Warm up pitches

[bbrages]

How do you teach your players to use warm up pitches?

Do your pitchers warm up on the side prior to taking the mound before the start of the game?

Are warm up pitches on the mound before the game to be used differently than between-inning warm up pitches?


Do your players start at "50%" effort, then ramp it up on each successive pitch? Is the main purpose of the warmup pitches to get a feel for locating pitches off of the mound? Or is the main purpose of the warmup to increase the temperature of the muscles involved in throwing the ball to obtain peak performance and reduce injury? Or is it something else?

Is there a downside to warmup pitches -- you are giving the batters extra time to study your stuff and delivery, plus you are piling onto your effective pitch count? Are there ways to combat this? Have you experimented with reduced warmup pitches?

My oldest likes to cut up a bit and has done some unusual warmup pitch antics. They haven't seemed to affect his performance, though.

What do you teach?

[songtitle]

My college pitcher always puts a "T" mark where his stride foot should land. And he fills in any holes in the mound. Other than that I have no idea what he's doing.

[Colonel21]

When I pitched in college, my thought of warming up before the game and warm up pitches was to get fully warmed up in the bullpen before games. Get all of your pitches working so that you are comfortable knowing what you have that day (curve working better than change up, fastball running a lot or it's flat, etc). Then when first taking the mound, I used those warm up pitches to "groom" the mound the way I wanted it. Maybe dig out some of the dirt, maybe fill in some holes, basically make it to your liking. Once comfortable, then starting letting it fly so that you are good to go on pitch #1. Once the game gets going, coming out each inning was just making sure that you were lose enough to get going again on the fist pitch of the inning. What i used to do, and it did count against my allowable pitches, was I would get behind the mound and do a shuffle step long throw into the catcher with him standing up. Just to stretch it out. Then I would get on the mound and throw the first two pitches around 70% and then the remaining pitches at 100%.

[mobius75]

Son has been throwing a football for maybe 10 mins before a start, but then switches to a baseball and throws full out. He probably throws 20 pitches on the side, some fastballs, some changeups, some cutters, then I think it’s 8 off the mound.

[bbrages]

So that's 28 full-out pitches...

If he skipped the 28 full out pitches, could he go a couple innings deeper in games?

[AdamInNY]

My son bases his warmup pitches on how his game is going. If his CB or CU is off (one usually is) his warmup pitches will be that pitch to try and get it back on track.

[mobius75]

So that's 28 full-out pitches...

If he skipped the 28 full out pitches, could he go a couple innings deeper in games?

Probably! He will then probably throw 85+ pitches in the game and he starts to fade in the 5th inning or so. I think it’s that he’s been doing it so long that it feels weird to change. I’ve suggested to him to warm up less especially with it being 90 degrees out in FL but he does what he does.

[AdamInNY]

Not sure if anyone else tracks it, but my son has been wearing the motus sleeve all HS season. He'll make close to 200 throws on a day that he starts and goes 85 - 88 pitches. This include pre-game routine, and all warmup pitches.

[bbrages]

That's amazing!

Does Motus have any way keep track of what % of those throws are low effort vs. high effort?



Think how many throws a pitcher might get on a tournament day where he is also playing a position. I remember my kid doing a lot warmup throwing between tournament games and him feeling like he was burning his matches for pitching later...

[AdamInNY]

They do, I can't get that info right now, but in my son's case it's about 2/3rds. My oldest is a PO and wears it all the time.

I wish my youngest wore his. He plays 3B mainly and will pitch. But for that reason we have severely limited his pitching over the last 1.5 years.

[Dirtberry]

Bbradges,

“How do you teach your players to use warm up pitches?”

I ask them to use the ball/mound/catcher time to double up each of their pitch types. They all have 6 types having them throw at least 12 pitches.

“Do your pitchers warm up on the side prior to taking the mound before the start of the game?”

My clients whether they are starting or relieving, warm up first with their wrist weights using each of the 2 wrist lateral flexions (Ulnar and Radial) that our pitch types are based on with our “drop out wind up motion" drill. Then they get on the bump. When done this way they can miss bull pen work if and like many lower level coaches do it with no warning in advance.

“Are warm up pitches on the mound before the game to be used differently than between-inning warm up pitches?”

If the coach has his act together they are done exactly the same the first time, relievers who have previously warmed up can hone them selves up with more live bump time giving them more throws for current and later fitness and motor skills.

“Do your players start at "50%" effort, then ramp it up on each successive pitch?”

No they are already super heated up and ready to go because they warmed up with wrist weights in the motion they use on the mound!!! Then again, they are asked to perform the first 6 WW throws minimally at first then ramp it up.

“Is the main purpose of the warmup pitches to get a feel for locating pitches off of the mound?”

Yes, but this work should have already been done but more practice close to the competition helps.

For people who do not use a state of the science warm up, throwing can get it done but it takes much longer and tapered effort like you mentioned.

“Or is the main purpose of the warmup to increase the temperature of the muscles involved in throwing the ball to obtain peak performance and reduce injury? Or is it something else?”

It's all of those things and many more.

“Is there a downside to warmup pitches”

Yes, if you throw with an injurious motion (pathomechanics) , the more you throw the more you break down, it's then cumulative.

“you are giving the batters extra time to study your stuff”

My guys all have 6 pitch types, good luck, when ever batters learn what's going on they get deeper in the mire. We want them to know. The best form of information is dis-information by to much information under high anxiety situations. I even ask them to show the 3rd base coach their hand position in the glove because it is advantageous to set like that (pitchers mechanics) and if the coaches want to distract the batters with guesses of whats coming we want this, good luck.

“delivery”

Possible but unlikely from that angle and distance to make a difference especially with pre-adults.

“you are piling onto your effective pitch count?”

When you produce no fatigue (injurious effect) the higher the throw total the better the fitness!
This is where we delve.

“Are there ways to combat this?”

Yes but they are coaching in reverse and I refuse to do this, I much rather use what is given to me as an advantage instead of a dodge. We mitigate all these disadvantages just by our mechanics alone.

“ Have you experimented with reduced warmup pitches?”

As I stated earlier we don't even need them, only the 8 given when you arrive on the bump.

“What do you teach?”

I ask all my clients to “warm down” after a performance by sitting on a bucket with a bucket of balls and throwing 50 foot high bounce one hoppers into another bucket. 100 times better than ice. Or with a partner 40 minimal effort wrong foot throws.