Drop and Drive

There are as equal 'drop and drive' HoF as there are 'tall and fall' HoFers.

There are others

I think that either "term" is a poor way to describe what is happening in the throwing process of a pitcher.

There is a lot more going on.

quote:

Originally posted by RobV:
I think that either "term" is a poor way to describe what is happening in the throwing process of a pitcher.

There is a lot more going on.

I agree. Making it so black and white is misleading.

Tall and fall doesn't mean that the lower body (including the legs) is not well utilized.

I agree with many of the above that it is not choice a or choice b. Here is what I believe..take it for what it is worth. If over the course of a game you are lowering your body repeatedly, you are going to tire. As you tire your mechanics are going to change. Try doing a wall squat for just 3 seconds at a time for about 50 times and see how much your legs feel it. If you stay more erect and use your calf to drive with, you are going to have much more consistency in your delivery. The calf will not weaken as fast can pound for pound can lift more than any muscle in the body. Consistency is key in pitching. Do not think that by staying tall you should not utilize leg strength. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Bayou,

Which "style" are YOU more comfortable with ?

Listen to your coaches and apply what they say as best you can.

If forced to name these I'd go with explosive vs controlled.

Even though they are different, many of the same concepts are used in each.

Balance and body control are needed for each method to be sucessful. Before the balance bashers get here, I'll define balance as equal and opposite actions, as opposed to any sort of pause (just for Dmax). Body control is needed to go along with the balance to develop a repeatable delivery.

For someone with rather strong legs, is dropping and exploding from there more effective in throwing the ball harder or will I get about the same velocity either way?

Strong legs will benefit all pitchers. It will depend on whether your mechanics use the power generated by the drop and drive. IMO it is more difficult to repeat your delivery using D&D but many are able and get good results. Experiment and see what works best for you.

Hi bayoukid and welcome to the HSBBW. By the way I like your screen name.

your question is a tough one and as you see in the responses already a mixed bag of answers. I will give you my opinion as well, but it is just MY opinion.

First, I believe going from one technique to the other is not in your best interest. One of the pitching coaches early in my son's development said he would not take on someone to teach that had already been instructed in the "drop n drive" as you called it. He said that it is very difficult to go from one to the other and be successful and that he would not be able to "un-do" some of the mechanics built into this technique.

Next, I believe it depends on your body and frame. We had a guy a few years ago on our HS team that was 6-5 or 6-6 but had been taught to "drop n drive". I believe this takes away much of the benefit of being tall and providing that third dimension to your pitch, natural vertical drop. He was not that effective and ended up not even playing his senior year for various reasons.

So I advise sticking to one or the other and decide which one is best suited for your body and frame. Concentrate on core strength and flexibility in your arm, shoulders and legs and long-toss, long-toss and then do some long-toss.

bayoukid,

heres my opinion on this topic and it is a real good one.

What I have found to be true is that the Drop and drive teachers are generally guys who came up in the game 20 years ago or more.(Generally) The new breed of pitching guys are the stay tall type guys. I fall someplace in between the two. I pitched in the drop and drive era and I am sure if you were to ask Tom Seaver, he would be able to argue the drop and drive point with anyone.
A lot of guys have given you great information here and that is why this site is of such good value to you kids. You throw out the question, and most of the time you will get the answers you are looking for.

Heres what I try to teach my guys..

If you think of the path to the battersbox as a narrow hallway from the the rubber to the plate, thats the direction direction or path you want to follow. Landing too far on the arm side of the hallway will cause you to throw across your body, landing to far the other side and you will no doubt be flying open and cause harm to your shoulder as it has no other recourse but to drag.

Balance as others have spoken about, has a huge importants to the pitcher, staying tall and relaxed at the highest point of your leg kick will start you in a good balanced position. IMO, once you have hit this point you continue without pause or hesitation to take yourself down that hallway towards the glove or plate or whatever you use as a visual. I beleive there has to be a definite breakdown of the backside knee to get you started down the hill. When you drop I beleive your eyes drop and for me the least amount of head and eye movement the better. The taller you stay in yourbalance point, the better chance you have to throw the ball on a downward plane.
Then once you hit your land foot, the core, quick twitch, hips, and good ole fashion arm action takes over.

So, its like this for me anyway,
Gather yourself in a strong tall,balanced, over the rubber manner.
Use your back leg as the vehicle that takes you down the hill in a straight line to the plate. No need to jump off the rubber, just use it to get you going. Think of it is a little drive down the mountain from tall to the violent action we know as your FB! As Alma 08 said, the taller you stay the more downward plane you have. Thats why the big boys like those 6'7" guys coming down on the hitter. The best part of thie game is that you have a lot of different ways to get it done, you have to be good enough to experiment and use what works for you.
Heck, I don't care if you stand on your head and throw the thing, throw first pitch strikes and stay ahead in the count and you'll win ball games. Its that simple.

Thanks for the information. Obviously I am going to continue to do what my coach wants me to do, especially considering I haven't had arm problems in my high school career. Really great information, but does anyone know what the odds of a college coach changing this are. i.e. do most coaches let you do what you have done and change it once you struggle or change the mechanics in the fall?

bayou,

most college coaches will have taken you not to fix anything to drastic, a tweak or two may be in order. They are going to take you because they like what they see already.
Mechanics have much to do with injury, but just as important as that is your offseason conditioning and arm program, and your postpitching arm care. Also, keep your innings pitched and pitch counts to a number that will keep you healthy. Taking care of yourself and good mechanics are a good combo to stay healthy. jmo

Many college coaches are going to watch you closely in the fall. If you are struggling, they will make some changes and improvements. If you are doing well they will probably leave you alone, unless they see something that could lead to an injury. Sparky1 has given you some good advice.

if you drop too far, you lose the benifit of the mound and the pitch can actually lose velocity as well as being flat.