Pitching a baseball is an act of great beauty and elegance. The complex, synchronized motion required to throw a baseball with great speed is impressive all by itself. As you increase the demands by varying speed, spinning the ball in different directions and spotting the ball within inches of where you want, the precision and athleticism approaches the level of professional ballet. 

 

Except when it doesn't. 

 

Rick Porcello is an excellent example of a pitcher that has mastered the centerline of his balance, a concept familiar to any skateboarder or surfer. He goes through his entire pitching motion as if he's on a balance beam and intends to stay on top of it. The result is that Porcello has consistently good command, from pitch one to pitch one hundred. 

 

Pat Dean doesn't stay on his centerline as well as Rick Porcello. Dean is good, but if you compare the two pitchers, you can see Dean's upper body falling off just slightly to the left or to the right. Usually Dean's off-center motion is fairly small, maybe half a foot to a foot. However, as he approached 100 pitches at the start of the 7th inning, suddenly Dean starting falling off his centerline by a foot, two feet, and worse. The result was that Dean lost command and started walking people. Clearly Paul Molitor saw this, and he wisely yanked Dean at that point. 

 

Another difference is that Porcello's pitching motion is more mechanically efficient than Dean's. Porcello has a beautifully tight arm whip and rhythm that gets good velocity without as much leg drive as Dean. Porcello's delivery requires less energy, so he can throw more pitches before he gets really tired, and his later pitches don't require max effort. 

 

Going forward I hope the Twins pitching coach (whoever it is) stresses to Pat Dean that centerline balance should never falter, no matter how tired you are. The drill for that is to do something exhausting, like fifty squat-thrusts, and then spot pitches with perfect balance. It's part of what a good pro athlete must learn to do - control their body, even when shaking with exhaustion. It's what a Jack Morris did in the tenth inning of a World Series game. Dean can learn to do that, too.

I have literally no idea if this is sound coaching advice. But it sounds good and I like it!

Something happens after the ball leaves his hand. What should be a thing of beauty often isn't.

 

It was said that when Glavin pitched there was only one landing spot disturbed with a definite cleat  mark.

That would make for an interesting training idea.  Have them pitch from a balance beam

 

_{no one would ever get hurt, right?}

Form is everything!

Repeatable mechanics are the hallmark of all athletic act or motion.  That applies to pitching, hitting, golf, free throw shooting, etc.  Not only do they have to be repeatable at the start of a contest, but at the end of the contest and also repeatable while under high pressure situations.  Finding that repeatability is the tough part and is what often separates the elite from the average.

 

I hope the Twins pitching coach (whoever it is)

It's that Rasmussen guy. The man's a miracle worker.