WebBall.com - Pitching Consistency

How to develop a consistent delivery

Other pages on WebBall discuss grips in detail and the steps in the delivery. This page covers techniques to get your body's movement and the pitch release under control so that you can duplicate the effort of a good pitch 50-80 times in a game.

Consistency does not mean putting every pitch in the same spot.

Start by knowing the problem.
We have said elsewhere that pitching success comes with repetition. But unless you master the techniques of a consistent delivery, your repetition could simply make bad habits harder to fix.

Before looking for techniques to increase consistency on the mound - have a clear idea of what you think the problem is. Consistency does not mean putting every pitch in the same spot. What it means is that every time you throw a specific pitch in your repertoire, you can be confident that the pitch will perform as expected.

3 Aspects of Consistency

Get control of your body so that every time you throw your overall mechanics will allow the pitch release at the same point in your delivery.

Fine-tune the delivery mechanics so that the throwing action is effortless in that every stage in the biokinetic sequence works together to increase momentum.

Understand the grip's effect on ball movement, so that each pitch behaves as you expect it to.

Find Your Release Point

As author John Bagonzi and others have pointed out, a 1" shift in release point could result in a 7" difference at the plate. So everything about gaining consistency has to start with locating the release point that is best for you.

CONSIDER...

You want the release point out front - as close to the plate as possible while allowing you to control arm action and not hyperextend the elbow. less distance to plate enhances your perceived velocity.
You want the release point at the right height for your pitch velocity so that your 2-seam fastball can get to the low part of the strike zone and your 4-seam doesn't sail too high. There are no absolutes here - experiment to find what's right for you. But not yet. Read the rest of this page first.

Your wrist and hand do not work in isolation. While joints may bend, bones don't shrink or stretch, and everything is connected right down to your foot, so...

The Key is Foot Strike

If you can plant your lead foot on the same piece of dirt on every pitch, you are half way to establishing a consistent delivery.

Almost every pitcher we have seen with consistency problems has allowed their lead foot to land differently from pitch to pitch - either closer or farther, either opened out or closed too much. What you need to work on is having that foot hit the same impression on the mound every single time.

Why is that so important?
Remember the comment above about bones being connected. And what we said about the biokinetic sequence.

If your foot always lands in the same spot, then the rest of your body has a reference point for continuing the delivery motion. If, however, your foot lands differently each time, then some part of the rest of your mechanics has to compensate as you now struggle to get the pitch released at its ideal point.

Where should the foot land? This is discussed in our lesson plan on footwork. The point is to find a length suited to your body mechanics but we have found that a distance from the rubber equal to the height of your neck (7/8ths total height) is a good starting point. That lesson also covers foot angle on landing.

Drill Progression

With some understanding of the objective, here are some suggested drills and tips that we have found can work.

Understand and use the backchaining approach as taught by a growing number of other pitching instructors. (See backshaping.) This puts the focus on release point with the foot already in your ideal landing spot.
Work on dynamic balance to get to foot strike. See those lessons that cover this area. You can even try folding your arms and using only your body in delivery. (This is a technique used in the Mariano Rivera approach.)
Use the modified towel drill (originated by Tom House, modified by Ron Wolforth). In this drill you have a small knotted towel held between pitching fingers (instead of a ball) and you do your delivery so that the towel snaps on release (wrist action). We recommend you have a glove held up at release point by a coach. The towel hits the glove so that the release point is reinforced.
Throw blind. This is perhaps the most controversial aspect of the progression - some instructors like this, some think it's nuts. It is a way to test how consistent the throw is and where the body is working in sync or there are sections of the delivery fighting to correct flaws. Have your pitchers go throw their delivery with eyes closed. Do this with a baseball. If they have got the foot strike consistent, and the momentum transfer smooth and powerful, and the release point where they want it, then the ball should go right where they want it even with the eyes closed.

NOTE: This is not the same as pitchers who look away and don't keep their eyes on the target. The head must be in line and on target even with the eyes closed.