by Alan Jaeger
Published in CBN, reformatted and posted here with the author's permission. (3 part series.)

Part 1 covers the reason we need a better long toss approach, part 3 how to remove the constraints.

NOTE: In each each section below the argument for limiting throws to 120' is contained in the box on the left; Alan's counter-argument wraps around it.


First of all, if coaches want to maintain a "consistent release point", they should have their pitchers do all of their throwing off a mound for the rest of their careers. Any throwing, not done on a mound at 60 feet 6 inches, will alter the release point anyway. Besides, what's the relevance of getting used to a "consistent" release point on flat ground when pitchers throw on a decline?
 
Secondly, throwing on a line takes the athleticism out of the pitcher. It causes pitchers (who are athletes) to become robotic and less dynamic. Ironically, pitchers actually want some tilt (hence the term "pitcher's tilt") when throwing a baseball because it gives them leverage (if you look at a still photo of most pitchers in their balance point, their front shoulder is higher than their back shoulder).
 
In addition, the idea that tilting your shoulders causes your release point to be "late" is also misleading. In fact, tilting your shoulders to arc the ball actually works to your advantage. For example, if you come back into your throwing partner from 300 feet (as opposed to 120 feet), once you arrive back at 60 feet, you actually have to have a lower release point and a better downhill angle in order to "compress" 300 feet into 60 feet (assuming that you are not decelerating your arm). You also have to have amazing balance and a relaxed mind . This is also why some pitching coaches will have pitchers throw uphill on the back of a mound - to create leverage and teach pitchers how to "get over" their front side.
 
As far as the release point being altered, when you make throws at different increments beyond (and including) 120 feet, you develop more feel and touch from different distances. This is called getting to know your arm. It's nice to know what it feels like to make throws at 60 feet, 120 feet, 180 feet, 240 feet, 300 feet and so on - and to learn how to make adjustments with your release point at these various distances. When the arm is free to throw at different angles pitchers (players) actually become more in tune with their release point because they are developing a feel for throwing.
 
Remember: baseball players make throws from different places on the field. Wouldn't it be helpful to have practiced throws from these different increments? Wouldn't pitchers thrive on PFP and position players thrive on defense had they learned how to gauge different release points for different throws? Wouldn't they actually have a better feel for their release point because they've practiced it?
 
This is why Quarterbacks don't make all of their throws on a line. As important as accuracy is to them, they also need the feeling and touch to throw the football from different release points - whether it's a short out, or a deep pass down field. Could you imagine what would happen to a quarterback's arm if he was not allowed to throw the football beyond 30 yards, or not allowed to arc the football because he was told that would alter his release point?

Finally, for health purposes, by keeping the ball on a line, shoulder muscles actually experience less range of motion. This prevents the arm from experiencing the flexibility that is gained by throwing with arc at different angles.


Many of the 120 foot throwing programs not only restrict how far a player can go out to, but how many throws a player can make each day. Again, in many of these major league throwing programs, the amount of throws are based on time. In Spring Training for example, 10 minutes is often the amount of time allocated for players to throw. I'm not sure who came up with the idea that 10 minutes was a sufficient amount of time to prepare an arm, but again, this is very restricting to an arm that may want to throw for 15, 20 or 30 minutes.
 
Again, how does anyone know (other than each individual pitcher) how long, or how many throws that pitcher wants to make on any given day. Shouldn't we allow the arm to dictate what it wants to throw from day to day?
 
From many years of experience of dealing with both pitchers and position players, it is very clear that when arms are given a chance, the capacity of their workload actually increases by allowing them to throw more, not less. Simply put, if given the freedom, the arm will condition itself to whatever it's capable of producing. That means...

• 15 minutes of throwing has the chance to turn into 20 minutes of throwing, 20 minutes into 30 minutes, and so on.
• 120 feet has the chance to turn into 220 feet, and 220 feet into 320 feet.

Again, the arm will acclimate itself to conditioning in the same manner a marathon runner will train his or her body (legs) to run 27 miles. But, could you imagine what would happen if a marathon runner was only permitted to run 1 mile per day?
 
Ultimately, a greater work load also leads to greater strength, endurance and intimacy with the arm. When you spend more time throwing, you get to know your arm better. In time, the arm will dictate in and out of season how much it wants or needs to throw.
 
Ironically, the more that these restrictions are lifted, the more the arm will tend to want to throw. This is quite apparent in Japan, where long time player and manager Bobby Valentine has been quoted as saying that most of his starters throw 200 pitch bull-pens in the Spring, 90 pitch bull-pens the day before their start, and have their best fastball in the ninth inning the next day (Note: Daisuke Matsusaka not only threw 103 pitches in his second bull-pen session in Spring Training with the Boston Red Sox, but he is legendary for throwing 300 pitch bull-pen sessions with the Seibu Lions. Prior to his signing with the Red Sox this winter his physical showed a "whistle clean" MRI on his shoulder.)
 

Well, you may assure yourself that you only have "so many throws in the arm" if you condition the arm at 120 feet for 10 minutes. This is called "under training" - it's how your arm begins to acclimate itself to a reduced workload. Ironically, by throwing less you are teaching your arm how to maintain this workload, and ultimately, reduce the "amount of throws in the arm". When you make minimal deposits (through under training) and take large withdrawals out, a baseball players arm is vulnerable. When pitchers are exposed to more aggressive throwing in bull-pen and game situations, it becomes dangerous. Quite simply, your work load is not prepared to handle it.
 
However, Long Toss allows the arm to condition in a way in which far more deposits are being put into the arm, than withdrawals taken out.

Our philosophy, which we've seen validated over many years, is "the more you use it (correctly), the more it produces". And this is clearly one of the main reasons why Barry Zito has never missed a start in professional baseball - he has been Long Tossing religiously since his sophomore year in college. [Editor's Note: Zito has worked with Alan Jaeger.]
 
Throwing "a lot" is why batting practice pitchers seem to have the healthiest arms on the field - they throw all the time, year after year. When our pitchers get into shape, it becomes quite clear that their arms respond better to throwing more, not less. This is also evidenced by one of the most respected and successful pitching coach's in our generation, Leo Mazzone, who also believes in pitchers throwing more, rather than less (Note: Nolan Ryan has stated that he averaged 160-180 pitches in 1974, including a 235 pitch game against Luis Tiant, who threw 14 1/3 innings against him that night. Ryan pitched until he was 46...Tiant, until he was 41).
 
The idea that there are only so many throws in the arm stems from a major misconception that we can "get more out of the arm by using it less". The truth is, the arm responds best by being utilized rather than sheltered.


As discussed earlier, if according to the laws of physics a 90 mph pitch will travel approximately 300 feet and a 95mph pitch will travel approximately 350 feet it's safe to say that velocity does increase as distance increases.
 
This doesn't mean that if a pitcher is innately unable to throw 95mph, that we can "create" 95 mph. What it does mean is that whatever is innately in the arm can be tapped into through Long Toss. For example, if a pitcher throws 80 mph and has never thrown beyond 120 feet, some people may assume that 80 mph is all that is in the arm. If, through training however, that same pitcher was "stretched out" to 300 feet, then we know according to the laws of physics that this pitcher gained approximately 10 mph.
 
In other words, for a pitcher that throws 75 mph (and has been limited to 120 feet), he may eventually throw 90 mph just because he was able to stretch his arm out to 300 feet. In short, if we can turn 120 feet into 220 feet, or even 320 feet through training, the arm will reflect that velocity based on distance and physics.
 
The point is that players can dramatically increase their velocity through Long Toss because they can tap into resources that are otherwise dormant. Ironically, the opposite is true of a player who routinely Long Tosses. If his arm has been stretched out to 300 feet or more, once he's put on a 120 foot throwing program his arm will begin to display the characteristics associated with that distance - namely, less range of motion, less endurance, less velocity, and poorer recovery period.
 
To put this in perspective, a good friend of mine, and amazing pitching coach out of Houston Texas, Ron Wolforth, has a 7 year old son Garret, who, through training can now throw the ball 175 feet. What an irony - we are teaching some of the strongest arms at the highest levels to "train" at 120 feet, and yet a 7 year old has been trained to throw a ball 175 feet.
If you are a pitcher and have never thrown beyond 120 feet, wouldn't it be nice to find out what's in your arm? In time, you may be able to work your arm out to 300, 330 or 350 feet.

Does that mean that you are guaranteed to throw 90-95 mph. Not necessarily, because you still have to take into consideration mechanics, and how your arm works off of a mound. But by stretching your arm out, you at least give it a chance to develop the velocity that's in there.
 
The arm is like a treasure chest - we can't be sure what's in there until we open it up. Maybe there's 75 mph, and maybe there's 95 mph in it. Wouldn't it be nice to find out?

Please continue with part 3, removing the contraints.