In Search of Velocity

The sheer number of velocity programs being promoted by innumerable “pitching instructors” will make one’s head spin when trying to determine who is real and who is just blowing promotional smoke.

Truth be told;  Most are antiquated, ineffective, and in some instances, harmful.

However; there are several daring individuals that are pioneering innovative and superior training methods and processes that really develop velocity. As with all things, some are better than others.

How do we develop velocity?

If throwing a baseball 90 mph is possible, but you as an individual are throwing at 78 mph, what needs to be done to make the jump?

To rephrase the question:  If you have the capability of throwing a 5 oz. baseball 90 mph but aren’t able to, what do you need to do to change that?

Answer: Remove the barriers…

There are constraints in bodily movement and function that are restricting the body’s ability to generate enough arm speed to throw a 5 oz. baseball 90 mph.

Constraints manifest in multiple ways. We find restrictions, inefficiencies, and dysfunction in…

·         functional strength

·         power generation/speed

·         energy production & transfer

·         mobility/flexibility

·         range of motion

·         balance

·         and the most misunderstood of all…neuromuscular function and performance

The key to identifying constraints in an athlete is a comprehensive function & performance evaluation process.

In evaluation, we test two distinct aspects of an athlete’s function and performance.

They are identified as anatomical and neuromuscular function.

Anatomical function is one’s ability to move and perform through range of motion with strength, speed, balance, and in multiple planes.

The testing of it is fairly straight forward and incorporates both passive and active methods.

The idea of physical constraint is easily comprehended relative to the concept of neuromuscular function and its’ role in performance.

The emphasis in this commentary is on neuromuscular function and performance.

Neuromuscular testing is measuring the body’s response to specific input stimuli.

The response to the stimuli reveals a pattern of performance capability and thus reveals underlying inhibitions to performance potential.

Neuromuscular response patterns are used to design a training protocol that will adjust the body’s auto-regulatory function which is responsible for the adaptation needed to produce the intended result.

i.e. throwing at higher velocities…

Auto-regulatory function occurs at the subconscious/unconscious level.  Therefore, it is critical that the testing method employed elicits the response function required to accurately evaluate both performance ability and inhibition.

There Is a better Way…

Traditional pitching instruction is paralyzed in elementary physical function and refuses to move forward.  With today’s advances in technology, we have relatively better science, information, and therefore insight and understanding into the multi-faceted nature of human performance. CKP is pioneering in the 21^st century to forge superior processes as we avail ourselves of these advancements.

This is the kind of work we are doing at CK Performance. Every day new revelations and better understanding of baseball performance metrics are being used to develop superior training protocols and modalities for the sole purpose of providing our athletes with state of the art, innovative, and results oriented training. We are as passionate and driven in advancing our developmental processes as we expect you to be in advancing you performance.

JD

Everything Matters: Mechanics, Approach, Timing

It's all a part of it.  A line made famous by Jim Leyland.  In the world's of baseball and softball, I tend to see coaches and/or players focus on one area pretty heavily.  You have the coaches or players who think that the answer to pitching or hitting is only approach...or only timing...or only mechanics.  The truth of the matter is that they're all important.  As athletes who aspire to be at the top of their game, you have to do it all.  The key is figuring out where your deficient in each of these categories and then working your tail off to make that deficiency a strength. Let's look at the importance of each...

Mechanics
They matter.  Plain and simple.  If I were to ask you to get under the bar and squat, would it be acceptable if you looked like this every time?

Of course not, that's horrific, in way more ways than one!  To take the point even further, if I allowed you to continue to squat like that I would be failing miserably at my job as a strength and conditioning coach.  The same idea applies to your mechanics in the box or on the bump.  If you have horrific movement patterns like our boy up above (see picture and laugh again), you need to improve them!  The better you can move in the box or on the mound, the higher a chance you have of
1)  Throwing/hitting balls harder. 
2)  Giving yourself a repeatable motion that allows you to throw more strikes or a swing that allows you to keep your barrel in the zone longer which gives you a greater chance at making solid contact.  3)  Reducing injury. 
If you don't know how you're supposed to move, you need to educate yourself on what that's supposed to look, but more importantly, FEEL like.  If you move like crap, you're going to have to work that much harder and be that much more athletic to make up for your inefficiencies.  Once you figure that out you can start making yourself the most efficient version of you possible.

Approach
Just as important.  If you don't have an approach when you step in the box or on the mound, then you're relying on being lucky.  At the youth levels, you may be able to get away with this "approach" due to the fact that more pitchers lack command and more hitters don't pay attention to what a pitcher is trying to do to each hitter.  As a pitcher, if you have a good fastball, I would encourage you to throw that fastball until hitters prove they can hit it (Disclaimer:  As you go up levels, you can't just throw fastballs, unless you make them move or throw 102!). 

If your best pitch is an off speed pitch, you might be a guy who pitches "backwards" in order to keep hitters guessing.  For those who don't know, pitching backwards means hard stuff in soft counts (1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1) and soft stuff in hard counts (0-0, 0-1, 0-2, 1-2).  As a hitter, you have to assess what the pitcher is trying to do.  At the younger levels, the above mentioned approaches are what most pitchers will try to do.  You need to recognize this as a hitter and try to work yourself into counts where you can get a pitch you like.  As you go up levels, the cat and mouse game between pitcher and hitter gets more intricate because pitchers can throw more pitches for strikes and those pitches have much more late movement.  At the upper levels as a pitcher, hitters get smarter with their zones and will hit "good pitches" while making you work harder.  These are just a few examples of what you can do with your approach as a pitcher and hitter.  I would encourage you to take a look at professional games to see what the best do.  Every pitch has a purpose.  Every swing has a purpose.  That's large part of the reason why those players are in the professional ranks.


Timing
The two points mentioned above will play into how this third point plays out.  Let's look at it from a pitching perspective first.  As a pitcher, timing is important for 3 reasons:  Injury Reduction, Command, and Velocity.  Pretty important, right?  Let's look at how timing plays into a pitchers movements.  If we look at the study titled Biomechanics of Baseball Pitching Implications for Injury and Performance (Fleisig et al, ASMI 2010) what you will find is exactly where each joint angle should be at specific times in the motion.  These are critical to a player being as efficient as possible in order to get the most out of their body.  In another study, Kinematic Comparisons in Different Pitch Velocity Groups in Baseball Using Motion Model Method (Takahashi, Fujii, Ae, et al ISBS 2002) you can actually see exactly why high velocity throwers throw harder than low velocity throwers.  If you can get to these points in the motion as a pitcher, you can improve your command and velocity while reducing your rate of injury. 

As a hitter, the same applies.  Beyond abstracts, we don't have much to lean on in the science world  yet.  That being said, there are things that need to happen within a swing in order to move most efficient.  Once you have those things (front leg extension, hip/shoulder separation, proper contact points, etc) in line, you can start timing up a pitcher.  Hitters use different methods of timing.  Miguel Cabrera has used a leg kick, heel lift, and short stride.

David Wright gets wide and does a heel lift.

 Barry Bonds was a short stride and toe tap guy.  (Pre Juice - short stride)

(Post Juice - toe tap)

You need to find what works for you and your timing.  WHAT WORKS FOR ONE PLAYER MAY NOT WORK FOR ANOTHER!  You also have to take into account what the pitcher is doing.  Is he a high leg kick or a slide step guy?  Does he throw cheese or is he slinging soft stuff up there?  As a player, you need to determine where you need to spend more time working.  In the end, it's all a part of it.

Why so much Pain in the Elbow???

Today's post isn't a post, but one of our google hangouts that takes place live every Wednesday at 11 am.  Last Wednesday, we dove into a hot topic in baseball...The rising trend of Tommy John injuries.  Dr. McKenzie took the lead on the topic with what he thinks is causing the injuries and why it's a multi faceted answer. 


If you're a baseball player who hasn't had an evaluation, then you're training and playing blind.  Until the end of May, Dr. McKenzie is running a special discounted rate of only $100 on full body evaluations.  To book your evaluation, you can call us at 215.604.0111 or email Debbie at ckpscheduling@gmail.com.

Fielding 101 with Kris Dufner and Dan Hennigan

Last week, I left on Thursday night for a conference in Louisville and had the opportunity to catch up with Kris and Dan during our lunch break.  Click the video below to hear about how to set up your footwork, how to read pitchers in order to position yourself properly, and what players are doing at the upper levels in order to be successful picking balls up off the carpet!  If you're an infielder or a coach, this is for YOU!

Numbers Don't Lie

Today's post comes from Dan Hennigan.  There is a lot of misinformation out there on how to swing the baseball bat efficiently and today Dan will debunk some of the poor cues that remain out there.

“Always approach the inside & top part of the baseball.  This will keep your bat on the correct swing plane and help you hit the baseball where it is supposed to be hit… With this approach, you’ll hit a lot more line drives and ground balls.” (BaseballCamps.com)

I took the above quote from an organization that runs camps for kids that run anywhere from $79 to $615.  The main hitting concept preached is to hit the top of the ball and make sure the defense has to make a play.  If you think about it, a ground ball requires a fielder to not only get to the ball, field it cleanly, and make an accurate throw in order to retire the batter, but it also shows that the batter can hit the top-inner part of the ball.  Hard ground balls are what boost your average, right?  In order for this ideal swing to come to fruition the hitter must have a nice downward path to the ball.  This will result in a more successful hitter.

“My son’s (high school) coach wants everyone to hit down on the ball.  He explains that this is to cause backspin to get the ball to travel further.” (community.hsbaseballweb.com)

So, in order to drive the ball with power you must have backspin on the ball.  What is the definition of power in the baseball world?  Hitting the ball far, right?  So, this would mean that good contact with backspin naturally creates more power for a hitter.  According to this theory, the best way to get backspin on a baseball is to have a nice downward path to the ball.  This will result in a more successful hitter.

Wait… how could the same swing path be the key to two completely different schools of thought on what makes a successful hitter?  Doesn’t it seem strange that two different hitting coaches can try to teach the same swing and expect two totally opposite results?  Don't you begin to question if they know what that swing is even supposed to do?  If you brought your son to each of these instructors, he’d be taught the same swing, yet his result could garner contrary responses from each coach depending on who he was working with that specific day.  The kid would be doing the exact same thing and have no idea what is supposed to result from it!  His head would explode! (I’m not sure how accurate that last part is).  So which of the two is preaching the correct swing?

Trick question.  Answer is neither.

Not only does this swing pattern stir up vastly different expected results, but it’s also the wrong bat path.  Succeeding as a hitter is a rarity.  Just by taking a quick look at the past century of baseball, it’ll show that the best hitters EVER failed right around 68% of the time… best EVER!  The task of getting a hit with nine guys trying to stop you is ridiculously hard.  Now imagine the likelihood of trying to beat those same nine guys while putting the barrel of a round bat on a, high velocity, round ball, whilst both travel at varying degrees of DOWNWARD motion.  Why would a coach ever put that burden upon a player!?

Taking the time to simply type in “slowmo swings” on Youtube will result in the best professional hitters taking swings that all have varying degrees of upward motion.  Why?  This is to combat the downward angle the pitcher is creating and to keep their barrel on plane with the trajectory of the pitched ball for as long as possible. Even those who have never stepped in the box can understand this simply by taking a look at that small hill in the middle of the infield that the pitcher throws DOWN FROM.  This slightly upward angle the hitter sets while swinging provides them the greatest chance of not only squaring up the pitch, but getting the ball in the air.  I know, I know, low line drives and ground balls are the best right?  Not according to the numbers. 

When considering slugging percentage (SLG) during the 2013 MLB season, line drives resulted in an .883 percentage, fly balls were .621 SLG and ground balls were .250 SLG.  This indicates the obvious, those hitting line drives are consistently and vastly more effective than those who don’t, but if you are hoping for extra base hits on a consistent basis it becomes apparent that you should error on the side of getting more lift on the ball as opposed to on the ground.  On-base Plus Slugging (OPS), which is the sum of On-Base Percentage (OBP) and Slugging Percentage (SLG) shows that line drives during the 2013 season, resulted in a ridiculous 1.568 OPS.  Fly ball OPS was .834 and ground balls were a just a little over half that of a fly ball at .483.  Those looking to disprove the fact that putting the ball in the air results in better numbers will argue that modern Sabermetrics have verified that slugging percentage, as well as batting average and on base percentage are dated stats that don’t accurately show just how effective a player can truly be.  This is absolutely true; so let’s take a look at more telling stats. 

Isolated Power (ISO) is a measure of a hitter’s raw power.  Basically, it measures how good a player is at hitting extra base hits.  According to fangraphs, the average ISO for a big league hitter is right around .145.  With this in mind, let’s take a look at how the three varying results of a batted ball measure up.  Liners were above the average at .193, grounders were an expected lowly .018 and fly balls were a whopping .403.  ISO seems too obviously geared towards my ultimate point, so the last data I'll show focuses solely on how effective a batter truly is as an all-around hitter.  

Arguably the most telling of hitting stats is weighted on-base average (wOBA).  As explained on fangraphs.com, “wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their ACTUAL run value.  While batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage fall short in accuracy and scope, wOBA measures and captures offensive value more accurately and comprehensively” (fangraphs.com).  wOBA has quickly become one of the most important numbers that front offices look at when judging the success of a hitter.  The estimated average wOBA for a big league hitter is .320.  Line drives in 2013, naturally, scored incredibly high, more than doubling the league average, at .681.  Fly balls ranked at .346, still above the average hitter, and grounders sat at .213, more than 100 points lower than the average Major League hitter.

By taking a look at the numbers it becomes apparent that creating a bat angle that puts the hitter in the best position to hit a line drive is obviously the ideal swing.  However, if you are going to miss your pitch by a fraction of an inch, it’s far more productive to get just under the ball and put the ball in the air.  Setting a slight upward swing angle can ensure that a hitter will be on plane with the pitch and can create natural lift.  If a coach still cannot come to grips with reality and the cut and dry numbers of baseball productivity, let’s have him take a step out the box and onto the mound. 

The Oakland A’s have been masters of efficiency and making the most of their farm system.  How do they consistently groom successful young pitchers year after year?  According to multiple former A’s pitchers that I have been fortunate enough to call teammates, they turn the plate.  No, they don’t physically dig home plates up and angle them to different degrees, but that’s how they picture it.  Envision the tip of the plate being turned towards the left or right batter’s box 45 degrees.  Then imagine trying to throw a pitch that crosses either of those plates instead of the one right down the middle.  The best way to make this happen is by creating ball movement and depth.  Instead of a straight four-seam fastball, sinkers and cutters are the name of the game.  Pronating change-ups, sliders, etc. all drop low and in or low and away from each hitter, effectively crossing these angled plates.  Why are such successful pitching coaches teaching this philosophy?  Because the downward depth of the pitch forces the batter to miss off the barrel by a hair and induces far more ground balls.  These successful pitchers are begging for you to ground out!  Don't you see!?  They WANT that result!  Why do they want that result!? Because, more often than not, YOU’RE OUT!  The numbers showed us this! Why am I still yelling!?

Any player that shows these numbers to their coach and the coach still demands to come down on the ball with the chop swing; you let me know and I’ll officially hire Rasheed Wallace to tell said coach that “NUMBERS don’t lie!!”.

I could go on about why setting proper hitting angles is essential to being successful but Rasheed and I have said enough.  Instead, I'll leave you with this text I received from former Atlanta Brave Cory Aldridge who, just this past winter, scorched the Caribbean Classic with ridiculous numbers across the board and, after a mere twelve games in the Mexican League, sent me this text showing his current, absurd, stats (1st is his AVG, 2nd is his HR's, 3rd is RBI's).  He meant to say, "hitting well".  He then follows up my bad joke with his game plan at the plate...

 

This can also be found at angledperformance.blogspot.com

 

Dan Hennigan

Interview with Cory Aldridge, OF with the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Triple-A Mexican League

 

We were fortunate enough to speak with Cory Aldridge from the Triple-A Mexican League on Wednesday during our Google Hangout (which we hold every Wednesday at 11 AM, so tune in!).  We was gracious enough to tell us how swings work from a mechanical stand point at the higher levels, great stories about he played with (Chipper Jones, Mark Trumbo, Hank Conger), and how to approach pitchers.  It was a great experience and hopefully we will get to talk to him again!  Until then, take a look and listen to what we were able to cover.  It's two parts, so get comfortable!

Part 1:


Part 2:



Keep up with Cory on twitter @aldridge32.  Fire questions and comments our way!  Thanks for stopping by! 

Welcome, Year Round Baseball, and a Quick CKP Baseball Update

Welcome to our blog at CK Performance!  Thank you for stopping by!  Our goal with our blog is to share as much quality information with you as we can.  We will cover everything from the ever changing worlds of strength and conditioning, baseball performance, hitting, pitching, fielding, nutrition, and fat loss to name a few topics!  As our readers, we would love to hear your comments, so please feel free to interact with us through the comment section and email.  Without further ado, here are today's topics...

Year Round Baseball and Early Specialization:  STOP DOING IT!
If you're a baseball fan, you've certainly noticed the number of Major League Pitchers going down with Tommy John Surgery.  On Monday, Jonah Keri of Grantland.com wrote this article on the rise of TJ over the past few years and the reasons behind it, the biggest culprits being year round baseball and specializing in a sport too early.  First, let's start with year round baseball, which is very popular right now.  Growing up, my friends and I played baseball from the time we were able.  From the ages of 6-12, we played baseball in the summer time ONLY.  If you were a good enough player, you played all-stars which usually ran an additional 3 weeks of summer and that was it.  Done.  No more baseball until next season.  After that, it was on to football, soccer, basketball, track, whatever sport we were drawn to or our parents made us play.  If you look at the current model, it has our youth competing in the spring, summer, fall, and even winter at "showcases" if you so desire.  Now, going back to the age of these players and their bodies, they are completely underdeveloped and unable to withstand the rigors of that long a season.  Take into account that pitching is the most violent motion in all of sports, we are staring at a recipe for disaster.  It's not hard to figure out that if big league players (see: Grown Men) are playing 162 games a year, while still getting time off, and can barely keep themselves healthy, then what will that type of schedule over a full year with no time off do to an adolescent body that is woefully unprepared and flat out unable to manage that kind of stress effectively?  The solution will be up to the adults.  With the rise in dollars made off youth baseball, many facilities have created spring, fall, and winter leagues with showcases mixed in at all times of year.  Quite frankly, most of those are money grabs and not in the best interest of the players. What's important more than ever is that we, as the adults in a position to lead, to do what's right for the players and start to fix the time frame that players are allowed to play competitively.  I think we can get off to a good start with these few changes:

      - Ages 6-12:  Play summer leagues only.  Don't be afraid to play local.  You're not getting drafted or signing a college deal during those years.  Sorry :/  No strength and conditioning.  Play 2-3 other sports, it will give you a much greater training effect.  Oh, and throw your XBox1080/PlayStation Mars in the trash.  It's not making you better in any way.

      - Ages 13-14:  You're on the big field now!  Spend your spring with school (middle school schedule is usually light especially here in the Northeast with our tropical climate...) and summer playing baseball.  Don't be afraid to play another sport.  Start a well rounded strength and conditioning program that makes you a better athlete and handles needs specific to your body.  If you don't know what those are, find out by getting an evaluation!

     - Ages 15-18:  School ball and summer ball should be your main priority if baseball is what you want to do.  Avoid fall and winter ball at all costs (including showcases). 

Take a minute to think about this...When does a college coach have most of his free time?  If you said summer, you're right!!  No offense, unless you're a guy that's hitting 15-20 jacks in his high school season or blowing 90+, most coaches will do a majority of their recruiting in the summer time.  During the spring, they're coaching their team.  Same goes for the fall.  Again, continue to train in a program that's getting at your problem areas while making you a better, healthier athlete. 

     *Side note:  The only time we will recommend a player hop on a fall team is if he's a senior with no college interest yet.  If that's the case, the risk then matches the reward.  Otherwise, there's no need to make poor risk/reward choices.

Moving onto specialization.  This is something we run across a lot.  Parents want to get their kids started early with "baseball specific training."  I can't tell you how many times we've turned people away because their kids weren't old enough to start training.  And I don't say that in a negative way.  I applaud parents for wanting to give their sons as much opportunity as possible, it's wonderful.  Unfortunately, when kids specialize in one sport at too early of an age, parents are really investing in the long term harm of their own child.  As you can see in the groupings above, we really don't like guys to start getting going in the gym until their at least 13.  The same can be said for pitching lessons.  If we take a player who is very immature physically, make him more efficient at throwing the baseball (most violent motion in sports, remember), and then he starts to produce forces his body cant handle, we have a great model for a sore arm. 

The point of illustrating these two issues is to bring more awareness to potential problems that are causing the rise in arm injuries.  I suspect we will see more injuries as the generation of fall and winter ballers continue to make their way through the ranks.  If we can start at the youth levels with these two adjustments, we can take a rising injury rate and turn it around.  It will start with adults in baseball to start making the best choices in interest of the players, not dollars.  Time will ultimately tell us where our passions lie. 

CKP Baseball Update

-Sean Coyle, 3B Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox), went 3 for 4 with a HR, 3 RBI, and stole his 3rd and 4th bags of the year.  Here's a clip of the #Truthy HR over the Maine Monster in Portland.  Follow Sean on twitter @SeenCoyle

In light of the truthiness....


-Brody McFadden, RHP Pennsbury HS Junior, went the distance against Truman HS, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8.  Here is the write up.  Follow Brody on twitter @brodmcf13

-Riley Mihalik, 1B Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Junior, is off to a hot start after going 7-14 with 2 doubles, 4 RBI, and 5 walks.  Follow Riley on twitter @Mihalik_24

We will be back with more content as the weeks go.  Be sure to check in tomorrow live at 11 AM for our interview with special guest Cory Aldridge of the Salt Lake Bees!  We spoke about the mental side of hitting last week and with Cory on board this week, we are going to dive into the right things to do with your swing on the physical side, you won't want to miss it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Kurtzy