Pitching Blog #1 "Building a Pitching Staff Philosophy" 12/12/23

After stepping away from a head coaching position at the end of 2021, I took 2022 off and returned to baseball in 2023 as a pitching coach. Last year, it took time to get used to being an assistant again, luckily the program I joined was a great fit. The 2023 season was a learning experience. When I ran a program, I was the pitching coach, but I could never give it the time it deserved because I oversaw all the day-to-day activities. The opportunity to focus solely on pitching and dialing in on the guys I was working with on the mound was something new and exciting. 

Now, in year two of being a pitching coach, I am diving deep into all the information available on how to teach players to be the best pitcher possible. Over the years, so much has changed regarding mechanics and training. Add in the innovation of technology and the metrics it can produce, making it a whole new world. The tricky part about getting immersed in all the data is that there are different ideas on the right way to teach and what is the wrong way. A simple YouTube search will show you how many different opinions are out there. With plentiful information options, the key is understanding that everyone thinks their way is best. Navigating the infinite information highway can be exhausting. 

Please understand that first-hand knowledge and experience are the best groundwork for your coaching philosophy. I was a head coach for twelve years and an assistant for three before that. Utilizing that history to build my concept for coaching pitchers was helpful. For a more novice coach or parent interested in embracing good information, I suggest following coaches who don't teach a cookie-cutter method. Find coaches who understand that no two athletes are the same. Different players require different training. 

Developing a philosophy for your pitching staff should be broken down into categories based on importance. The number one goal for my staff is health, not just arm health but the overall health of my pitchers. If health is the primary objective, the rest of your plan can be successful; if the well-being of your players isn't at the forefront, things can crumble very fast. To create a program that emphasizes injury prevention takes a commitment to learning about how injuries happen. It is also essential to understand how the body works and moves. That doesn't mean you need to get a degree in kinesiology (although it might help, lol), but it does mean you have to do some research. Filtering out good information can be taxing, but it is worth it when you find the right places to look. At the end of the blog, I will list some of my favorite places to "steal" information. 

Now that prioritizing health is established let's discuss the next category for a successful pitching staff program. If the cornerstone philosophy is health, the next layer is training to stay healthy. Physically fit players have a good combination of flexibility and strength. Easy movers that don't have good strength are at risk because they can't control their elasticity. Stiff movers that are very strong are at risk because their strength will push them past their bodies' ability to move. Without going into much detail, the goal is to determine where players fall in these two spectrums. After deciding what players need to work on, it's time to develop a program—understanding that you're looking for players to fall into a space between the easy mover with little strength and the stiff mover with lots of strength. You will find unicorns that move easily and are strong, just like you will find stiff movers with little strength; diagnosing those players is important for building out your training program. Movement evaluations are vital for all baseball players and even more so for pitchers. You can hire someone to do this for your team or research how to do it yourself. The National Library of Medicine website has a great article, "ATHLETIC ABILITY ASSESSMENT: A MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL FOR ATHLETES," that goes into deep detail. 

The next layer, is building pitchers. I'm looking at this from a high school and above ability level. Once again, no two pitchers are the same, but many share similar issues and tendencies. I like to utilize video to break down movements and build a plan to improve for each pitcher we have. Once the film is broken down, putting pitchers with similar movement patterns and deliveries in groups can help save time while introducing plans for refinement. This process takes time, so grouping players can help streamline focus on what needs to be worked on. Here is an example of grouping players with similar needs. 

"Let's say I have four pitchers struggling to keep their trunks closed as they gain momentum down the mound. All four are stiff but very strong. For the offseason, those four players will work together to improve flexibility. When we throw, they will do the same warm-up and drills, and when it's time to throw bullpens, I will try to have them together for that as well. Allowing the players to help one another and also helps the pitching coach stay focused on the needs of that pod when working with them."

As a head coach, I would have needed more time to dedicate to the pitchers to build programs like this. Now that I'm only a pitching coach, these ideas are possible. If you cannot have small groups of pitchers, it is still vital to identify pitchers with similar issues. Also, if you have pitchers that you label as "projects," that can be a group onto itself. Pinpointing what pitchers need is paramount to being a successful pitching coach. 

Now, let's talk about pitching; one of my favorite quotes is from Sandy Koufax:

"I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it."

Throwing strikes and being able to attack hitters is essential for pitchers to be successful at all levels. Bullpens can have a singular purpose, or you can segment time for mechanics and then time for game preparation. I like to shift emphasis from mechanics to an in-game approach in season and just before the season. Each pitcher will have a preferred warm-up, similar to but not the same as other pitchers on staff. Once the pitcher is ready, I like building sets with different pitch progressions and count work. Most bullpens will start with the pitcher throwing an opening set of 12 - 24 pitches of their entire repertoire. After the pitch warm-up, the bullpen might look something like this.

Opening set of all pitches (12-24 pitches)

Set 1 - 0-0 count get ahead Fastballs X6 (3- 2 seamers, 3- 4 seamers)

Set 2 - 2-2 count breaking ball X5

Set 3 - 0-2 count fastball inner half to a righty (if strike end rep, if ball back up with a 1-2 breaking ball) X4

Set 4 - 2-1 count off speed pitches (if strike end rep, if ball back up with a 3-1 fastball) X4

Finisher - 2 fastballs for a strike 2 breaking balls for a strike 2 changeups for a strike

Full pen should be between 40-60 pitches

I like to count up a "score" for these full sessions. The score sheet will look like this.

Set 1 - 5 out of 6 strikes

Set 2 - 3 out of 5 strikes

Set 3 - 2 -1 pitch reps, 1 successful 2 pitch reps and 1 unsuccessful (2.5/4)

Set 4 - 0 - 1 pitch reps, 3 successful 2 pitch reps and 1 unsuccessful (2/4)

Finisher - 5-6 strikes

total score - 17.5 out of 25

Here are some pages that can help, you can find them on social media or YouTube

• Tread Athletics (all around great)

• Summers Method (some of the best baseball specific training out there)

• Top Velocity

• National Library of Medicine (great for learning how the body works and moves)

• Overtime Athletes

The last piece of the puzzle is making it fun! Baseball is a game, it's meant to be fun.