Baseball Rules: Understanding The Balk Rule For Pitchers

Date: Tue, Oct 13, 2009

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. Pitchers may disengage...

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Slurve Grip: How To Grip A Slurve

Date: Mon, Oct 12, 2009

Also, a lot of pitchers today throw a slurve. They pitch the slider as if they are throwing a curve, and the ball comes out in a big, sweeping flat curve. I consider this pitch to be just a rather...

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Slider Grip: How To Grip A Slider

Date: Fri, Oct 9, 2009

The hard slider grip or short curve grip has a certain amount of lateral break and a certain amount of down break. It's a faster pitch than a curve but it's slower than a fastball, and it has a shorter...

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Forkball Grip: How To Grip A Forkball

Date: Thu, Oct 8, 2009

The forkball grip, also known as a splitter grip or split-finger fastball grip, is an interesting pitch. You grip a forkball by jamming the ball between your first two fingers as hard as you can and deliver it with the...

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Screwball Grip: How To Grip A Screwball

Date: Wed, Oct 7, 2009

The screwball grip is actually the opposite of the curveball grip in terms of snapping the wrist. Whereas I gripped and released the ball with my palm turned inward for a curveball, I turned my palm out when throwing a...

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Curveball Grip: How To Grip A Curveball

Date: Tue, Oct 6, 2009

I threw a curveball with a 12 to 6 o'clock rotation. This release imparts sidespin and backspin because I maintained pressure on the ball with my middle finger while rolling it out over the top of my index finger. I...

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How To Video Tape A Bullpen For College Baseball Recruiters?

Date: Wed, Aug 12, 2009

Mound presence, maturity and no wasted motion. If you're going to be putting together a baseball video of your pitching to send to college coaches, check out Coach Baker's post on the discussion forums here. Must read stuff for high...

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A Simple Trick To Check Your Pitching Stride Length In Games

Date: Mon, Aug 10, 2009

Was watching the Boston Red Sox host the Detroit Tigers tonight at Fenway. Thought it was interesting that the first thing Red Sox starter Brad Penny did when he got on the mound (before taking his warm-up pitches) was to...

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Pitching Training: What To Focus On This Off-Season?

Date: Mon, Aug 10, 2009

During your pitching training this off-season, it's important to remember that your legs are your best assets to a long, healthy and successful career. I strongly encourage you to focus some considerable attention on building strength, power and endurance in...

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New Pitching Sites

Date: Tue, Jul 14, 2009

Just launched five new pitching sites for the summer that I wanted to share with you in today's post. Baseball pitching aids on BaseballPitchingAids.com Fastest pitch ever on FastestPitchEver.com Pitching instruction on PitchingInstruction.com Pitching tips on PitchingTips.com Youth pitching on...

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Baseball Pitching: It's A Numbers Game

Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009

As baseball pitchers, statistics are an important part of our work. Statistics can provide a base for which a lot of assumptions can be made. In the Chicago Cubs organization where I played, managers, catchers and pitchers used statistics of...

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How Pitchers Can Use Batting Practice To Develop A Pitching Strategy On Game Day

Date: Thu, Jun 18, 2009

Batting practice can be an invaluable pitching tool and used to evaluate opposing hitters and formulate a pitching strategy. I used to use pitching charts because it made it easier to record the information. I also recommend that the starting...

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How Pitchers Can Easily Improve Control

Date: Wed, Jun 17, 2009

I want to address the physical side of a pitcher's ability to improve control and throw strikes more consistently. And it starts with form. As a pitcher, you must strive to be as consistent as possible in throwing each pitch...

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Proper Pitching Mechanics And Techniques

Date: Tue, Jun 16, 2009

To aid baseball pitching coaches or pitching instructors in organizing their pitching instruction more effectively, here is a checklist of important techniques to stress when teaching proper pitching mechanics, form and delivery. 1. The pitcher should throw all of his...