quote:Tony Reagins, the Angels' general manager, recently explained some of his organization's core pitching principles:
1. The Angels like pitchers with athletic deliveries that "create direction toward home plate," Reagins said.
Like every organization, the Angels draft or sign pitchers who have been taught a range of mechanics as amateurs, and the team tries to introduce the motion of the hands going over the head in the delivery. "If the delivery is stagnant," Reagins said, "arm injuries are more of a factor. Athletic deliveries tend to lead to a healthier arm."
Reagins cited the recent example of Jordan Walden, a 20-year-old right-hander currently pitching in low-A ball Cedar Rapids. "He had a stagnant delivery," Reagins said. "We just made some changes with him" -- the hands going over the head -- "and we've seen his velocity pick up and his command improve."
So the reason I post this is that it immediately reminded me of some posts bbscout used to make on this same topic.
2/12/2007
quote:Ryan went over his head with his hands in his windup, much like Maddux, Clemens and Schilling do today. They all have/had good deliveries, unlike most of the cookie cutter hands at the chest, dead start deliveries that are taking over high school, college and also the major leagues today.
There is a reason that they won't let Clemens retire or that Maddux, Schilling, Moyer, Johnson and a bunch of other over 40 guys are getting millions to keep piching. The reason is..............there are no cookie cutter 25 year olds who are good enough to take their jobs.
3/28/2005
quote:If the pitcher gets a running start with his throwing arm, the arm will have momentum going and the hand will come out of the glove on time, not late. Maddux does this along with only 5-6 other pitchers in the big leagues. Years ago, almost all the big league pitchers did it the way Maddux does it. Most pitchers today have their hands frozen in front of their chest and have to jerk the ball out of the glove and get their hand moving.
10/30/2005
quote:I call a running start a motion where the arm starts and does not ever stop until the ball has been thrown
10/6/2004
quote:Kids need to throw every day and they need to go back to the running start windups of days past, that Maddux and Schilling use.
It appears that the Angels agree with bbscout's assessment of arm motion in the pitching windup.
