Pitcher Arm Slots
Pitcher Arm Slots Facebook
- Yesterday, we identified Jeremy Jeffress as a pitcher who benefited greatly from dropping his arm slot, adding more sink and fade to his two-seamer.The idea was that his four-seamer was straight and possessed below-average spin, so moving from that pitch to a sinker, while dropping the slot, gave him a better foundational fastball.
- There are pitchers with very high arm slots such as Hideki Okajima, a relief pitcher with the Red Sox. High arm slots are reputed to provide more velocity, less lateral movement, and short careers.
- The facts are a sidearm slot puts more stress on the arm and it limits your potential pitching velocity. The 3X Programs are training you to reach your top velocity while also preventing injury. This is best done in at 90 degrees of shoulder abduction based on the research and my experience.
In general, a pitcher's Arm Slot isn't a huge contributor to injuries. The Influence of Arm Slot on Spin Direction – (09:33) Dan Aucoin, Pitch design, Pitching, Pitching analytics, Plus Pull Downs – Footwork Options – (01:28).
In baseball, a submarinepitch is one in which the ball is released often just above the ground, but not underhanded, with the torso bent at a right angle and shoulders tilted so severely that they rotate around a nearly horizontal axis. This is in stark contrast to an underhand pitch in softball in which the torso remains upright, the shoulders are level, and the hips do not rotate.
Description[edit]
The 'upside down' release of the submariner causes balls to move differently from pitches generated by other arm slots. Gravity plays a significant role, for the submariner's ball must be thrown considerably above the strike zone,[1] after which it drops rapidly back through. The sinking motion of the submariner's fastball is enhanced by forward rotation, in contradistinction to the overhand pitcher's hopping backspin.
Submarine pitches are often the toughest for same-side batters to hit (i.e., a right-handed submarine pitcher is the more difficult for a right-handed batter to hit, and likewise for left-handed pitchers and batters). This is because the submariner's spin is not perfectly level; the ball rotates forward and toward the pitching arm side, jamming same-sided hitters at the last moment, even as the ball drops rapidly through the zone.[2]
The rarity of submarine pitchers is almost certainly attributable to its unusual technique. It is not typically a natural style of throwing—it is often a learned style—and because the vast majority of pitchers use an overarm motion, most young pitchers are encouraged to throw overhand.
Though the bending motion required to pitch effectively as a submariner means that submariners may be more at risk of developing back problems, it is commonly thought that the submarine motion is less injurious to the elbow and shoulder.[3]Kent Tekulve and Gene Garber are among the most durable pitchers in baseball history with 1,944 appearances between the two.
Past major league submariners include Carl Mays (whose unorthodox delivery possibly contributed to the fatal beaning of Ray Chapman), Ted Abernathy, Elden Auker, Chad Bradford, Mark Eichhorn, Gene Garber, Kent Tekulve, Todd Frohwirth, and Dan Quisenberry. Steve Olin was also a submarine pitcher.
Japanese pitcher Shunsuke Watanabe is known as 'Mr. Submarine' in Japan. Watanabe has an even lower release point than the typical submarine pitcher, dropping his pivot knee so low that it scrapes the ground. He now wears a pad under his uniform to avoid injuring his knee. His release is so low that his knuckles often become raw from their periodic drag on the ground.
Submarine pitchers[edit]
Current player[edit]
Major League Baseball[edit]
Nippon Professional Baseball[edit]
KBO League[edit]
Chinese Professional Baseball League(Taiwan)[edit]
Former player[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Adair, Robert K., The Physics of Baseball, HarperCollins Perennial: New York, NY, 2002, p. 58, ISBN0-06-008436-7
- ^Brad Ziegler, AL Rookie of the Year. Hardballtimes.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-20.
- ^A Different Look. Metstoday.com (2007-10-12). Retrieved on 2010-11-20.
Pitcher Arm Slots For Sale
By: Derek Johnson
Originally Published by - Human Kinetics - The Complete Guide to Pitching
The sinking fastball is becoming one of the more prevalent pitches in the game. The function of the sinker is generally to run or tail and sink toward the arm side of the pitcher. Like the cutter, the sinking fastball will promote weaker contact and more swings and misses by the hitter because of the late action on the pitch. The sinker is usually a bit easier to master than the cutter because the pitcher uses the natural pronation of his arm to create the spin on the ball. With the cutter, the pitcher applies force to the area just outside the middle of the ball to create sidespin. In the case of the sinker, however, the pitcher will apply the force to just inside the middle of the ball, creating the opposite spin. Some pitchers, because of arm slot and timing of the delivery, naturally create run and sink on the ball, as evidenced in many throwers with low three-quarter slots. Also note that a two-seam fastball will often create the desired effect of a sinker without any further effort by the pitcher.
Figure 5.8 Sinker grip: first two fingers closer together.
For our purposes, the sinker will be thrown with one of the three two-seam grips that were discussed earlier. The pitcher should first experiment with the grip he finds comfortable to see if sinking action occurs by simply throwing the ball normally. If the ball does not sink, the pitcher should try placing his middle finger just inside the middle of the ball. The first two fingers may be moved closer together, and the thumb will again start in the middle of the ball (see figure 5.8). As coach and pitcher observe the shape of this pitch, they can determine any further adjustments that the pitcher needs to make. Again, the determining factor for any pitch in the pitcher's arsenal is what the hitter sees or does not see. If late-breaking action occurs on the sinker, interrupted or mistimed swings are bound to occur.