Who is your favorite baseball player? Pitcher? Hitter? Did you learn how to pitch or hit based on your baseball idols? When I was growing up, Nomar Garciaparra from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox had a batting ritual that gave him the success he had as a Major League batter. Do you pitch like Dontrelle Willis or a Nolan Ryan? This article will dive into the core principle of perfect pitch or hit based on OnBASE University’s founding philosophy.
As a certified OnBASE University coach, the philosophy has resonated with the ideals of ReVITALize Rehab Club. We take everyone’s unique talent and try to get the most out of their body’s capabilities. Everyone has billions of factors that dictate their movement and health, such as DNA, structural anatomy, beliefs, sensory awareness, developmental movement, and emotional iQ, or fear-based thoughts. As there are infinite ways to play throw and hit, there is a common factor that impacts the ability to produce the best pitching and/or swinging sequence.
Here is OnBASE University’s philosophy. “We don’t believe there is one way to pitch; we believe there is an infinite number of ways to pitch. But we do believe that there is one efficient way for everyone to pitch and it is based on what they can physically do.”
When you breakdown this powerful statement, you realize that the perfect pitch or hitting sequence has to come at what you are capable of doing. If you have one blind eye, then you cannot pitch or hit the same way as many people with two eyes. Yes, I am using an example that exaggerates the example so you can understand. Physical capabilities are similar to providing a contractor with a checklist of items that a builder can use to make a house. If you do not have an item that you need, then the contractor has to use his expertise knowledge or use his “outside-the-box” imagination to help build the house. If you cannot perfect the situation, then the situation allows the pitcher to know his weak side, as opposed to having a “blind” side.
An important characteristic is the front leg’s hip range of motion. There needs to be a certain amount of internal rotation to the front leg’s hip joint when he pitches. For some people, hip anteversion or retroversion occurs based on the person’s childhood posturing or preference of use. You cannot change the rotational bony adaptation. If you do, then you are torquing on the joint that cannot take excessive rotational torque. There are numerous pitchers that are still pitching because they found a way to work around this deficit. There is less risk of injury. If they can reproduce their pitch on a nightly basis, then everyone from the player to the coaches is happy. The conversations start when things go “wrong” or there is too many L’s over W’s.
As we have established the physical capabilities of a player for that year, it is important to re-establish this checklist annually. We grow and we cannot assume that our physical body is the same. Muscles, tendon, joints, nerves, and recovery systems changes as we age. We are not as supple, fast, or digestive with the foods we eat, thus impacting maximal nutritional absorption.
The next layer to perfect pitch or batting sequence is style and results. If a player feels a connection between mind, and body, results will occur. This is where we team up with a hitting or pitching coach. We look for a coach that can communicate the same philosophy as OnBASE University’s values. A coach should have the emotional and leadership iQ to understand that a baseball player is more than an object to control. The coach should individualize the tasks at hand by searching through the infinite styles and condenses to a few pitch or hitting sequences that the player can experiment. The player will practice and incorporates his or her’s style that has a blend of comfort, consistency, and effectiveness.
Remember, the goal is to be good and to enjoy the game for as long as he or she can play. Longevity requires efficiency. The game of baseball is already difficult. The definition of success and to be in a group of the elite is to fail 70% of the time. The last thing you need is a lack of physical capabilities that will take your joy and love of the game of baseball.
Keep following us and subscribe to read more about baseball, golf, and tennis related Sports Medicine Physical Therapy information.
We are the leader of combining Sports Medicine Science, Targeted Orthopedic Results, and Functional Medicine’s Recovery Tactics, so you can be active without the need of painkillers, surgery talks, or frequent time off.
We specialize in recurrent muscle tightness and the pain the comes with it. Get your expertise second opinion with a click of the orange button below.
One LOVE,
Danh Ngo PT, DPT, OCS, SCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Board Certified Specialist in Orthopedic and Sports Medicine
Certified Advanced Movement Specialist – RockTape
Mind Body Health Results Coach
