BREAK THROUGH

Hmm... I wouldn't compare myself to mark prior though because his arm action is pretty nasty and could get you injured before you know it...

Breadman-

To help TPBulldogs35, why don't you explain why you think Priors arm action is pretty nasty, and why TPBd35 might hurt himself.

my bad..

Mark prior and kerry wood have similar piothcing motions and they are hurt all the time. Steve stone a television anouncer got fired for pointing out their machanical flaws because they were doing fine at the time and the only thing the coaching staff was worried about was their own reputation. Both pitchers were dominant for a while but their carrers will be shorter than the average pitcher because their arm actions put tremendous stress on the arm. So if a Majorleague pitcher who is in better physical shape than any amateur athlete could ever dream of gets hurt all the time by throwing this way, imagine what will happen to a highschool pitcher who is still growing and far away from being in shape to pitch 30 games or more a season.
The main problem with the arm action is that they never raise their arms when they land with their lead fot and they will just flip their forearms out in front and hyperextend their ellbows.
Sure... these mechanics will help you out at the beginning as they help to put more zip on your curveball and more movement on your fastball. But in the long run you'll be better off throwing with proper mechanics or you will end up on the dl.

couple of points:

I am originally from Chicago and have been a die hard Cubs fan for over 35 years.
I love Stoney as a broadcaster/analyst and enjoyed watching him pitch. I was bummed when the Cubs let him go. While he has made comments about Woods and Prior mechanics, that is not why he was fired. He got into it several times with Baker (several times on flights to/from games) and called out several players for their attitude, more than their playing abilities.

I respectfully disagree with you that Wood and Prior have similar mechanics. In addition, Prior has a "unusual" body type, especially for a pitcher. How many pitchers have you seen with calves like that? I think that because of Prior's body type, he can do things pitching/mechanics wise that others can not do.

In addition, Wood has been injured a lot more than Prior. And two of Prior's visits to the DL were completely unrelated to pitching mechanics (a collision with a baserunner and a batted ball back to him).

At the end of the day, pitching is an "unnatural" act for the human arm. I credit ALL pitchers because high level players who are hard throwers, IMHO are risking it all the time, good mechanics or not.

I agree with jbbaseball on the point of Prior and Wood having dissimilar mechanics.

quote:

The main problem with the arm action is that they never raise their arms when they land with their lead fot and they will just flip their forearms out in front and hyperextend their ellbows.

Not true. Prior exhibits one of the highest elbow postures (at solid foot plant) in the business.

What pitch is Prior throwing? I'm not that familiar with him.

Right at the end of the Prior clip in the upper left you will see "93 MPH". While he can throw harder than that, I am fairly confident he was throwing a FB.

FYI....Wood's #2 pitch has been a slider. (A number of coaches/analysts said that pitch is what caused him his arm problems back in '99). Prior's #2 pitch has been a wicked 12/6, 11/5 Curve.

Oh, I had Prior and Wood reversed. I meant to say, what pitch was Wood throwing in that video? Slider, I guess. Right?

I think it is also a FB. Take a close look at the video...couple of things:
1) No movement on the pitch. Guessing its a 4 seamer.
2) Barrett had set up outside edge. Wood missed his spot (up and in).
3) At the end though, you can see the batter swung underneath the pitch.

I'm sorry I might not have made myself clear enough!! *little confusing the way I described it*
I'm not saying his ellbow isn't high enough it is his hand that is not above shoulder level when he lands his foot. And what i was meaning by saying that both pitchers have similar arm actions I really only meant arm actions and not mechanics.
Kerry wood migth throw a litle more across his body

Hey TP, what exactly did you change or emphasize?