More On Hand Separation and Stephen Strasburg

Here's a link to an MLB Diamond Demo by Al Leiter and John Smoltz about hand separation and the position of the elbows and hands during a pitcher's stride. This is on the heels of the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg's impressive return this week from Tommy John surgery.

As I noticed myself on Tuesday night, Leiter and Smoltz say that the "inverted W" that some think may have contributed to Strasburg's UCL tear is still present in his mechanics, but the violence of his arm action has been slightly toned down.

Smoltz demonstrates in the video a drill that he performed during his own rehab period from Tommy John. This looks like a great way for young pitchers to reinforce proper hand separation at an early age, so they don't have to make major changes down the road.

The Importance of Proper Hand Separation

Here's a good three minute discussion by Dan Gazaway of The Pitching Academy about one of the most fundamental parts of the throwing motion: hand separation.

At the youth level, this is one of the most often flawed parts of a player's mechanics. Many kids take the ball up and out of their glove, directly behind the ear, which leads to pushing the baseball forward. The result is a lack of power and additional stress on the shoulder.

More than half of my young pitching students spend time correcting this flaw. And throwing mechanics are not easy to correct once the bad habits are entrenched. If they can learn at about the tee ball level or even younger how to correctly separate the hands (like in the picture of Tommy Hanson above) with fingers on top, thumbs down and plams out, it would help them avoid this trouble down the road.

"They Are Not Your Players. You Are Their Coach."

The heading above is a quote from a series of articles by Doug Abrams titled Who Owns Youth Sports?  The series is posted on Rick Wolff's informative blog, Ask Coach Wolff.  In these articles, Abrams has explored the "adultification" of youth sports and reflects on the days of sandlot ball - back when kids roamed free and there was available land for their use.

Abrams acknowledges that those days are long gone in most metropolitan areas. Adult supervision is here to stay. But he urges youth coaches and leagues to consider implementing the best of both worlds - allow the kids to experience the fun of creating, managing and playing their own games while doing so in a safe environment with adult supervision and expert instruction.

Here are the articles. They are a good read.

Who Owns Youth Sports?  (Part 1)
Who Owns Youth Sports?  (Part 2)
Who Owns Youth Sports?  (Part 3)

The Kevin Williams Foundation

Below is the story of the Kevin Williams Memorial Foudation, inspired by a family's love of baseball and the New York Yankees. There are many connections between 9/11 and baseball. Baseball provided some incredible moments and lasting memories during a tragic time.

Youth Curveball Debate Continues

The recently published results of a five-year study on curveballs by the University of North Carolina and Little League Baseball have done nothing to cool the debate about the safety of breaking pitches at the youth level. It may be that the discussion is only heating up, as a result of that study's controversial findings, or lack of findings.

While the UNC study caused Little League to report that overuse, rather than curveballs, was to blame for arm injuries, former coach and current WFAN (NY) radio host Rick Wolff begs to differ. He says you simply cannot ignore decades of doctors' advice against throwing curveballs or sliders at a young age. Here is a podcast of his recent interview with Cincinnati orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who believes that Little League has political reasons for not banning curves.

Whether "it's politics" or a lack of conclusive information,

The Simplest Way To Get Quick

I came across this post by trainer Kelly Baggett on the Cressey Performance blog about gaining athletic quickness. Baggett brings up some good points about the importance of decreasing muscle tension in order to increase quickness.

As I tell my youth players, relaxed muscles are quicker than tense muscles. Unfortunately this idea is usually the opposite of many players' natural instinct.

When faced with an incoming pitch, the batter often reacts by "muscling up" to try to hit the ball hard. They clutch the bat tight, twist away from the pitcher and reach back for more power. But they won't find any more power back there. Since they have so much tension, the fast-twitch muscles of the front arm cannot fire quick enough. They lengthen their swing path, and sometimes completely bar the lead arm, creating a stiff, sweeping motion to the ball. The result is a late swing and a jam shot off the handle of the bat.

When a pitcher wants to blow a fastball by a batter,

The Allure of Being "Elite"

I encourage you to read this ESPN article by Tim Keown about the state of travel ball in America. Although not exactly new information, Keown's commentary is on the money. I think I agree with everything he says, and would only add that what actually matters in youth baseball is fun and good coaching.

Reason Enough To Back Up the Mound

Braydon Salzman was extremely lucky to avoid serious injury on Friday at the Little League World Series. Watch the video if you haven't seen it. Little League's days with a 46 foot mound are hopefully numbered.

Five-Year UNC Curveball Study Complete

A study of over 1,300 youth pitchers has been concluded by the University of North Carolina and Little League Baseball. The results: overuse, not curveballs are to blame for arm injuries.

As mentioned before on this site, it's primarily the young pitchers that repeatedly push themselves to the limit without enough rest in between outings that risk hurting themselves. Surprisingly, some previous studies have indicated that curveballs don't put any more stress on the arm than fastballs.

Still, the calls for banning curveballs in Little League have persisted. But Little League President and CEO Stephen Keener has now concluded that a ban won't be necessary.

Laying Off the Doughnuts

Here's an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about the actual effect that swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle has on your swing at the plate.

Baseball players have used bat doughnuts or other types of weights for many years in order to make their regular bat feel lighter during their at-bat. Doughnuts are not allowed in Little League, and technically neither is the on-deck circle, but players often use two bats or a weighted bat sleeve to warm up.

But scientific testing has proven that swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle actually slows down your swing at the plate by activating slow-twitch muscle fibers best used for endurance, not the quick burst of speed needed to hit a fastball.