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 How do you create the next Nolan Ryan,
Tom Seaver, Mariano Rivera, Justin Verlander, or Aroldis Chapman and
not the next Mark Prior, Matt Harvey, Alex Reyes, or Riley Pint?
That question is at the basis of my research into Pitching and
Pitching Mechanics
and, since 2005, I've been working to answer that question.
Mariano Rivera
Along the way, I identified the cause of, and a solution for, the
epidemic of
injuries in baseball pitchers; a solution that starts by focusing on the differences
in how velocity is created.
Chris O'Leary on Pitching
When it comes to pitching in general, and
Pitching Mechanics
in particular, I've been thinking and writing about
a number of topics...
My approach involves studying the pitching mechanics of dominant and
durable pitchers, starting with hall of famers like...
- Nolan Ryan
- Tom Seaver
- Mariano Rivera
- Greg Maddux
...and modern greats like...
- Justin Verlander
- Aroldis Chapman
...and the pitching mechanics of
frequently-injured pitchers like...
- Hunter Greene
- Matt Harvey
- Alex Reyes
- Mark Prior
- Stephen Strasburg
- Kerry Wood
...and comparing and contrasting how they move and how they create velocity. Combine that with
meticulously
combing the scientific literature, and the answer to the
epidemic isn't complicated.
Justin Verlander
I'm probably best known for my research into the
Inverted W — the
problematic arm action with
the pretentious name — and the bogus and libelous attacks on my
work, my reputation, and me in
Jeff Passan's The Arm, but that's only a tiny fraction of my
work, the latest of which includes...
 While
criticized by my competitors, my approach to studying and developing pitchers is
time-tested.
As my ability to predict injuries makes clear.
First, question everything the pitching mechanics industry says.
Don't take anything for granted. Go back to the original
sources. Read everything you can on biomechanics, kinesiology,
and related fields. Keep up on the journal articles. Buy a high
speed camera. Hell, buy four.
Second, study great pitchers who had long careers.
Pitchers like Nolan Ryan,
Tom Seaver, Mariano Rivera, Greg Maddux, and David Price. Look
for commonalities. How do they move? Is it similar?
Third, study pitchers who have had injury problems.
Pitchers like Mark Prior,
Jaime Garcia,
Stephen Strasburg,
Matt Harvey, and
Jose Fernandez. Look for similarities. Do they tend to move
similarly. Do they have similar flaws? Look for differences
between the two groups.
After 10 years of studying the similarities and differences between the Nolan
Ryan's and the Mark Prior's, I have detected a number of
patterns, patterns that I'm working on summing up in a new series of
eBooks
called Dominant
& Durable.
Most Recently
Most recently, I participated in the...
...discussing a number of topics...
- Hooking the Rubber
- Lead Leg Stability
- Stride Length
I also put together a short slide deck to adress one important topic
that came up...
Jeff Passan's The Arm
 With
the release of the hatchet job that is Jeff Passan's
The Arm, and as I put together
my thoughts about being part of The Arm, I want to
be completely clear about my current position on the key topics related to the
pitcher injury and Tommy John surgery epidemic, starting
with the root cause of most problems...
...and continuing on to the movement patterns that generally
work by compromising pitchers' Timing...
Jeff Passan would have you believe my work has no basis in
science, so you might want to read...
For a guy who's work has no basis in science, my predictions
are pretty accurate...
Finally, in terms of the solution to the problem, I call it...
TIMING, INVERTED W,
& STRASBURG
 The
Inverted W is one of the chief culprits behind the epidemic because it tends to create a
Timing problem, and Timing problems — not arm
actions or positions — are one of the main reasons why pitchers get
hurt. For example,
Stephen Strasburg's pitching mechanics
are problematic not (just) because of his Inverted W, but
because his Inverted W predisposes him to something I call
Flat Arm Syndrome. I discuss this topic at length in my
Inverted W and Stephen Strasburg podcast.
DOMINANT & DURABLE
The best way to sum up
my philosophy and my approach to studying
and developing pitchers is with two words.
Dominant and Durable.
While most of the industry — knowingly or now — is focusing
on developing relievers, my focus is on creating great major league starting pitchers;
pitchers who throw hard with nasty stuff while also staying
healthy. While some would say that's impossible, I am driven by
the success of pitchers like...
- Mariano Rivera
- Nolan Ryan
- Tom Seaver
- David Price
...and my focus is on discovering and explaining how they
became as good as they were and are, while still staying
healthy.
Along the way, I have come to
understand the main causes of the pitcher injury and Tommy John
surgery epidemic and why pitchers like
Jose Fernandez,
Matt Harvey, and
Stephen Strasburg and
others can't stay healthy.
THE EPIDEMIC
 The Epidemic is my
ongoing investigation into the root causes of the
pitcher injury and tommy john surgery epidemic.
It grew out of my efforts to keep my sons and their friends
healthy — to keep what happened to me from happening to them —
by applying my experience troubleshooting large computer systems
to the problem of pitching injuries. Along the way, I also
happened to learn a lot about
troubleshooting hitters.
PREDICTIONS
I made a number of
pitcher injury predictions during 2015.
SOLUTION
I
understand the current emphasis on velocity. It makes everything easier. The problem is,
there is a difference between how modern pitchers are being
taught to create velocity and how great, durable pitchers like Tom Seaver
and Nolan Ryan created
velocity. That difference explains the injury problems of
Mark Prior,
Matt Harvey,
Stephen Strasburg,
Jose Fernandez,
and
many others.
I have spent the past 10 years studying the pitching
mechanics of Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, David Price pitchers who were both
Dominant and Durable
and incorporating those lessons into my
DVDs and eBooks.
Proper THROWING MECHANICS
As I explain in
The Epidemic, one reason why pitchers are increasingly getting
injured, and needing Tommy John Surgery, at increasing rates is
due to how they were taught to throw. Throwing Mechanics 101
discusses
proper throwing mechanics and how to develop them.
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