The Fundamentals of Pitching Mechanics in MLB

The way the top pitchers grip the ball isn’t much different than the pitchers of the 1960s and the 1970s. However, the demand for increased velocity has led to more pitching injuries than at any other time in the sport’s history. The MLB pitching leaders include plenty of pitchers hitting triple digits on the radar gun.

Let’s look at how the increased emphasis on pitching mechanics has impacted the world of professional baseball.

What Are Pitching Mechanics?

Importance of Proper Pitching Mechanics in Baseball

Visions of star reliever Mitch Williams putting everything he had into each pitch he threw and falling to the side of the mound after he delivered his latest pitch are probably fresh in the minds of MLB followers from the 1980s.

However, by the time he was 29, Williams had been limited to 25 relief appearances. He went from finishing in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting twice to being out of baseball before his 33rd birthday. He is just one example of a player whose career was shortened due to poor pitching mechanics.

Williams would unlikely survive a season in today’s MLB without requiring a serious medical procedure.

When looking for pitching mechanic diagrams, you will not see any resembling how Williams threw the ball.

How Pitching Mechanics Affect Performance

Availability is the top attribute teams are looking for in pitchers. Whether a starter or a reliever, having a talented hurler miss weeks, months, or years.

The hope is that top pitching prospects will be taught proper pitching mechanics during their years in high school or college, top pitching prospects are taught proper pitching mechanics so that the push for high velocity doesn’t harm the pitcher’s health.

Pitching Mechanics Step by Step

Grip and Hand Positioning

The way pitchers grip the ball doesn’t change much year after year. The split-finger fastball was a popular pitch in the 1980s. Pitchers in previous decades threw a similar pitch; it didn’t have a fancy name attached.

Whether a fastball, slider, or curveball, the grip and hand positioning might differ slightly from pitcher to pitcher, but the fundamentals and pitching techniques are pretty much the same.

Each pitcher uses hand positioning so the pitch will go where he wants it to go. The curveball and slider can be effective without lighting up the radar gun, while a fastball in the high 80s is sure to get a pitch sent to the minor leagues.

Windup and Leg Lift Explained

There were some wild windups in previous generations. Take a look at how Luis Tiant and Fernando Valenzuela went through the motions of delivering a pitch. That would never happen today. By the time a pitch was headed to home plate, the runners on base would be well on their way to adding to their stolen base total.

Not every windup is the same these days, but they tend to be more refined, with the leg lift not as pronounced as some you might have seen in the 60s and 70s.

Any discussion of windup and leg lift is usually limited to starting pitchers. Players primarily relievers pitch generally out of the stretch, meaning no leg lift or windup is involved. They often come into the game with runners on base, so the quicker they get the ball to the catcher, the higher the probability that base runners can be thrown out on stolen base attempts.

Stride and Balance for Accurate Pitches

One overlooked aspect of being a pitcher in professional baseball is the ability to field your position. Whether fielding the ball hit back to the pitcher or racing to first base so the first baseman can flip the ball over for an out, a good fielding pitcher is a key part of today’s Major League Baseball games.

Hall of Famer Greg Maddux is the poster child for pitchers’ ability to field his position. He won 13 consecutive National League gold gloves and 18 gold gloves in his career. He did all this with a basic windup that kept him under control. His stride balanced him, and he had pinpoint control on his way to winning 355 games during the regular season.

Arm Motion and Release Point

If you look at the heights of the Major League Baseball pitchers, you won’t see many pitchers under six feet tall. There will be plenty of those who are 6-foot-5 or taller. That is not a coincidence.

Release point is a thing in MLB. When the 6-foot-6 Chris Sale releases a pitch, he is much closer to home plate than when the 5-foot-11 Framber Valdez does the same. Even a few inches can make a difference, as that is a few inches that a hitter doesn’t have to pick up the spin rate or path of the incoming pitch.

It can be a bigger deal in softball, as the underhand delivery enables pitchers to be even closer to the batter before releasing the ball. There are still some MLB submarine pitchers, but that number is dwindling.

Follow-Through and Finish

As mentioned above, a pitcher with a herky-jerky motion or a follow-through that takes them to the side of the mound can increase the possibility of a serious injury and make him susceptible to giving up hits up the middle.

The fielding aspect at the pitcher position isn’t a big deal until a costly miscue by a pitcher results in a loss.

The step-by-step pitching mechanics differ when throwing a fastball, curveball, or slider. Fundamentals must be followed to achieve the appropriate breaking action on the pitch. Even fastballs thrown at high velocity are hittable without movement.

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