"Don't rush" (or) "Stay back." (Part II)
In yesterday's blog I discussed the importance of timing and the critical role it plays in repeating a delivery. As much as that makes sense, and as much as it seems practical, it is incredibly rare for me to meet any pitching coach, at any level, who has ever actually measured a pitcher's timing.
If I were to take a poll and ask coaches and/or readers of this blog how long a pitcher's delivery typically takes from leg-lift to foot-strike, and how long it should take for maximum athletic efficiency, my guess is most would have rough estimations that are not based on actual data.
I never thought of it either. It was always just something I felt as a pitcher and felt as a coach, but never understood it enough to actually measure it. And if I would have, I wouldn't have understood how to interpret that data. (And my interpretation would have been based on what my eyes saw at approx. 32 frames-per-second rather than state of the art technology measuring 1,000 frames-per-second).
I am a big believer in giving credit where credit is due. Whenever I instruct a pitcher, or share information with a coach or parent, I always credit the source of my information. I just believe it is the right thing to do, and I hope I never lose sight of this. If it's me, I'll take the credit, but if it's not, I won't.
That said, years ago I was in San Diego with my friend and mentor Tom House. We were working with some pitchers and we started talking about timing. He shared something he was studying that I believe is one of the most important discoveries ever made in baseball.
Tom told me that all other 8 players on a baseball diamond set their feet in at or just under one second. Whether it is an outfielder receiving a fly ball and quickly setting his feet to beat a tagging runner from 3rd, or a shortstop fielding a ground ball and coming across the diamond to make a play, they all set their feet at or under one second.
What fascinated me about this, more than anything else, is how that number flies in the face of conventional wisdom. When I was taught to pitch, my coaches told me to pause at the top, or "load" my arm before coming forward with my body. It was always a matter of trying to be slow and mechanical. Always.
But this discovery was fascinating because outfielders and infielders often have to throw the baseball in some sort of race. Runners are running and the position players have to make their throws as quickly as possible. Do they pause before throwing? Do they "load" their arms before letting their bodies generate momentum? Not even. They field the baseball while rushing toward their targets. And, most importantly, their arms never lag!
The Sports Science episode from yesterday's blog shared an important discovery. (One that Tom made years ago). It is that no person can keep his body in the air for longer than one second. Michael Jordan couldn't, Jerry Rice couldn't, and no one will ever be able to. The Law of Gravity will not allow it.
The question is why are all of the other athletes lifting and landing their feet in weight transfer in under a second and pitchers are coached to pause and stay back and halt valuable momentum? If a center fielder does everything in his power to rush to the plate without interrupting linear or rotational momentum in order to maximize velocity to win the race to the plate, and doesn't ever worry about a lagging arm, why does a pitcher need to sacrifice momentum when pitching? Will the arm lag if he lifts and lands that quickly?
Conventional wisdom says yes, but science says no. Pitchers filmed at 1,000 frames-per-second reveal that the opposite is true. When a pitcher takes a long time to pause and "load" the arm, the arm has a much greater chance at lagging. When a pitcher lifts and lands at or just under one second, his arm will be right where it needs to be at release.
I took my stopwatch and started measuring pitchers myself. After all, this contradicted what every other pitching coach I have ever had told me. Sure enough, when Randy Johnson lifted his front foot until the time he landed, it took less than a second. Same with Greg Maddux, same with Roger Clemens, the same with Mark Buerhle, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and big Bobby Jenks. (And many others).
While there are numerous other pitchers at the big league level who take much longer, the most efficient deliveries with the best cases of balance and posture all take at or under one second.
The clip from yesterday's blog just makes it a little more scientific. If the arc from an athlete's center-of-gravity isn't interrupted when doing any other athletic activities when the feet leave the ground, and all other 8 players on the diamond set their feet in just at or under one second, why would we ever teach pitchers to stay back or keep from rushing? Why would we ask them to stay "in the air" longer than gravity even allows them to?
It is interesting that a quarterback takes a second to transfer his weight in football and a golfer takes a second for weight transfer in his swing. A hitter also takes a second when transferring his weight as well.
It is important to mention that certain types of rushing are still inefficient, such as rotating the shoulders before the front foot hits the ground, or artificially creating an arm-path that isn't natural for a given pitcher that, in-turn, quickens the overall timing the torso-rotation. The lift-and-land timing for a pitcher, however, at any age with any body type should ideally be at or under one second.
For further explanation of this, I will recommend the latest instructional book written by Dr. Tom House, The Art and Science of Pitching. Be sure to read my quote on the back cover...shameless plug...
Next week I'll cover why leg-lift is important and what it contributes in a pitcher's delivery.
danny@arizonapitching.com
