Every kids dream when they are growing as a little league baseball player is to be a Major League Baseball player one day. Little League pitchers dreams get crushed when they believe they throw to slow to pitch the the major leagues. In order to make it to the major leagues, pitchers don't have to throw 90 miles per hour (mph) or harder, some pitchers in the past had success without throwing hard.
One of those pitchers is Greg Maddux. Greg is a Hall Of Famer now because of his success as a pitcher. When he started off as a pitcher in the minor league (level below Major Leagues) he was throwing low to mid 90’s, but he was getting hit pretty hard by the opponent teams. He said to himself one day that he needs to stop trying so hard and start locating every pitch. Well when her did that his velocity dropped immensely and started throwing a lot slower than all of …show more content…
His last pitch in the MLB was at age 49. His fastball ranged from 75-82 on a good day. He worked really slow from the windup and his ball was even slower and that messed with the batters mind. He recorded a 269-209. Unlike Greg Maddux, Jamie didn't pitch as much even though he was in the MLB longer. Jamie suffered a UCL injury, also known as Tommy John Surgery. He came back from that injury one year later, and he was throwing slower. Even though he did throw slower than everyone else in the MLB, he wasn't always super effective. He gave up 522 home runs in his career. Throwing slower keeps your arm from getting tired quicker so that is another reason why he was able to last longer in games and in his career.
Personal trainers and coaches have been wrong this whole time. Velocity doesn't determine if you make it or not to the major leagues. Throwing hard is only a plus but if you have movement and deception and change of speeds within the same pitches like Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer did then you will be
One of those pitchers is Greg Maddux. Greg is a Hall Of Famer now because of his success as a pitcher. When he started off as a pitcher in the minor league (level below Major Leagues) he was throwing low to mid 90’s, but he was getting hit pretty hard by the opponent teams. He said to himself one day that he needs to stop trying so hard and start locating every pitch. Well when her did that his velocity dropped immensely and started throwing a lot slower than all of …show more content…
His last pitch in the MLB was at age 49. His fastball ranged from 75-82 on a good day. He worked really slow from the windup and his ball was even slower and that messed with the batters mind. He recorded a 269-209. Unlike Greg Maddux, Jamie didn't pitch as much even though he was in the MLB longer. Jamie suffered a UCL injury, also known as Tommy John Surgery. He came back from that injury one year later, and he was throwing slower. Even though he did throw slower than everyone else in the MLB, he wasn't always super effective. He gave up 522 home runs in his career. Throwing slower keeps your arm from getting tired quicker so that is another reason why he was able to last longer in games and in his career.
Personal trainers and coaches have been wrong this whole time. Velocity doesn't determine if you make it or not to the major leagues. Throwing hard is only a plus but if you have movement and deception and change of speeds within the same pitches like Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer did then you will be