Baseball Pitching?

Question

I am 14 years old and i throw about 72- 73 miles per hour and i have a fairly decent curveball..do u think think this is good for my age and what i need to do to keep having success

Answer 1

that is very good i played high school baseball and even in varsity the high i got was 85-87 and then i was 18 so you on a good pace very good.
just make sure you can place a fastball and keep you curve low

Answer 2

Ok - good velocity, but not great. To keep progressing run, lift, throw & ice. There were some good responses, but a couple things you need to do. First off, you need to build your leg strength. Run 3 to 4 times a week. Run distance, run sprints, run forwards, run backwards, run sideways & then run some more. Do light weight squats. Do deep knee bends. Anything to \strenthen you quads and glute. Throw. Long Toss to keep your muscles long & break up any adhesions. I can't say this enough, use the curveball very sparingly, only as an out pitch. Learn a Change up. Do NOT throw a slider! Someone mentioned that's easier on your elbow - their wrong. Any breaking pitch will stress your elbow & the motion of a slider is far worse than a curveball.

Last thing - ICE will be your best friend for as long as you pitch. Whenever you throw, bullpen, game or just messing around with your friends be sure you warm up, warm down and ICE your arm.

Good luck - wish I were 14 again and had someone give me advice/ guidance. I may still be pitching!

Answer 3

Yes, that is pretty good....I use to play myself, and had an 86 mph ball when I was 16. Make sure you are not throwing sidearm, you will not be playing for much longer if you do. I could give you a couple pointers to help bring your ball to that 80 make within the next year. When pitching, (dont know if you do already) make sure you push off and follow through with your right leg (if your righty). you are probably just getting into the pony league (thats what it was called when I played) close to professional sized fields. start learning (if you havent yet) how to pitch with your foot already in your push off position (no more turning your foot into the mound). you lose about a sec and a half when you have a runner. dont know of anything else that I can describe to you (I'm better at showing). Make sure you are practicing atleast 3 times a week, if possible and stretch for a good 20 minutes before you start. If you need any other advice, I'll be more than happy to help you. [e-mail]

Answer 4

the fastball is good. As you said, the curve is fairly decent. With age and growth comes velocity on your fastball, let that develop itself. Work heavily on the curveball. Currently, I am 15 and throw 78 with a curveball (that took two and a half years to perfect) that breaks about a foot and ahalf with a slider motion and drops about 3 feet at the same time. Also, work with cocking your wrist and throwing a two-seamer to try and get some good movement.
If your curve goes nearly as fast as your fastball (kind of like a hard slider) try developing any kind of change-up. A three-finger change is easiest and, for some, most affective.
Good luck, kid, me and you are gonna be the pitchers of tomorrow's major league :-P

Answer 5

The speed is slightly above average for your age. I worry about your curveball though because if its good, you've probably been throwing one for a while and I wouldn't recommened anyone start throwing them before the age of 13. If you've ever watched the Little League World Series and seen the great 12yr old pitchers and wondered why they never make it to the major leagues, its because the majority of them have blown out their arms by the age of 16 throwing curve balls. Build up your body, not just your arm. A truely effective pitcher is strong in the arm, legs, hips and torso. its an entire body movement, not just an arm thing. work hard. work smart and practice, practice, practice.......and I want your autograph when you make it to the Majors.

Answer 6

I agree with the person who said to work on your location. I've been an umpire for 25 years. I umpired for Mike Mussina when he was in high school. His velocity was so good that no one could touch him. (He through mid-80s curves in HS.) However, he's the exception. Location is tantamount. I've worked thousands of games. The pitchers that win are the ones who don't walk a lot of hitters. Learn to throw to the corners. Learn to throw inside. You won't waste your time. Believe me, I've seen it. If you make the hitters work from behind in the count, you'll be very, very succesful.
Greg Maddux said it better than anyone else when he said, "The best pitch in baseball is the first pitch strike."

Answer 7

While velocity is important, don't forget to work on location. As you get stronger, you should try to develop a change up. If you can throw and locate three pitches, you have a chance at being decent in high school.

Answer 8

It's good for your age. If you want to "keep having success" as far as pitching in college, make sure you're doing "functional strength" excercises and conditioning, and don't pitch too often.

Look up Tom House's pitching books on Amazon.com

Answer 9

that's great but you should not throw a curve until you are finished growing it can cause major damage to your arm in the future, I've been a pitching instructor for many years and the worst thing is to throw a curve ball to young try a slider it is much more effecive and dose not cause as much strain on the elbow, but still use it in moderation

Answer 10

that is very good. at your age you should continue to master the fundamentals of the game. of course youre gonna try new pitches, but watch it, you can really screw up your elbow with those curves or breakers. take it from an old lefty, i played 1b and pitcher for 13 years. good luck to you!