West Hempfield Legion Baseball

1.   The most important pitch in baseball is strike one.  Starting batters off with a strike reduces batting average by 100 points. 

2.      Any pitcher with a release time to home greater than 1.4 seconds is runnable. 

3.      Never walk the leadoff hitter; he will score 80% of the time. 

4.      A pitcher must put 100% of his mental energy and 100% of his physical energy into the job he’s doing.  Pitching!  You must plan ahead.  You must be able to plan strategies far in advance while concentrating on every pitch.  Pitching is not a job for the physically timid or mentally lazy. 

5.      Keep your body and arm warm at all times during your pitching innings. 

6.      Batters hit what they think they see; therefore good pitchers have the same arm action on all their pitches. 

7.      Fastball hints: 1. Keep fingers behind baseball for maximum velocity.  2.  Use loose grip with baseball out of fingertips.  3.  Throw baseball with a loose relaxed wrist, which will give you speed, whip, and movement. 

8.      Curveball hints: 1.  Think fastball and use fastball mechanics until release.  2.  If your curveball is breaking horizontally instead of down (12 to 6 on clock), you are throwing on the side of the ball.  3.  Try to use same arm motion (path of arm) as fastball delivery. 

9.      Any time the back foot drags; it kills a lot of forward momentum that has been built up, which affects velocity.  It is not uncommon for a hard throwing pitcher’s back foot to be higher than his head during his follow through. 

10.  The abdominal muscles play a big role in the finishing of the pitching action.  They must pull the upper body through to enable the elbow to finish by the knees.  That is why abdominal work is so important to pitchers.  Often time’s poor control of being high is simply the failure to finish elbow to knees.  Also, lower back pain may be corrected by strengthening the abdominal muscles. 

11.  If you are prepared, have confidence, and persevere, you will always have the edge and succeed. 

12.     Five reasons why you should have your elbow up at least level with your shoulder:                                            
A.  It produces a downward angle to the hitter.                                                                    
B.  It increases the radius of the arm as it travels through the throwing arc to release point, which increases arm speed and improves velocity.                                  
C.  It reduces strain on the arm and elbow, reducing injury.                                                               
D.  It produces a sharper downward breaking curve.                                                                          
E.  It is easier to pitch low because it is easier to pitch from a high point to a low point, than from a low point to a low point.