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Look at the attached...  having a few baseball players... I have a righty that has randy Johnson’s slot...  his coach insists that his arm needs to be “up”  as in  elbow higher Than the shoulder (line from shoulder to shoulder) and his hand higher than his elbow.  Now, he’s not talking about tilt, he’s literally saying shoulders should be level and the arm should be up.

BUT....  look at all the pitchers below.  I made a similar picture of Báez, Lindor, Reyes and more that show Short stops in the exact same position with varying degrees of shoulder tilt.  SO.. some look over the top, others look side arm and some look 3/4.  But as you can see, mechanically the arm is almost always in the same position in reference to shoulder tilt... the tilt is the only difference.  

When he throws (blurry but circled in red in the lower right corner), and I slow it down, his release has a similar straight line as these below.  It just happens to be more level like Randy.  When the coach insists that he raise his arm without the shoulder tilt, his shoulder bothers him.

is changing this troublesome, necessary, good, bad?   What are your thoughts on this?  Am I not seeing this picture correctly?  Coach is very old school cookie cutter styled...  your thoughts are appreciated.

BTW... 82/83mph, 65% first pitch strike PCT, 2.4ish era, 6+Ks per 9 over 2 seasons.  He’s not a starter and has no interest in pitching in college..., He’s a hitter first.

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For the most part arm slot is an individual thing that is natural to every player.  It can be tweaked but every player has a way that they want to throw the ball that they feel most comfortable with, and in most cases (where there isn't an extreme issue) its best to leave it alone.  As for shoulder tilt, it is required to get movement on the ball and is something to strive for.  The images on the upper left quadrant of you chart are great examples of how the shoulders should be oriented at release of the baseball.  Shoulders should never be flat, and anyone that is telling your son they should be is giving him bad advice.

adbono posted:

For the most part arm slot is an individual thing that is natural to every player.  It can be tweaked but every player has a way that they want to throw the ball that they feel most comfortable...

What is slot?  Is it elbow bend, or actual ball location at release?  Would you consider all the players in the pick to have different slots?  The reason I ask is that if you were to crop and rotate the pictures so that their shoulders are all oriented the same, the arm and ball would all pretty much be the same.  

From the IF my son throws like the pic in the article (link).  Coach says “your going to going to hurt your shoulder if you throw like that”  then proceeds to make him throw with his arm raised which hurts his shoulder... mind you, he’s a Jr in HS and has NEVER had pain while playing for his club team or anywhere else. Only with  this coach and this “method” of throwing. No other coach, club, fielding, pitching has ever had any issue with it.   If the coach were trying to improve tilt, i’d Be ok with it, but he seems to be fixated with changing the arm angle and not the entire motion.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us...3mr7s4w139t9cbcxwscb

Last edited by BobbyBaseball
BobbyBaseball posted:
adbono posted:

For the most part arm slot is an individual thing that is natural to every player.  It can be tweaked but every player has a way that they want to throw the ball that they feel most comfortable...

What is slot?  Is it elbow bend, or actual ball location at release?  Would you consider all the players in the pick to have different slots?  The reason I ask is that if you were to crop and rotate the pictures so that their shoulders are all oriented the same, the arm and ball would all pretty much be the same.  

From the IF my son throws like the pic in the article (link).  Coach says “your going to going to hurt your shoulder if you throw like that”  then proceeds to make him throw with his arm raised which hurts his shoulder... mind you, he’s a Jr in HS and has NEVER had pain while playing for his club team or anywhere else. Only with  this coach and this “method” of throwing. No other coach, club, fielding, pitching has ever had any issue with it.   If the coach were trying to improve tilt, i’d Be ok with it, but he seems to be fixated with changing the arm angle and not the entire motion.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us...3mr7s4w139t9cbcxwscb

I will send you a PM 

That is almost exactly my son's arm slot. Our coach did this to him last year.  Told him if he didn't change the slot, he would sit on the bench.  He said college coaches wouldn't like it (meanwhile he was talking to 5-6 top 25 coaches). He tried to change it, but became inconsistent with the slot because it didn't feel natural to him.  He ended up sitting on the bench most of the year, which was fine because I think it would have really messed him up to keep throwing with inconsistent mechanics.  My guess is he is wanting him to throw more over the top.  That just doesn't work for everyone.  My son committed over the summer and now he is just letting him throw.  Last year was rough.  You can try talking to the coach to find out reasoning but not sure you'll accomplish anything.

baseballhs posted:

That is almost exactly my son's arm slot. Our coach did this to him last year.  Told him if he didn't change the slot, he would sit on the bench.  ....  You can try talking to the coach to find out reasoning but not sure you'll accomplish anything.

There in lies the problem....   My way or the highway mentality and parents aren't welcome to talk baseball (playing time, mechanics etc, etc.  )   as far as the talking restrictions, I totally get it and don't mind.  I'm not "that guy".   I just encourage my son to do what he feels natural and suffer any consequences that come... but don't compromise your health or beliefs...  Be respectful, but be you... and play hard.

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