Interesting topic. If you read Tom House's The Pitching Edge he was originally a tall & fall, or up-down-out guy. That was sort of the trend 15 years ago. However, over the years his philosophy has changed. He now says you should stride as far and as fast as you can, while still maintaining proper mechanics/timing. In other words he is now promoting a big "push off" or "drive." He is also advocating that the pitcher should already be moving towards home by the time his knee lift peaks. You could say that he is advocating a "drift."
Do you have to "drop" to "drive?" I guess it depends on how much flex you start with in your post leg to begin with. But a lot of guys do have some degree of drop, though nothing approaching Tom Seaver.
For what it's worth, I wouldn't mention House or anything along these lines to a certain pitching coach in Alabama. He has been known to ridicule House and anyone who mentions him. But the reality is his "system" is close to the old House philosophy circa 15 years ago.
quote:
Originally posted by Clint Taylor:
In the 70's and 80's it was the drop and drive and now it is all about tall pitchers standing tall and throwing down hill, which do you prefer and why?
Tom Seaver was a drop and drive, Nolan Ryan and Roger Clements were a combination (using a lot of leg and core with a slight drop), in my opinion, they were all very successful. Also, these 3 seemed to have less arm trouble than a lot of the pitchers today. I'm still old fashion and think the slight drop and drive, using your legs and core is more protective of the arm. You can still throw down hill from this position, maybe not like standing tall. Also, I think it is a more deceptive position. JMHO! Granted Randy Johnson might be an exception; however, if you watch his videos you will notice a slight drop in his delivery and a change to a more 3/4 to sidearm delivery, post arm and shoulder problems.
