes I switch it up and put preacher curls, tricep extensions, pronation/supination work, push-ups, dips/chin-ups, or treadmill running just so I don't get too bored.)

1 day per week outdoors:
40-50 pitch bullpen session - throwing to hitters
20-30 long toss 90/120/150 feet
5-7 Pole sprints
Batting practice - work off a tee and live pitching

1 day per week indoors:
Pitching lessons with Jeff Petersen (Giants organization, UW graduate, AAA-level)
-Work on fastball, circle change, slider (new pitch for me)
-Stress "getting out in front" of all pitches and finishing forward; keep the weight back; stride sideways to the target; get all the weight going forward rather than shortening up
-Need to work on using my glove arm to generate more torque (can see this in my video), finishing out front and getting the weight forward are also big concerns-
-I usually throw 40-60 pitches from the indoor mound

My food intake / supplement list:
-Multivitamin w/ iron
-Calcium Pyruvate
-Glucosamine
-Quercetin and Bromelain
-Flaxseed Oil / CLA Capsules
-Generic Thermogenic
-75g in protein shakes/day (fortified with L-Glutamine and other amino acids)
-Less than 2000 kcals/day, 6 days per week (one cheat day of 3000 kcals)
-Low-fat and high-protein meals whenever possible
-No drinks with calories in them with the exception of milk

I am restricting calories in an attempt to drop fat pounds.

My current reading list is:

Fit to Pitch, Tom House
Playing Better Baseball, Rick Wolff

I'm thinking about buying Dick Mills' "The Science and Art of Baseball Pitching" for reference. All other comments and suggestions with regard to good materials (books, DVDs, etc) would be well-received!

I'm not sure how fast I throw, but I'd guess it's somewhere in the high 70's or low 80's. I bought a glove radar to help me figure that out (should be here in a week or so), but it's really not a big concern of mine - learning to pitch well and efficiently first is. I know velocity is important, but I want to learn how to throw effectively, throw my pitches for strikes, and then worry about brute force!

So, without further ado, here's my first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epm7aW7t5-s

Unfortunately I shot it from behind the catcher, which in hindsight, was probably a bad idea. In the future I'll take video from behind myself as well as some side shots. In the video I am throwing a mix of fastballs, changeups, sliders, slow curve, and a gyroball variant that I'm working on. (I have plans to fly to Indianapolis to meet Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus and learn how to throw a gyroball, as well as learn more about double-spin mechanics.) The audio isn't great, but you can probably hear me call out some of the pitches.

Well, it's good to be on the board, and if you have any books/DVDs/exercises to recommend, please do. All other comments are welcome, too. Thanks for having me!

i cant beleive thats newhere near the 80's. Maybe a little over 60, but not by much. no offense