Curious, if you know of any products that can help with glove hand movement and action. I wish there was a simple motion tracking product that you could pull up after the fact and review the specific motion of the glove. If you could stick the tracker on the glove and then look back at the complete delivery, you could show the athlete the end result of their work, in 3D, and we could continue to work to have the motion tracking replicate some model that we identify as ideal. I know they make such products. Just haven’t see for baseball. It would be awesome if you could get your hands on one of them and make a video to show it. Sort of like how they do stop motion replication of athletes in video games these days. MLB the Show, for example…
Thank you for the informative video. I was wondering if you might elaborate on the timing of hand separation. Specifically, if we are staying tall on the back leg, and leading with the hips, the hands drop with the knee but the hips are still moving for a bit before the legs really separate. I know from this video that that glove side should go out with the lead leg, but do I just keep the hands together for that transition portion (hip still going but knee has lowered) and wait for the legs to separate. I apologize for all those for who this is common sense. My son is constantly opening up at front foot and I can see his hands are separating and moving up while the hips are still in forward momentum. Thank you for any advice.
I’m not 100% sure without seeing it, but timing is only important in that everything is where it should be when the stride foot touches down. That’s when everything counts. This can vary for everyone, and it really only matters what they look like in that position. Does that help?
It does. Thank you. I’m basically just trying to see if there was a certain point in the delivery that cued the hands to separate. I’ll just continue work on him delaying hand break a bit until he looks closed at front foot strike. Thank you.
Nathan Vos Good morning Nathan. His issue was (and still is, to a lesser degree), that his arms/hands get to the cocked position too early. Since he gets to this “final throwing position” before his front foot strike, it often makes him throw early (before front foot hits). It looked like the answer to his getting his hands hands up so fast, was to delay that a bit. I have used Dan’s “pocket drills” to some success in getting him to let the throw evolve, instead of rushing to get the arms up before his lower half had fully worked.
We have a former minor league pitcher who we use for our U13 team. One of the mechanics he teaches is when the lead leg drops the ball hand drops at the same time but the glove stays at the chest and then extends straight out and tuck. He tells the kids not to do what you are showing, dropping your glove down and then out. I guess there's multiple ways to skin a cat. Is there any difference in velocity by doing one or the other?
There's going to be a difference in velocity if a pitcher opens up too early because his glove arm reached the top of its cycle, then opened up, too soon. I definitely don't agree with the method you're describing and while there are certainly multiple ways to do things, some make it easier for a pitcher to be at his best, and others don't. I'd suggest that you search here on youtube common major leaguers and observe their glove-arm action. Once you've watched a bunch, you'll see a pattern and I bet you'll have enough evidence to decide for yourself.
Dan Blewett Basically what he is teaching our kids is almost identical to how Zack Greinke pitches. His glove stays pretty much at chest level while extending towards the plate before he tucks it back in. See Zack Greinke Pitching Mechanics Slow Motion Baseball Instruction Analysis LA Dodgers MLB 1000 FPS. Thanks for you input Dan I appreciate it. I bought you book a few months ago, really like it, good stuff.
Yeah, the thing to remember is that Greinke's hands in that video come down from his head - they rise and fall like I advocate, just from a higher starting point then to his chest. He's doing the exact thing I prescribe except starting higher, which I definitely dont advocate kids to raise their hands that high either. If Greinke's hands stayed within his torso, they amount they move down would put them around his navel. He's doing the same thing just starting higher. For kids that have their hands around their chest to begin with...keeping them there is something I would never recommend. Seen it cause too many problems in too many of the kids I work with. Thanks for following up and for reading my book! Dan
Thanks! Ive Been looking for this and i know i needed to fix it.
Good content!
this video is also newer: th-cam.com/video/NbcgV4nGKhE/w-d-xo.html
Great Video!
Curious, if you know of any products that can help with glove hand movement and action.
I wish there was a simple motion tracking product that you could pull up after the fact and review the specific motion of the glove. If you could stick the tracker on the glove and then look back at the complete delivery, you could show the athlete the end result of their work, in 3D, and we could continue to work to have the motion tracking replicate some model that we identify as ideal.
I know they make such products. Just haven’t see for baseball. It would be awesome if you could get your hands on one of them and make a video to show it. Sort of like how they do stop motion replication of athletes in video games these days. MLB the Show, for example…
This whole video I was hoping you would throw a pitch... lol nice video!
Thank you for the informative video. I was wondering if you might elaborate on the timing of hand separation. Specifically, if we are staying tall on the back leg, and leading with the hips, the hands drop with the knee but the hips are still moving for a bit before the legs really separate. I know from this video that that glove side should go out with the lead leg, but do I just keep the hands together for that transition portion (hip still going but knee has lowered) and wait for the legs to separate. I apologize for all those for who this is common sense. My son is constantly opening up at front foot and I can see his hands are separating and moving up while the hips are still in forward momentum. Thank you for any advice.
I’m not 100% sure without seeing it, but timing is only important in that everything is where it should be when the stride foot touches down. That’s when everything counts. This can vary for everyone, and it really only matters what they look like in that position. Does that help?
It does. Thank you. I’m basically just trying to see if there was a certain point in the delivery that cued the hands to separate. I’ll just continue work on him delaying hand break a bit until he looks closed at front foot strike. Thank you.
What’s the issue? Hand separations timing, or his lead foot opening up?
Nathan Vos
Good morning Nathan. His issue was (and still is, to a lesser degree), that his arms/hands get to the cocked position too early. Since he gets to this “final throwing position” before his front foot strike, it often makes him throw early (before front foot hits).
It looked like the answer to his getting his hands hands up so fast, was to delay that a bit. I have used Dan’s “pocket drills” to some success in getting him to let the throw evolve, instead of rushing to get the arms up before his lower half had fully worked.
We have a former minor league pitcher who we use for our U13 team. One of the mechanics he teaches is when the lead leg drops the ball hand drops at the same time but the glove stays at the chest and then extends straight out and tuck. He tells the kids not to do what you are showing, dropping your glove down and then out. I guess there's multiple ways to skin a cat. Is there any difference in velocity by doing one or the other?
There's going to be a difference in velocity if a pitcher opens up too early because his glove arm reached the top of its cycle, then opened up, too soon. I definitely don't agree with the method you're describing and while there are certainly multiple ways to do things, some make it easier for a pitcher to be at his best, and others don't. I'd suggest that you search here on youtube common major leaguers and observe their glove-arm action. Once you've watched a bunch, you'll see a pattern and I bet you'll have enough evidence to decide for yourself.
Dan Blewett Basically what he is teaching our kids is almost identical to how Zack Greinke pitches. His glove stays pretty much at chest level while extending towards the plate before he tucks it back in. See Zack Greinke Pitching Mechanics Slow Motion Baseball Instruction Analysis LA Dodgers MLB 1000 FPS. Thanks for you input Dan I appreciate it. I bought you book a few months ago, really like it, good stuff.
Yeah, the thing to remember is that Greinke's hands in that video come down from his head - they rise and fall like I advocate, just from a higher starting point then to his chest. He's doing the exact thing I prescribe except starting higher, which I definitely dont advocate kids to raise their hands that high either. If Greinke's hands stayed within his torso, they amount they move down would put them around his navel. He's doing the same thing just starting higher. For kids that have their hands around their chest to begin with...keeping them there is something I would never recommend. Seen it cause too many problems in too many of the kids I work with. Thanks for following up and for reading my book! Dan
Most mlb pitchers tuck their glove arm to their chest
To their chest? Definitely not true-look some up! There’s lots on TH-cam and I have a few videos I’ll be sharing soon. Thanks for watching!