There’s a lot that goes into getting the most of out of a high school pitcher. I would know – it wasn’t too long ago that I was one. My coaches knew how to make sure I was maximizing my own potential on the mound, and, spoiler alert: it had nothing to do with how fast I was throwing the baseball. Because they worked on coaching high school pitchers in the right areas, I was able to succeed.
We hear it all the time: “That guy has great mechanics.” We can probably even name two full hands worth of guys to whom this applies. But what specifically does it mean? Not every pitcher has the same windup, or even similar form, as every other pitcher that shares the quality of solid mechanics.
There’s a common misconception that exists among today’s generation of baseball players that faster is better, and slower is worse - that if I can throw 100 mph, but you can only catch up to 95 mph, then I’m going to win every time. We see this notion manifest itself each and every year in the majors.