hey softball players Dan Blewett here and I want to go over why you should not
point the ball to second base when you're throwing so I was taught this is
young baseball player years and years ago it's still being taught in youth
baseball it's still being taught in youth softball I correct it on a monthly
basis and here's why this doesn't make sense so number one I cannot say why we
started this I think maybe because this feels like you're behind the ball and
then when we go forward you'll be behind the ball again I don't really know
biomechanically here's what happens so our forearms cross over two joints
they do are a cross over our wrists and help us flex our forms also cross over
our bicep our forearms also turn our hand right they control pretty much
everything in this lower arm when we turn when we are here our forms are
slightly flexed to keep our forearms straight and to bend our elbow if we
turn arm this way we're now both activating our forms here and we're
activating all this joint here by turning and pronating away so now our
forearms are doing more work than they need to and so anytime muscle is like
overly active it tends to fatigue earlier and when it fatigues earlier it
can't protect the joint as well so I don't have research behind this but a
lot of higher Minds say the same kind of thing where if we're unnecessarily
activating our forearms here we're gonna prevent our forearm muscles from doing
their job in protecting the elbows so you might get more elbow pain doing it
this way all right so that's one reason we don't want to do that because we get
two joint action from our forearms pointing the ball to center field the
next thing and this is the more important thing to be honest that I
think I think this matters a lot because when you think about the throwing motion
our arm when it goes back so we land here and now our hips start to rotate
right our arm lays back and then our arm goes forward so what did you notice
about me right then when I did this if I land here and we should land right about
this point here not quite up in an L but no matter how we land whether it's here
here we wanted the ball facing towards third-base
if I was a files on the pitching mound we want the ball facing here not toward
centerfield it's a third base not toward centerfield because is if I'm facing
third base as I started to go through my throwing motion as my hips rotate my arm
goes directly behind and look where my hand is it's right behind the ball and
now it goes forward and I'm behind the ball I haven't had to do anything else
with my wrist if I'm pointing the ball to center field watch how my arm is this
doesn't make any sense why would my hand be facing this way is I'm accelerating
my arm it'd be like that so if I point to center field it has to turn back as I
rotate anyway this is two steps it's here step one step two and I'm behind
the softball which is what we want that's how we're gonna get the most
carry from this way it has to go and turn back to the spot to go back to
front so it's just kind of a common-sense thing that this doesn't
make a lot of sense right there could be some some forearm issues some elbow
issues turn the ball away over activating our forearms but also this is
just the simplest point from here to there to there we're behind the ball
will get better spin will get better carry so I highly encourage you if
you're teaching this as a coach or as a parent to stop you don't see major
league baseball pitchers throw this way all the pitching research all the
research on throwing is done on baseball pitchers pretty much and if you watch a
major league game jump on YouTube watch slow motion of pitchers ninety-eight
percent of them when they're landing and going through the throwing motion you'll
see the ball facing third base if they're righty you won't see almost any
there's a couple but almost none that face it center field so if the hardest
throwers in the world are doing it this way good reason good cause for not only
young baseball players do it but young softball players to do it that well or
that way just as well