Late Arm refers to the position of the pitching arm when the shoulders start to turn and the pitching arm starts to come under load. It is another way of referring to and describing a Timing problem.

Most injuries in baseball pitchers are related to the pitcher having a Late Arm.

Flaws like the Inverted W are problematic because they tend to create a Late Arm.

• Definition
• Determination 

Late Arm

In dominant and durable pitchers like...

• Nolan Ryan
• Tom Seaver
• Mariano Rivera

...and, more recently...

• Justin Verlander
• Aroldis Chapman

...their pitching arm gets up ON TIME.

In the picture above of Nolan Ryan, notice how his pitching arm is almost UP as his front foot is almost DOWN and, more importantly, his shoulders are still closed and in line with the plate.

Definition

I determine Late Arm by looking at the...

• The position of the pitching arm
• WHEN the shoulders start to turn
• AND the pitching arm starts to come under load

I should note, up front, that this is a different definition of Timing than is employed by the Conventional Wisdom.

I don't mention the feet, much less (Stride) Foot Contact, which is why people have so far failed to duplicate my findings.

The picture below, which shows Stephen Strasburg making his MLB debut, is an excellent example of a Late Arm.

Stephen Strasburg

Given that Strasburg's front foot is down, his Glove Side is pulling, and his shoulders are turning, you can say that Strasburg's pitching arm is Late.

Determination

It used to be possible, and not at all difficult, to determine Late Arm by looking at the position of the pitching arm relative to the feet. Which is why I still sometimes use that shortcut when looking at older photos.

However, that rule of thumb no longer holds.

Now, largely because of the impact of Driveline's Positive Disconnection, that connection between the pitching arm and the front foot is too often broken.

As a result, when looking for Late Arm, the ONLY thing I look at is the pitching arm.

That is best done using a Center Field angle.

Stephen Strasburg

In the clip above, notice the position of Stephen Strasburg's pitching arm when it starts to come around towards the plate.

It's FLAT and not UP, a flaw I call Flat Arm Syndrome.

Mark Prior

You can see the same pattern in Mark Prior.