Alright lets talk a little bit about arm angles.
I get asked a lot about what is the best arm slot for pitching or what is the best arm
angle for pitching and is sidearm pitching bad for you or should I drop down, should
I be a submarine pitcher.
Ok?
So we're going to talk a little bit about that today but first let me tell you my story
from an arm angle or arm slot perspective.
In high school I was a high 3/4 guy and I felt good there but I had some, I would get
sore a lot, I would get very sore and I was a max effort guy and what happened as the
further I went along in high school, the lower I got.
I ended up being at the end of my high school career a low 3/4 guy and that worked out better
for me.
I felt better, I wasn't as sore, I had more movement on my pitches, and I really liked
that.
When I went to Junior College however I dropped down even more and came to the almost the
straight sidearm arm angle where I was straight out here and I had a really great year those
two years and that got me into Auburn University.
At that time, in high school I was probably topping out at, topping out at 90, Juco 91,
92, and then I went to Auburn.
My Junior year at Auburn I didn't have a great fall so the coach of course dropped me down
to a submarine guy.
So I pitched that spring, that whole spring, as a submarine guy and I was still able to
get it up.
I was topping out at like 93 which is not bad for a submarine guy, but I walked the
house, I walked a lot of guys, but I really liked it and I learned a lot from dropping
down to that submarine arm angle and then my senior year I came back up to the sidearm
spot, straight sidearm, where I was before and then I stayed there for the rest of my
career through all my years in pro baseball and was even able to top out at 96 mph from
a straight sidearm slot.
So, that's one misconception that I want to clear up first of all is that yes the lower
you go, you're usually dropping for more movement and more deception, but I think there is a
misconception that you lose mph or you throw slower.
I think you're still able to throw fast from that arm angle.
I mean you might not be a 100 mph pitcher there but I was able to throw 96 from this
arm slot so it's possible and there is a lot of guys out there, I think even Darren O'day
is a submarine guy, in the minor leagues I know he was popping some 90's in there at
least, I don't know what he sits at now but, you know, it can be done.
You can be a higher velocity pitcher with a lower arm angle.
So that's one misconception.
The other thing is every arm angle or every arm slot has been successful at the highest
levels of baseball.
So I think it's got to be more of a natural thing for the pitcher.
You've got to find your natural arm slot and what feels the best to you and go for that.
With that being said, the only difference in arm angle is going to be the body angle.
Your body angle is going to determine your shoulder angle, which is going to determine
your arm angle.
So the more body tilt you have in your mechanics, the more your shoulders are going to be tilted,
and the more your arm is going to be angled.
So just take that into consideration when you're pitching.
So to answer the question what is the best arm angle or arm slot for pitching, there
is no best one.
I think it's whatever is best for you, whatever fells best for you, and whatever you can get
the most success out of, keeping yourself free from injury, and is it a bad idea to
drop down, no I don't think it's a bad idea to drop down but again it's got to feel right
and you've got to be working on your mechanics and remember it's not just your arm angle
it's your body angle, your shoulder angle, and your arm follows.
Ok?
I hope this helps guys.
Leave a comment below and I'll talk to you soon!
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