People look at Tim Lincecums’ mechanics and think, “That is so unorthodox, it can’t be the correct way to pitch.” Yes, they are unorthodox, but I like to use the term “over dramatic”. Lincecums’ mechanics are actually very good, they are just over dramatized because he has to generate a ton of arm speed due to his small stature. He generates a lot of power from his lower half, which is why he is able to throw as hard as he does and has prevented any kind of arm injury in his 6 years of professional baseball. Before he was a starting pitcher, he use to reach velocity as close to 100 mph when he was a closer at the University of Washington. One tip on how to achieve this velocity by including your lower half is getting shoulder tilt. As your stride foot goes towards the catcher it is key to have your back shoulder tilted towards second base. This is one of many mechanical adjustments you can make to put most of the stress on your lower half and not your arm to prevent injury and increase velocity. Although, there are no pitchers that have the same exact mechanics. Different adjustments are made based on a lot of characteristics. As you can see, it is a common mechanical trait throughout the MLB if you take a look at the pictures of great pitchers such as Roy Hallday and Felix Hernandez.

Written by Carl Taylor – Head Pitching Instructor at We Drop Bombs Baseball