Pitching Mechanics Analysis
Marshall Pitching Motion
8/28/2008
Few baseball pitching gurus are the subject of more interest, and more
controversy, than Dr. Mike Marshall. Dr. Marshall has to be one
of the most polarizing people in the world.
You either love him or you hate him.
Since there is significant confusion about exactly what
Dr. Mike Marshall advocates, I thought it would be interesting
if I analyzed a couple of video clips that demonstrate the
pitching mechanics that Dr. Mike Marshall advocates.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - 3B View
The first clip is a Third Base view. There are a number of
things to notice in this clip.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 001
In Frame 001, you can see how Dr. Mike Marshall has his
pitchers start out facing the target. This is done so as to
reduce the likelihood that they will take the ball behind their
backs. They also start with their Glove Side (GS) foot behind
the pitching rubber and take a walking-length step forward
toward the target.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 170
Dr. Mike Marshall then wants his pitchers to pendulum swing
their arms directly back toward Second Base. The pitcher in the
clip above, which is a convert from the Traditional Pitching
Motion, isn't doing this quite right. He has his fingers on top
of the ball (e.g. palm down) at this moment when his fingers
should be either at the side of the ball (e.g. showing the ball
to Third Base at this moment) or even under the ball (e.g. palm
facing up).
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 202
Dr. Mike Marshall wants his pitchers to break their hands
very early on so that their Pitching Arm Side (PAS) forearm is
in the proper, vertical position at the moment their GS foot
plants. As you can see, the pitcher in this clip does this and
his timing is very good as a result.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 232
One thing that Dr. Mike Marshall's pitchers do, that I'm a
bit concerned about, is that at the release point they are
extending their GS knees. My concern is that this can lead to
hip and knee problems.
However, since Dr. Mike Marshall's pitchers do not take
powerful strides toward the target, the strain on their hips and
knees is probably less than it would be if they were to take a
full leg lift and a more powerful stride.
One thing that I do like in this frame is the height at
which this pitcher is releasing the ball. This will maximize the
vertical movement of the pitch and will naturally make it harder
to read.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 239
Dr. Mike Marshall wants his pitchers to pronate all of their
pitches, including their curveballs, sliders, and cutters. You
can see, by this pitchers thumb-down orientation at this moment,
that he powerfully pronated the release of this pitch.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 311
After releasing the ball, Dr. Mike Marshall wants his
pitchers to finish sideways to the target. This reduces the area
that is exposed to the batter. It also ensures that the pitcher
keeps his hips rotating through the release point.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - CF View
The video clip above shows the same basic thing as the first
clip, but with a few significant differences.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 20
First, notice how, rather than keeping his fingers on top of
the ball, this pitchers rotates his palm upwards fairly early on
on his motion.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - Frame 25
Second, notice this pitcher's good timing. Because he breaks
his hands quite early, his PAS forearm has the time it needs to
get up into the high-cocked position by the time his GS foot
plants.
Marshall Pitching Mechanics - C View
Finally, the video clip above is a Catcher's eye view a one
of Dr. Mike Marshall's pitchers throwing a pronation curve. In
my opinion, Dr. Mike Marshall's pronation curve is one of the
best pitches out there.
The problem is that the fastballs that Dr. Mike
Marshall's pitchers throw are not nearly as good in terms of
both movement and velocity.
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