Often we received articles from baseball instructors that are written as if presented to a group. And that's fine. Point-form structured how-tos are the bread-and-butter of coaching advice. But sometimes the best instruction comes from unexpected sources in unexpected ways. This began as a email to me from a dad about his son's journey to greatness. I liked the one-to-one conversational approach, him writing directly to me. It has a very sincere heart-felt tone, and definitely rings true (well, to a point, as you'll see). I'd encourage other prospective authors to try writing in the same style ... first-person experience can be a greater teacher for us all. - Richard Todd, Head Coach, WebBall

by Mark Howard in a personal email to Richard Todd

...and I am sitting here at the kitchen table gathering my thoughts and reflecting on something I'd like to share with you. I have written you on many occasions over the years and hopefully my observations will have some meaningful purpose. If anything it serves as an outlet for my inner thoughts and the reality of what I have witnessed in regards to pitching and velocity over the last 8 years and hundreds of games I have attended.
 
Just type [pitching velocity] in your search engine, I use Google and somewhere in the neighborhood of about 123,000 results popped up. Wow, enough information that could choke the biggest black hole in space.


Now I could be stretching the truth here somewhat but I found a site that sells a machine called "The Velocinator". Wouldn't you know it was search result number 123,000? This company guaranteed instant results in velocity of 100 to 125 mph plus pitch, or you get a full refund. Six weeks later the semi finally pulled in the driveway and "The Velocinator" had arrived! I had to call a friend of mine that had a forklift to unload it off the flatbed semi, it weighed over 1200 pounds. Now all I had to do was to figure out how to get it down the basement.
 
After careful debate from a local contractor, the decision was made that a portion of an exterior wall of my home and half of my family room floor would have to be removed in order to get "The Velocinator" in the basement.

I had to hire a translator from the University of Illinois, 3 electricians, 2 plumbers and a nuclear physicist from a local power plant to get this contraption assembled. Boy I'll tell ya, what a dad will do for his son and his pitching! I had to get written approval from the local power company that I would only power "The Velocinator" up between the hours of 2:00am and 4:00am, I didn't understand why but it was some kind of Federal regulation.
 

It's Velocinator time!! I woke my son up, on the way down the basement he said, "Dad, are you sure about this"? I told him "trust me son". I had made some chicken wings, bought a keg of beer and had a few friends over for the big event.
 
After passing out the factory recommended safety goggles to my friends, I put on my favorite ball cap, gave my son a hug, buckled him in "The Velocinator" and closed the door. It was 1:59am and the countdown was underway! My wife just kept giving me this evil stare; you know how mothers can be, always worrying.
 

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, POWER ON!!!
 
The lights started dimming on and off and the auxiliary backup generator kicked on. The whole house started shaking and my son's dog started howling in the backyard. My friends Anti theft alarms on their cars out front of the house started going off. I even poured half my beer down the front of my shirt and almost choked on a chicken wing! Finally the ventilation system kicked in and cleared the smoke and this foul odor out of the basement. I had lost track of time with all the commotion going on. I was supposed to power down "The Velocinator" after 15 seconds but it took a couple of minutes to get the fire out. I pulled the switch and powered it down.

I grabbed a pry bar and finally opened the door on this contraption. My son had this funny glow about him. He was missing his two front teeth and didn't have a hair left on his body! I ask him if he was alright but he had this blank look on his face and was drooling out of the corner of his mouth. I decided to call it a night, took my son up to bed and would wait to see the results the following day. My wife made me sleep on the couch!
 
The following day I took my son out in the backyard to see the results. We had an upcoming game that afternoon and he was pitching. I had the local police department send a patrol car over because I didn't have a radar gun and I wanted some data. I crouched behind the plate and my son delivered the ball.
 
This was the first time in my life I had ever ridden in an ambulance. My new prosthetic glove hand is going to take some getting used to but time heals all wounds. I do get tired of digging the leather fragments out of my upper body. The doctors said my catcher's mitt exploded when the ball hit it. So did my hand!


After I was released from the hospital I finally got to go see my son pitch. I arrived at the ballpark and took my seat on 1st base side. Next thing I knew the umpire pulled up a chair and sat down right beside me. He told me there was no sense in him getting behind the plate, my son threw the ball so hard he couldn't see the ball anyway, he just flipped a coin, heads were strikes, and tails were balls.
 
All that time my son and I spent together during the season and off season has become a thing of the past. Shoot, I haven't even talked to him in 2 or 3 weeks, no need. I am starting to miss him. We were going to have a game today but the other team found out he was pitching and they forfeited.
 
I don't understand why out of all people, (meaning you coach) this contraption was never mentioned in your newsletter or on your website? I think possibly you and Ron Wolforth have a racket going? I've gotta go now, my son has been acting funny lately. He keeps going over and chasing the neighbor's cat and last night he was in the top of the tree out front howling at the moon.


Looking back in the beginning of my son's pitching career, I too almost fell into this trap of finding the (Fountain of Velocity) to drink from. Luckily, I came to my senses and talked to and met the right people along the way. I also paid very close attention to detail watching other young pitchers' and their outcomes.
 
Velocity plays a very important role in pitching but it also is probably the main reason that many young pitchers today have their dreams ruined or their arms. We have all seen it, the opposing team's pitcher throwing himself right out of his shoes. He looks pretty impressive the 1st inning or so and then it turns into a walk-a-thon with the occasional meatball right down the middle of the plate that drives in 3 runs. Probably on an average he is out of the game by the second or third inning.
 
He began learning how to pitch at the age of 8. In the beginning I too was a velocity crazed dad that wanted nothing more but to watch him blow the ball by the hitter. Luckily I came to my senses soon after and learned three new words in my vocabulary, patience, development and skill. It's been a long road to follow with a lot of mixed emotions. Coach, I believe you call them tribulations. My son entered his freshman year of high school this year. Because of his hard work and learning early on the importance of proper pitching mechanics, pitch grips and the ability to locate and change speed, he was moved up to the JV team. He is not the hardest thrower on the team. When it comes to locating a pitch, disrupting the hitters' timing, or throwing a strike when he needs one, he has proven time and time again he can get the job done. Even as important, he's throwing as strong in the 1st inning as he is in the last.
 
My reasoning for taking the time to write this is simple. Even though I see this velocity crazed scenario in many opposing teams' pitchers and the look of disappointment on the fathers faces, I can't help but feel some form of sadness. What bothers me even more is many of these pitchers have the potential to be very successful if they only knew the truth about pitching.
 
By the way, if you have any subscribers on your site that would be interested in "The Velocinator" I would be more than happy to get it out of my basement and give it away for free. Although, they will have to pay for floor and wall replacement and shipping. I only used it one time. Thank God the affects on my son were temporary.
 
Take care Coach,
Mark