How Do Body Positions Affect How Fast You Throw?

The way you position yourself will have more to do with how well you pitch and how hard you throw than the speed you move your arm. Throwing hard is all about your timing and body position. In order to have a chance to throw hard, you have to keep your shoulder closed if you want to throw hard.

Basics

Pitching coaches regularly instruct pitchers that in order to throw the ball well, they have to get their full strength and momentum behind their pitch. Many young pitchers depend on a powerful arm to dominate hitters. They may use their size and strength to blow the ball past hitters. However, you don't have to be strong and powerful to throw hard. A small pitcher like San Francisco's Tim Lincecum -- 5-foot-10, 170 pounds -- can throw 95-plus miles per hour because he uses his legs, glutes, core muscles and chest in addition to his shoulder, biceps, wrist and fingers when he throws. The key is not rushing the delivery and keeping the body aligned as the pitch is delivered.

Closed Lead Shoulder

One of the keys for a pitcher to throw with explosive velocity is keeping his shoulder closed during the delivery process. When your shoulder is closed, your left side will face the batter longer if you are a right-handed pitcher. Keeping your shoulder closed will allow you to get more of your body's momentum into the pitch. If you come open, your chest will face the batter and your arm will provide the bulk of your velocity, but you won't use enough of your body.

Stride

In order to throw the ball with significant velocity, you must get a long and powerful stride toward home plate. The stride will help you get the most out of your lower body. You will push off the mound with your dominant leg, and your lead leg will get your glutes, hips and core muscles involved in the delivery of the pitch.

Key Mechanics

When a pitcher is trying to develop velocity, he needs to transfer his weight from his back leg to his front leg quickly. Other key factors include getting the throwing arm up late in the delivery process, taking a long stride towards home plate, and then using the front leg and hip as a brace to increase upper body speed. All of these changes impact your body position and will help you throw with more velocity.