Pitching Absolutes

[Rocketech1]

Rocketech
To an earlier post......absolutes may be to hard of a line to draw. There might be a better description of what this thread is intended to do. I do believe this will be very valuable material for most who read this site. Kind of a condensed version of pitching mechanics.......I used to love "Cliff Notes" in college.

Thanks. I will incorporate your input from above. I feel this is a working document that we can update as necessary.

To some of you that feel its too detailed a list, you always have the option to not read it. However I do believe there are some guests and members who will find it helpful and insightful, especially when the more experienced coaches and experts contribute to it.

 

[Ken B]

Some time ago I started putting together a "pitching basics" sheet for my parents and coaches. I was thinking it would be a short and simple reference of the basics. It ending up being a few pages long and after I printed it, I realized I needed to start over...

 

[JJsqueeze]

How absolute is the ball facing the sky on the downswing ? The Finch slo motion shows her with ball pretty much towards third from 9 o clock down. When we talk absolutes I think that means "all top pitchers" do this. Within these absolutes there are degrees of variation. So all top pitchers internally rotate, but not all internally rotate from palm up (maximum I/R). This may seem heretical, but when I move my arm back and forth through the release zone, my arm naturally internally rotates while moving forward, externally rotates moving backward, my palm does not naturally start facing the sky though. In fact, with my palm up I feel weaker on the downswing.

I'll take this one step further, aside from the natural movement of the arm, and the fact that it allows for the elbow to lead and thus create force due to the compound pendulum effect. I do not see how the I/R motion itself actually adds significant speed. by this, I mean the actual outside to in rotation of the arm. For instance, if I isolate this motion, and just rotate my arm internally while holding the ball straight down, the only force I put on the ball is a result of a very mall moment arm on the torque I create. This moment arm is exactly 1/2 the width of my hand and assumes the ball is biased to one side of my hand. if everything is centered the ball won't move forward at all.

This very well could be my not understating the motion fully, but this little tidbit about the importance of the palm facing the sky is the one area of the motion that has never cemented itself as something that I "get" fully. other than people I respect saying it is necessary and seeing a some top pitchers doing it (not all though) I would never have even considered it. I have DD do drills and give her the feedback to get the palm up but I do it because I am parroting not because I understand the value.

 

[Ken B]

The Finch slo motion shows her with ball pretty much towards third from 9 o clock down.

I see thumb on top of the ball in the last 1/4.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I see thumb on top of the ball in the last 1/4.

I don't follow the significance of the thumb on top of the ball. My IQ is unusually low this morning, and that is saying something. it's a wonder that I still know how to breathe.

 

[Ken B]

I know--it's Monday!

Thumb on top of the ball at 9 o'clock, or pointing upwards vs thumb pointing to third.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I can't make out her thumb. I am keying on her palm and the fact I can't see any hand under the ball.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I looked at it again and I just don't see palm up the way it is described/shown in the I/R threads or other examples. Pauley clearly has the palm up in her slo mos, as does Scarborough...Finch is more third base to my eye.

 

[Rocketech1]

I don't follow the significance of the thumb on top of the ball. My IQ is unusually low this morning, and that is saying something. it's a wonder that I still know how to breathe.

Palm to the sky at 9:00 is an ideal to generate the greatest amount of rotation if the arm and hand. Of course you can pitch without getting fully palm to the sky but one should strive to open the hand as possible as the elbow drops into the slot at this stage of the circle. Do BMs demonstration where you hold the arm straight out and palm open. Now rotate the hand all the way to right and then back all te way to the left. Now do it as fast as you can, back and forth several times. Do you see your hand blur? He argues this is the fastest part of the body and during the pitch continues to much speed.

 

[JJsqueeze]

This pic is pretty much what I see in the ubiquitous (IQ coming back- using my big boy words) slo mo. Which brings me back to my original point that was actually on topic for once. Is the palm up an absolute? and if so, someone please fill in this gap in my knowledge, it is the only facet (I have a thesaurus next to me on the couch) of the I/R canon (on verbal fire now) that I do not fully accept.