Thursday, January 19, 2012

What to Know About Overhand and Whip Pitching Techniques?


Elite overhand pitchers throwing consistently throw for greater velocity than the best "submarine" pitchers using a whip delivery. Pitchers can drop down from overhand to three-quarter deliveries or sidearm deliveries without losing too much velocity. But the whip delivery is used to create ball movement rather than velocity. Top submarine pitchers developed excellent sinkerballs, sliders and curveballs with this motion.
Overhand Vs. Whip Motion
As pitching instructor Steven Ellis notes on his website, pitchers seeking better velocity should master the standard overhand delivery instead of the submarine motion. But with the whip motion, it is easier to put movement on the ball and easier to keep the ball low. Given the scarcity of submarine pitchers, that motion is often deceptive to hitters.
Power Pitchers
Major League Baseball features dozens of overhand pitchers capable of throwing fastballs from 97 mph to 100 mph. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman is the reigning speed king with a 105-mph pitch to his credit. Longtime pitching coach Tom House believes pitchers will continue gaining velocity with this motion. "I don't buy into the hard-core statement that the human arm can only handle so much," House told "The Record" newspaper in 2011. "The body will accommodate and adapt to what you ask it to do, if it's done in allowable intervals."
Chad Bradford, Submarine Master
Chad Bradford has been baseball's best submarine pitcher for the past decade. He developed the pitch out of competitive necessity in high school, and it carried him to a major league career. His fastball tops out at 85 mph -- about 20 mph less than Chapman's best fastball -- but he can make batters look silly with his breaking pitch. Like former submarine specialists Dan Quisenberry and Kent Tekulve, he is a finesse pitcher in a power sport. "I don't throw 95 miles an hour, and when you don't do that, it's easy to start doubting yourself," Bradford told "The New York Times" in 2006 . "You get lost a little bit. You remember that at one point, you weren't considered good enough for your high school team, and it comes back in little ways."
Japanese Submarine Tradition
The Japanese major leagues were once heavily populated with submarine pitchers. "In my time, it grew out of necessity," Japanese pitching legend Hisashi Yamada told "The New York Times" in 2009. "Every pitcher was a starter, and the submarine style largely was taught either to pitchers who were thought of as having less durable arms because it was seen as a way to preserve them, or to guys who had poor control. Now, relief specialists and surgeries take care of most of that, and there simply aren't people around to teach it to youngsters anymore." More recently only a few pitchers in that country have used the style. Pitchers are seeking greater velocity with the overhand motion.

 
Design by Free Wordpress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Templates