hi, in that FSN sports science video of Jennie Finch posted by "sluggers" (thank you for posting that) in the other thread about how much you open, there are a number of interesting observations:
1. jennie, as do most of us, explode off the mound with our bodies open to 45 degrees already (watch her pivot foot and her torso turn to 45 degrees before she explodes--just about every pitcher i have seen, including myself, do this, with the possible exception of bill hillhouse...although its been a while since i last watched his dvd). but jennie contiunes opening very early, when her arm is at 7:30 AM, and is just about fully open to 80 or 90 degrees by 10:00 AM. most pitchers do not fully open until around noon or even later.
2. at about 10:30 AM,, jennie goes from her ball-hand palm facing 3B to her palm facing 1B. this is earlier than most. she keeps it in that postion until about 5 PM, when she prepares to snap. this is also later than most.
3. jennie's entire left side of her drag foot drags on the ground. most pitchers drag only the left side of the ball of their foot (if right handed). this allows jennie to attain even more "reverse posture".
ok, but something that stood out for me personally was how straight she kept her throwing arm throughout the circle (no or minimal elbow bend), save a little bending on the latter part of the downswing to create elbow whip. in fact, on the upswing, her throwing arm is almost as long as her glove arm as they race into the "X" position, this DESPITE the fact that she is almost completely open, with her belly button facing 3B, which means her throwing-arm shoulder is substantially behind her glove-arm shoulder. wow.
so my question is this: how does she do this? when i get or try to get 100% open to 80 or 90 degrees during the upswing, so my shoulder axis plane is almost pointing directly to the catcher, it is very hard for my UPPER right arm (my throwing arm) to point straight to the catcher, since my belly button is pointing at 3B, and naturally, my upper arm wants to point out perpendicularly from my shoulder socket/torso, and not across my upper body. so what ends up happening is my elbow bends, sometimes alot, so my lower arm (forearm) is able to point at the catcher, but my upper arm points somewhere between C and 3B, with a bend at my elbow. this helps create a funky-looking arm circle, especially as i transition near noon, with my elbow going from pointing to 3B to point behind me for my downswing. sometimes the ball hooks way over my head due to the elbow bend. so how does jennie do it, and how can i learn to keep my arm straight and long, while staying on plane? it is not easy for me when i get fully open and i want my upper arm to brush across my chest.
thanks!
1. jennie, as do most of us, explode off the mound with our bodies open to 45 degrees already (watch her pivot foot and her torso turn to 45 degrees before she explodes--just about every pitcher i have seen, including myself, do this, with the possible exception of bill hillhouse...although its been a while since i last watched his dvd). but jennie contiunes opening very early, when her arm is at 7:30 AM, and is just about fully open to 80 or 90 degrees by 10:00 AM. most pitchers do not fully open until around noon or even later.
2. at about 10:30 AM,, jennie goes from her ball-hand palm facing 3B to her palm facing 1B. this is earlier than most. she keeps it in that postion until about 5 PM, when she prepares to snap. this is also later than most.
3. jennie's entire left side of her drag foot drags on the ground. most pitchers drag only the left side of the ball of their foot (if right handed). this allows jennie to attain even more "reverse posture".
ok, but something that stood out for me personally was how straight she kept her throwing arm throughout the circle (no or minimal elbow bend), save a little bending on the latter part of the downswing to create elbow whip. in fact, on the upswing, her throwing arm is almost as long as her glove arm as they race into the "X" position, this DESPITE the fact that she is almost completely open, with her belly button facing 3B, which means her throwing-arm shoulder is substantially behind her glove-arm shoulder. wow.
so my question is this: how does she do this? when i get or try to get 100% open to 80 or 90 degrees during the upswing, so my shoulder axis plane is almost pointing directly to the catcher, it is very hard for my UPPER right arm (my throwing arm) to point straight to the catcher, since my belly button is pointing at 3B, and naturally, my upper arm wants to point out perpendicularly from my shoulder socket/torso, and not across my upper body. so what ends up happening is my elbow bends, sometimes alot, so my lower arm (forearm) is able to point at the catcher, but my upper arm points somewhere between C and 3B, with a bend at my elbow. this helps create a funky-looking arm circle, especially as i transition near noon, with my elbow going from pointing to 3B to point behind me for my downswing. sometimes the ball hooks way over my head due to the elbow bend. so how does jennie do it, and how can i learn to keep my arm straight and long, while staying on plane? it is not easy for me when i get fully open and i want my upper arm to brush across my chest.
thanks!