Pitching Mechanics: The Drive From Leg Lift To Foot Plant

As you will see in the next few paragraphs, the "drive" does not refer to just the job of the lower body in pitching mechanics, but rather the drive encompasses every function of the body that is instrumental in delivering a powerful pitch to the target. By the end of this page, I hope you'll have a complete understand of what makes pitching mechanics efficient and effective.

Although there is a little more to understand and execute at this point in the delivery, keep in mind the ultimate mechanical goal of a pitcher is simple: develop an athletic delivery that maximizes power and accuracy that can be repeated.

1. Glove side foot/leg – This leg comes back down somewhat before it strides out to the plate. This will help to keep the body weight back around the back leg while the arms get into position. The pitcher is at first leading with his back pocket and front hip and the rest follows. If the glove side leg just went straight out to the target, the head would follow suit and the pitcher’s front side would be way out in front, resulting in a very weak throwing position.

Check out the video of Justin Verlander and John Smoltz below to see what path the glove side leg takes when going to the plate.

Once the lead foot (on the glove side leg) reaches maximum stride length, it will plant in the ground at typically a 45 degree angle to the plate, possibly less (as you can see in the still picture below of Kenny Rogers and John Smoltz).

2. The Hands – Begin to break downward while staying close to the body. Initially, the throwing hand will go down and back towards second base a little. As the motion unfolds though, the stride lengthens and the pitching forearm will come almost straight back up to get into position to rotate and throw. Some pitcher’s arm swings are longer than others. As the hands go down, the thumbs should be turning slightly downward as well. As the pitching hand starts to come back up, the ball should begin to point in the general direction of the shortstop or third base.

Both hands basically do the same thing, just in opposite directions. The glove side hand goes down and it comes back up with the thumb pointed slightly downward and to roughly the level of the front shoulder. It should also be pointing in the general direction of their arm side batters box. For righties, the glove is directed towards where a right-handed hitter would stand in the box and vice-versa.

Check out the actual path of the hand/ball of Greg Maddux and Curt Schilling below.

3. The Pitching Side Leg – This leg (also referred to as the post leg) begins to bend once the lead leg comes down and out from the leg lift. This leg must bend a good bit in order to let the lead leg reach a good stride length. This is one big consistency that you will see across the board with Major League pitching mechanics.

Not only does this leg bend, it is also driving the pitcher towards the plate in a controlled manner. Do not confuse this with lunging to the target. It is a controlled push towards the plate. It is not a lunge but the back leg is most definitely active in providing momentum and direction to the target.

Check out Jonathan Pappelbon and Jason Schmidt in the video below. You can see their weight is clearly gathered on their back leg as it flexes (bends) and then drives the body towards the target.

Right before foot plant the hips begin to rotate which will cause the back foot to begin to slide off the rubber.

4. Posture – The body should maintain great posture throughout the motion. The head and eyes are locked onto the target. The back is not crouched over but pretty straight. The arms and legs are not tense but athletic.

As you can see with John Smoltz and Greg Maddux in the video below, the posture is upright with the head still basically in the center of the body. The head is in such a good position because the spine has the proper posture instead of hunching over or leaning back too far.

5. The Head – A pitcher’s weight will always go where their head goes. I tell my students this all the time. This is because when kids are younger their bodies aren’t mature and they just don’t have the kind of body control they will when they get older. Regardless, they must understand the importance of controlling where their head goes.

It is too common for kids to lean their head towards the plate as soon as their leg comes down from the lifted position. They flex their torso before rotation, trying to do everything at once instead of letting the motion develop. This results in the pitcher throwing with all upper body with absolutely no chance whatsoever to generate power from his hips.

Remember that as soon as the front foot lands, a pitcher has to throw. So if the front foot lands sooner than it should, the body will not be in a good powerful position to deliver the pitch. Make no mistake, if his front foot lands early he will be able to throw but will add much more stress to the shoulder and elbow. Too much stress and injuries will likely occur.

A pitcher must be able to keep his head back over the middle of his body throughout the delivery until he gets to foot plant so that he can let his hips do what they are supposed to do. The hips are ultimately designed to fully rotate and propel his shoulders into rotation and deliver the ball.

Roger Clemens and Justin Verlander demonstrate very well in the video below how the head should stay in the middle of the body throughout the delivery. Notice also how both are riding their backleg initially as their mechanics unfold and how even though they are pitching "downhill", their shoulder have significant uphill tilt.

6. The Pitching Elbow – The elbow should get to roughly the same level as the shoulders if not a little under. Where the exact location of the elbow should be at foot plant is and will always be a topic for debate. There are many pitchers whose elbows are as high as or higher than the shoulder at the point of foot plant. There are others whose forearm is completely vertical and as a result their elbows are slightly lower than the shoulder.

For the best chance for longevity and maintained good arm health, it is my opinion that the throwing elbow should be just under the shoulder at foot plant and certainly no higher. This should result in the hand and forearm being at or above the shoulder. Although no one’s shoulder is going to blow up immediately for getting their elbow above shoulder height, it is my belief that they run the risk of shoulder trouble if it becomes a long standing habit early on.

7. The Ball – Videos reveal that as the hand and ball break from the glove, that the basic position of the fingers is to be on top of the ball pointing the ball downward. When the hand and ball reaches its lowest point, the index and middle fingers (the dominant fingers in throwing) are clearly visible from the direction of the shortstop.

Once the ball has reached its lowest point, the stride still has about 30% to go and in that time the pitching elbow is coming back up until it reaches a level just below the shoulder. The elbow remains at this level while the pitching forearm gets into a vertical position.

It is very important to note that the hips are rotating open before foot plant and that the pitching elbow and forearm are getting into position at this point.

At this point in the windup, there are several things that are happening at the same time. The lower body and upper body are working together to achieve proper timing and power.

1. Glove side foot/leg drops down and then out towards the target from the leg lift.

2. Hands break down in a long circular motion with the thumbs turning slightly downwards.

3. Pitching side leg begins to bend allowing the glove side leg to reach full stride.

4. Posture remains upright.

5. Head remains in line with the middle of the body helping to keep weight back while hands continue to reach proper height.

6. Glove side hand comes up to roughly shoulder height with thumbs still slightly turned down.

7. Pitching side hand comes up with fingers on the side of the ball pointing it towards the direction of the shortstop or third base.

8. When full stride is reached and before the front foot plants, the hips rotate towards the plate while the shoulders remain closed to the target.

9. Pitching elbow at foot plant should be at roughly shoulder height or close to it.