The towel drill is a popular baseball pitching exercise. It is designed to help pitchers throw more accurately and improve mechanics. It forces you to aim the towel toward the target and execute proper timing. Steven Ellis, a former pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, says the towel drill is not about snapping the towel at the end of the drill but rather the location of the release point.
Step 1
Find an empty spot on the baseball field, preferably near the pitching rubber. Grab the hand towel and get in your pitching stance. Hold the towel between the thumb and middle finger and make sure your partner is kneeling 6 feet away with his glove a few inches in front of his eyes. If you are too close to him, back up a few inches. Hold the towel so 1 foot of it is showing. Hold a baseball in the other hand.
Step 2
Plant your back foot on the pitching rubber and hold the ball and glove in front of you as if delivering a pitch. Lift your leg and step toward your partner's glove with your front foot. Bring the towel straight behind your back shoulder and over your head as if pitching a baseball. Follow through toward the center of your partner's glove and hit it with the towel.
Step 3
Repeat this movement 20 times. You can also try pitching from a full windup instead of the set position. Get in your pitcher's stance but this time face the target with your entire body. Step back with your left foot if you are a right-hander or your right foot if you are left-handed. Bring your hands together and lift them over and behind your head. Bring the back-stepping leg forward and lift it in front of you. Step toward the target with that leg. Bring the ball back and follow through with the towel toward the glove.
Tips and Warnings
- Try to hit five in a row and increase that number.
- Do not follow through with too much velocity. The drill is designed to work on accuracy, control and balance. It is not meant to improve pitching power.
Things You'll Need
- 16-inch hand towel
- Baseball glove
- Training partner
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