Long Toss Won't Improve Pitching Velocity

http://www.pitching.com Long toss has not proven to improve pitching velocity or reduce the risk of injuries.
Pitchers today are wasting valuable time trying to build arm strength when there is no evidence that it improves pitching velocity or reduces injuries.

In order to improve pitching velocity pitchers must pitch from the mound while getting videotaped to improve their mechanics.

Pitching velocity has been proven to be the result of building forward momentum and moving fast toward the plate into a long stride 100% of the pitcher's height or more.

Many "strong-armed" right-fielders who could not hit were not able to become pitchers because they could not achieve great velocity from the mound.

Velocity comes from using the body correctly while the arm is along for the ride. But on the mound you cannot use a crow hop so why practice what you cannot use while pitching!

Tim Lincecum at 5'10" 170 lbs. is a good example of a small pitcher who can throw 95 mph plus because he moves fast into a long stride.
http://www.pitching.com

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• mechanics
• arm
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• tips
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• Dick
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• curveball

[leftyDM]

That is exactly the point. I personally pitched in a 4 man rotation during my pro career. We pitched more from a mound and did no long toss. The more you pitch from a mound the better you get at pitching. The recent study my ASMI (Jan 2011) confirms long toss adds stress to the arm and interferes with building sound mechanics. Long toss and pitching is like taking away the net in tennis. There is no specific skill building without a net. What pitcher can afford that? Dick Mills

[leftyDM]

If long toss worked for you to add 9 mph then it should also work for all other pitchers.

However, that is not the case.

The recent study by ASMI that was released in Jan. 2011 proved long toss does not work to improve velocity but does add stress to the arm and will interfere with mechanics.

This means that for you it was not the long toss that improved your velocity but something that you changed mechanically.

Dick Mills

[leftyDM]

Monk,

Why would any athlete practice something he will never use in competition? No other sports do this. Why does long toss overload the arm any more than a maximum effort pitch? Using maximum effort pitches from the mound build the skill of throwing maximum effort pitches for using in games to get hitters out. Pitchers are not very skilled today because they waste time on practice activities like long toss that have little to no value for getting hitters out.

Dick Mills

[leftyDM]

The sports science research disproves what you are saying. A power clean has little to no benefit for pitching. Strength does not improve speed. Arm action while doing long toss is different than when pitching from the mound so long toss can only interfere with normal pitching actions not improve them. Pitching drills have been proven to create slow and robotic pitching which cause many pitchers to "over-think" their mechanics.

There is no evidence that long toss improves pitching. DM

[leftyDM]

Where is the evidence that long toss has anything to do with fast twitch fibers at all. Human beings cannot develop more of anything they do not already have.

This is an example of the common belief that the arm creates it own speed...when biomechanists have proven that arm speed comes from fast trunk rotation. Arm speed has little to do with the arm at all. Why would long toss improve anything more than mound pitching? The myth of long toss continues to waste pitcher's time. Dick Mills

[leftyDM]

Fedhew,

Based on your definition don't pitchers feel and equally strong arm while throwing a fastball from the mound? Why long toss when you can't use the added distance to create improved skills or improved arm action? It is much more difficult to feel "whip" in the arm doing a crow hop on flat ground than it is when pitching down hill where the bracing action of the front leg and hip are what deliver a fast trunk which is how the arm is whipped through.

Dick Mills

[23pimpdaddy]

@silentassasin13s

are you sure it wasn't just growing? I remember my freshman to sophomore year an increase like that but I grew 3 inches and put on 15lbs of muscle. I agree, long toss doesnt help increase velo. it just helps you throw far which isn't desireable unless your trying to show off.

[silentassasin13s]

This is hilarious. There is PLENTY of proof that long toss helps increase pitching velocity. As a freshman i topped out at 84 from the mound and 89 from a crow hop. After working on long toss and other baseball workout programs, im throwing 87 from the mound and 92 from a crow hop. Sophomore year just started and im faster than every senior at my school. How bout this, look at allen jaegers web site and trevor bauers thoughts on long toss

[himynam3isdylan]

AHAHAHAHAA dude u no long toss has basically been proven to incease pitch speed. its the same concept as throwing a softball then grabbing a baseball and it feel like its a feather. so if ur throwing 300 and u build ur ARM STRENGTH to get up to that distance..then clearly pitch speed is going incease..jeez just look at jaeger sports and see how many people use that program and say it works..incuding myself

[Byron9596]

Sorry for typos Dick. I had not proof read it yet before it sent on accident.

[Byron9596]

Hi Dick. I am a power pitcher and I pitched for 12 professional seasons and I am going to respectfully disagree. And a guy who can get it up to 101 mph I can tell you that long toss for the increase arm speed did the trick for me. It was not about far I threw it rather it was the arm speed that had to be generated to throw a ball on a LINE for that distance. There are a number of big league guys that I know of that live by long toss. Just my professional opinion.

[swing11]

Dick, if arms have little to do with arm speed, why do taller pitchers with longer arms generally throw harder? Is height correlated with quicker trunk rotation? No. Max effort exercises like long toss tell the body to recruit more muscle fibers to better handle the abnormal stress. Simple physiology. The majority of muscles used in pitching off a mound are also used in long toss. And by the way, the ASMI study does absolutely nothing to dispel the idea that long toss can strengthen the arm.

[TheFisherman000]

i disagree with this. my brother did alot of long toss before the season and had the best pitching summer of his life.

[noahmcdx]

I was going to make a series of comments replying to the outrageous things you said in this video, but it's honestly too overwhelming to go over them all. Im just going to click away and mind my own. Hopefully you don't brainwash too many people with your idiotic theories, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to limit the possibility of that happening.

[noahmcdx]

@FunnyBurrito So what your saying is arm strength helps you throw a ball far, but arm speed helps you pitch. Okay, take out the factors of bad mechanics and bad arm action, etc. To throw a ball 90 mph, your hand has to move about 90 mph. For the ball to go x amount of feet, you have to throw it x mph. So EITHER WAY, your hand is traveling x mph, whether your aim is to make the ball go x mph so it goes x amount of feet, or your aim is just to have the ball go x mph, going 60 feet, 6 inches.