Any suggestions on how to develop greater use of the hips in the pitching motion? Any drills recommended?

 

Interesting stuff about the use of the hips by pitchers from Will Carroll, who writes for Baseball Prospectus:

 

“While most coaches would focus on the arms or legs, it is in fact the hips that are the most important part of the pitching motion. Within the kinetic chain of pitching, the rotation of the hips imparts the most energy to the ball…

In fact, hip rotational velocity is more closely associated with pitch velocity than any other mechanism of the chain… ‘Eighty percent of the power is created at the core,’ said Rick Perterson, ‘from the top of the knee to the bottom of the rib cage.’

This force is both directly related to the strength and flexibility of the hips. This lack of understanding of the biomechanics of pitching holds back most pitching coaches and prevents them from enhancing the motions of their pitchers. In a survey of 65 high school coaches, only one did any sort of drill that focused on hip rotation.”

Hips must load, just like hands when hitting. Maintaining a slightly bent drive knee/leg, will aid in the hip loading but the front hip, must accelerate through and not swing, like a gate.

 

Here are some Exercises/Drills, to help strengthen the core/hip....

 

Scorpions - lay on your stomach, hands outstretched and feet apart. Keeping your stomach in contact with the floor, bring your left foot up to touch, your right hand. Then take right foot and touch left hand. This will help add flexibility and strengthen core/hips.

 

Russian Twists - sit on floor, spine angle approx. 45° and hold 10lb medicine ball. Then rotate to each side and touch medicine ball, to floor and behind you, as far as possible.

 

Box Step-ups - Box or step, approx. 18" in height. Step up with single leg and bring other foot on box, then step off with same leg, you stepped on with. Alternate doing each leg on/off. Helps strengthen hips and legs. Very good plyometric exercise.

 

Bucket Drill variation - 5 gallon or ball bucket, upside down. Pitcher has drive leg toe, on top of bucket. Pitcher is in "Strong T" position and extended. Instead of throwing, rotate back hip through and front hip clearing, just like following through and all, while maintaining toe on bucket.

 

Hip Explosion off Wall - Player puts his drive pitching leg, up on wall on 90° to the angle of his leg (usually about 18" off the floor). Front foot is down and pitcher is on toe/ball of his foot, not heal. Push off with drive foot from wall, finish and follow thru. Helps work on hip/core rotation and finishing/following thru.

 

Towel Drill extended - Ordinary towel drill, except start in full extension/drive position and 1' out of reach of hitting the partners glove. The pitcher, will have to drive with hip/leg and extend, to reach.

 

Hope these help.

Thanks, Strike3. The Scorpions and Russian Twists, I think, could really help the strength and flexibility of the hips. I have not known about the Bucket Drill Variation and the Hip Explosion off the Wall for pitchers. They seem l like 2 drills that could really help. When I watch videos of Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemons, for instance, it’s amazing now how I realize and can see how pitchers like this really use their hips.

 

Interestingly, Coach Cohen at the U of K hitting camp talked about how his players “struggle” with trying to do hip exercises. He said it can be challenging. He talked about how at U of K, I believe, a calendar was put out for a fundraiser by the athletic department. The calendar had the athletes’ shirts off, but their legs were covered with long shorts on. He said it seems that a lot of athletes want to build their chest, but few want to do drills like you describe. The benefit, though, can be tremendous.

 

I guess I feel very lucky to have learned about the importance of the hips in pitching, but it does seem true that very few pitching coaches or high school coaches know much about it or work with hip involvement much. For young pitchers, I think the challenge is to help them understand the role of the hips and to motivate them to work on things that others are not. But I guess that Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemons must know something about pitching?

 

Thanks, again, Strike3 for your response. It was helpful.

Thanks, Strike3. The Scorpions and Russian Twists, I think, could really help the strength and flexibility of the hips. I have not known about the Bucket Drill Variation and the Hip Explosion off the Wall for pitchers. They seem l like 2 drills that could really help. When I watch videos of Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemons, for instance, it’s amazing now how I realize and can see how pitchers like this really use their hips.

 

Interestingly, Coach Cohen at the U of K hitting camp talked about how his players “struggle” with trying to do hip exercises. He said it can be challenging. He talked about how at U of K, I believe, a calendar was put out for a fundraiser by the athletic department. The calendar had the athletes’ shirts off, but their legs were covered with long shorts on. He said it seems that a lot of athletes want to build their chest, but few want to do drills like you describe. The benefit, though, can be tremendous.

 

I guess I feel very lucky to have learned about the importance of the hips in pitching, but it does seem true that very few pitching coaches or high school coaches know much about it or work with hip involvement much. For young pitchers, I think the challenge is to help them understand the role of the hips and to motivate them to work on things that others are not. But I guess that Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemons must know something about pitching?

 

Thanks, again, Strike3 for your response. It was helpful.

You're very welcome and Coach Cohen is great to talk with. He really enjoys, discussing helping better student-athletes physically and preparing them, not just for baseball but life itself. His recruiting seminar, covers a lot of qualities of the players.

 

Hips are critical, to explosiveness and load/coil, during the windup. From the set, maintaining a good knee flex, in the drive leg is key and keeping the hip in line with the knee, will allow the coil.

 

Another good exercise, for legs and hips, is Plyometric Squat Jumps. Have a player squat, in catchers position and jump up, high as he can but make sure, toes are pointing away from the body and not straight ahead, as this will work the hip flexor, even more. 3 sets of 10, will be enough.