Even today, throwing a baseball 95mph or above is impressive and relatively rare. This is not a level everyone can reach since “innate talent” or genetics play a role in athletes’ performance ceiling. However, there are technique pillars, or similar movement benchmarks/qualities, that many high velocity throwers have in common that everyone can pattern to reach their highest possible level. Not all throwers create velocity the exact same way, but most of them execute some of the same things repeatedly and very well.
The first of these technique pillars is the way that the back leg moves.
If you’ve been around baseball for any amount of time you’ve inevitably heard someone say, “I would throw so much harder if I used my lower body.” But what does that even mean? Let’s examine.
Ideal Back Leg Mechanics
The back leg gets the whole throwing motion started and can get pitchers moving powerfully and efficiently, or it can get them moving inefficiently and lead to “energy leaks” in other parts of the pattern. The lower body is responsible for creating energy and transferring that energy through the trunk, to the upper body, and ultimately through the baseball. In order to transfer as much energy as possible into the baseball, movements must be sequenced properly to avoid issues later in the throwing pattern.
Not everyone will move exactly same way, but there are some basic checkpoints that should look similar. When the back leg is moving well:
- The whole back foot maintains contact with the ground
- The athlete sits into a partial squat with the butt behind the heel
- The center of mass is allowed to drift or project toward the catcher
- Hip extension and internal rotation happen almost simultaneously, and as that happens the back foot begins to rotate from the big toe to the pinky toe as the front foot lands.
If all of this occurs, the pitcher is set up for success throughout his delivery. This doesn’t mean other things can’t go wrong, it just means that we’re off to a good start.
Movement Faults
While the above pattern I described is ideal, there are plenty of possible movement faults pitchers can fall into.
First, athletes who are missing ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) will tend to get their weight to the ball of their foot or their toes prior to hip extension and internal rotation. This is a problem because it makes the athlete quad dominant and reduces the ability of the back leg’s glute and hamstrings to extend the hip and move the athlete toward the plate. This makes the back leg much less powerful and leads to issues later in the motion (which we’ll discuss in later installments).
Additionally, some athletes may apply force more vertically than horizontally. This causes a deeper squat position during the back leg drive, reducing the amount of force the back leg can produce. To illustrate, think about a vertical jump. If you want to jump as high as possible you’re going to counter move to a quarter or half depth squat, not a full parallel squat. It is more difficult to produce force out of the deep squat position because of the reduced mechanical advantage.
Finally, not squatting deep enough during back leg drive is another fault. While I just told you not to squat too deep, there is a happy medium to be found. If you remain too upright, you don’t get any significant engagement from the glute or hamstrings, and you can’t produce enough force to throw gaaaasssssss. This would be the equivalent of doing an ankle jump instead of a counter movement jump; it’s much less powerful.
What Are the Prerequisites for a Good Back Leg Pattern?
Mobility restrictions should be checked first, as patterning can’t be corrected without the necessary range of motion (ROM).
- Passive hip extension ROM should be between 20 and 30 degrees
- Passive hip internal rotation ROM should be at least 45 degrees
- Ankle dorsiflexion should be greater than 20 degrees or you should be able to push your knee 4-5 inches past your toes
If ROM does not reach these minimums a mobility and soft tissue intervention should take place prior to or simultaneously with the throwing pattern changes. Below is how I test for ankle dorsiflexion and hip internal rotation.
Strength can also be a limitation. If the athlete is unable to execute a half-depth, single leg squat in the weight room, it’s unrealistic to expect he’ll be able to execute that on the mound, while trying to move his body down the mound and sequence the rest of the throwing pattern.
Unilateral strength is something that can be improved with single leg movement variations in the gym such as reverse lunges, lateral lunges, split squats, or other variations.
Using throwing drills that force athletes into this pattern can help as well. For example, using a reverse lunge, while making sure the foot is fully in contact with the ground, then coming set and throwing, can allow the athlete to “feel” the correct position. There are plenty of other drills that can help make this happen, and differential training can help in allowing the body to efficiently organize itself, but this is a variation I like.
Cuing This Pattern
Movement cues are not very useful when throwing at high effort, because the movement pattern is very complex and happens so fast that you can’t consciously adjust while throwing. However, I do think it’s valuable to understand the goal of the movement through the use of some simple cues to assist visualization.
I like to visualize firm contact with the ground through the entire foot, sitting into a partial squat, and pushing the rubber away from myself through second base. Again, this shouldn’t be going through your mind while throwing, but prior to each throw, this visualization can be valuable.
Check out the back leg first when looking for inefficiencies and stay tuned for Part II of this series!