I was a good player, but there is always someone out there better than you. Also, being a righty, it's hard for me translate anything over to my left handed kid. I don't know if this is the appropriate place to post a video or if anyone can even help. If it's ok, I'll post it in a follow-up post.

Oh, and yes, he's worked with a lot pro coaches. The problem is, the good ones are very limited on their schedules because they have to report back to play. While we still go to a hitting coach, I started to see some regression after working with multiple pitching coaches. I would prefer to make small tweaks myself on the pitching end, moving forward.

Thanks!

I'm a former baseball player whose daughters were fastpitch softball pitchers, so I can sympathize with something being foreign in trying to translate. Thankfully, I found a great coach for lessons and stuck with him.

That said, I'm wondering if his real issue is too many cooks in the kitchen and way too many thoughts and philosophies swirling in his head. So I tend to think posting a video and getting even more advice may be worse vs better. I think that would have been very counterproductive for my kids, and I'm also an avid golfer and know that bouncing from pro to pro for lessons and then coming out to texags for more advice would turn me into a wreck.

DannyDuberstein said:

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I'm a former baseball player whose daughters were fastpitch softball pitchers, so I can sympathize with something being foreign in trying to translate. Thankfully, I found a great coach for lessons and stuck with him.

That said, I'm wondering if his real issue is too many cooks in the kitchen and way too many thoughts and philosophies swirling in his head. So I tend to think posting a video and getting even more advice may be worse vs better. I think that would have been very counterproductive for my kids, and I'm also an avid golfer and know that bouncing from pro to pro for lessons and then coming out to texags for more advice would turn me into a wreck.

---

I appreciate the reply. It's been a few months since his last pitching lesson and his head is back on right. The different philosophies were getting to be too much for a young kids head. It was just after the last lesson, it took about a week to get him back in rhythm. There are still some things that I see needing improvement, but implementing with no impact to current games, is the other issue.

If it's not ok, staff can take it down. If you look at the first pitch of the video and the second -- you will see some consistency issues in the leg lift, drive, etc.

He throws hard and pretty accurate for a 9 year old, but I want him to get his lower body more into the pitch. I want him driving off and down the mound. He also opens up and swings his leg after lift on occasion. What are the best drills to address these issues? Are there any other issues you see?

I know the video is not great, but I prefer it that way rather than a close up on his face. I've also posted this video (longer version) elsewhere, but uploaded it to a generic Youtube account, to take out identifiers.

Thanks.

I was wondering which age group we'd be looking at. Is this his first or second year in kid pitch.

I'd honestly not be too concerned about it. He's 9 so I suspect he is hearing some of the concepts just isn't quite able to execute them yet. Keep an eye on it and just keep reinforcing the fundamentals. I suspect he'll continue to improve with reps and natural maturity.

his pitching his fine, but that field is crap. Where is the grass?

Quote:

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I was wondering which age group we'd be looking at. Is this his first or second year in kid pitch.

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One full year and is in the beginning of the second year. He did work on throwing a bit, even when in coach pitch. He's on a 10U team to start the fall tournaments and he will be 10 in a few months.

Quote:

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his pitching his fine, but that field is crap. Where is the grass?

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A lot of the fields that USSSA uses in the Austin area, are still closed, Northeast Metro being the big one. This field was at the Taylor complex, which is better than having to continue to go to Dripping Springs, San Marcos, Seguin or Bertram. There are a lot of teams and games on at all of the open fields, so they have to use the softball fields at times. This was a softball field, that saw a ton of games over the day and was hosting the last (Championship) game. On Sunday, his team played four games in a row, but not all on that field. Some of the other newer turf complexes have better fields, but no shade. I will take Taylor any day of the week.

This isn't my photo, but this is Field of Dreams out in Dripping Springs -- where we've been stuck a lot over the last few months:



No walk space, gravel all over the paths, no seating outside of what you bring and no shade. Give me the Taylor complex, even if it's their softball fields.

Yeah, you're not falling behind by not seeing professional coaches at 9 years old. At that age, let him have fun, and yes, let him go to baseball summer camps and events like that where he'll learn drills in a fun environment. Don't make it a job yet with personal coaches and the like, unless he is just begging you for that.

The best thing you can do for him if you're focused on sports is make sure when he hits his teenage years that he has a very solid core and above average lower body strength. That's where power and control come from.

He's 9. Any specific technique he learns right now for pitching is going to be in flux as he grows and hits the awkward puberty stages anyway. Focus on the 3-4 fundamentals of a swing and the 3-4 fundamentals of a pitching motion and that's it. Most 9 year olds don't have the spatial awareness or hand-eye coordination to fine tune things. Some do, but they're the exception.

Just my unsolicited two cents.

Not a pitching coach but my oldest boy turned 10 in July and pitches as well. He's really just getting into it and pitched a little bit in 9U during a spring that was curtailed by covid. His team moved to 10U this fall and he started 2 games (we've only played 7).

Anyway, I'm learning as he does. But he's been doing lessons with a coach who pitched in the minors a good bit, had a few stints in the show and has been coaching youth pitchers for 25 years. His son is a freshman pitcher at Rice. My son has responded really well to the coaching and has even begun to understand what adjustments to make when pitches don't go where he wants them to.

My take is that your kid is looking really good for a beginner. Focus on the balance position when he's starting his motion and understand that when he starts his leg lift he should already be leaning forward from the hip with his glove-side back pocket facing the plate a little. It's tough to figure out but practice will help- stay tall on the backside and shortly before the front foot lands the back knee bends and really drives off the rubber.

A couple tips which have also helped my son- draw an imaginary line from the rubber towards home right down the middle of his back foot. His front food should land on or slightly to the arm side of that line. That keeps his shoulder from flying open and losing accuracy. Also, work on the glove side starting out across the chest and then creating rotation which pulls the chest down and increases velocity.

These things will help the kid focus on throwing rather than aiming. Aiming is where it goes awry. Power, accuracy & control comes not from aim but the mechanics beginning on the ground.

TarponChaser said:

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Not a pitching coach but my oldest boy turned 10 in July and pitches as well. He's really just getting into it and pitched a little bit in 9U during a spring that was curtailed by covid. His team moved to 10U this fall and he started 2 games (we've only played 7).

Anyway, I'm learning as he does. But he's been doing lessons with a coach who pitched in the minors a good bit, had a few stints in the show and has been coaching youth pitchers for 25 years. His son is a freshman pitcher at Rice. My son has responded really well to the coaching and has even begun to understand what adjustments to make when pitches don't go where he wants them to.

My take is that your kid is looking really good for a beginner. Focus on the balance position when he's starting his motion and understand that when he starts his leg lift he should already be leaning forward from the hip with his glove-side back pocket facing the plate a little. It's tough to figure out but practice will help- stay tall on the backside and shortly before the front foot lands the back knee bends and really drives off the rubber.

A couple tips which have also helped my son- draw an imaginary line from the rubber towards home right down the middle of his back foot. His front food should land on or slightly to the arm side of that line. That keeps his shoulder from flying open and losing accuracy. Also, work on the glove side starting out across the chest and then creating rotation which pulls the chest down and increases velocity.

These things will help the kid focus on throwing rather than aiming. Aiming is where it goes awry. Power, accuracy & control comes not from aim but the mechanics beginning on the ground.

---

Awesome. I like the line idea and could even use that to mark a landing area to enforce driving down the mound. I really appreciate it!

Glad to hear your boy is doing well. We've been lucky with the covid stuff and still playing, but it's jacked up where we play and practice. What area are you all in?

Edit - And I would take him back to one pitching coach, which was Nick Kennedy, but he's only around a few months out of the year. My son really loved him and it just wasn't the same working with other coaches. Outside of different drills, ideas, too many thoughts, etc. from the others -- he liked that Nick was a pro player, but he loved him being a lefty, his big personality and him being younger.

damn I find it super annoying when people call the big leagues "the show"....

no offense

AustinCountyAg said:

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damn I find it super annoying when people call the big leagues "the show"....

no offense

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And yet here we are...

baseballaficionado said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Not a pitching coach but my oldest boy turned 10 in July and pitches as well. He's really just getting into it and pitched a little bit in 9U during a spring that was curtailed by covid. His team moved to 10U this fall and he started 2 games (we've only played 7).

Anyway, I'm learning as he does. But he's been doing lessons with a coach who pitched in the minors a good bit, had a few stints in the show and has been coaching youth pitchers for 25 years. His son is a freshman pitcher at Rice. My son has responded really well to the coaching and has even begun to understand what adjustments to make when pitches don't go where he wants them to.

My take is that your kid is looking really good for a beginner. Focus on the balance position when he's starting his motion and understand that when he starts his leg lift he should already be leaning forward from the hip with his glove-side back pocket facing the plate a little. It's tough to figure out but practice will help- stay tall on the backside and shortly before the front foot lands the back knee bends and really drives off the rubber.

A couple tips which have also helped my son- draw an imaginary line from the rubber towards home right down the middle of his back foot. His front food should land on or slightly to the arm side of that line. That keeps his shoulder from flying open and losing accuracy. Also, work on the glove side starting out across the chest and then creating rotation which pulls the chest down and increases velocity.

These things will help the kid focus on throwing rather than aiming. Aiming is where it goes awry. Power, accuracy & control comes not from aim but the mechanics beginning on the ground.

---

Awesome. I like the line idea and could even use that to mark a landing area to enforce driving down the mound. I really appreciate it!

Glad to hear your boy is doing well. We've been lucky with the covid stuff and still playing, but it's jacked up where we play and practice. What area are you all in?

Edit - And I would take him back to one pitching coach, which was Nick Kennedy, but he's only around a few months out of the year. My son really loved him and it just wasn't the same working with other coaches. Outside of different drills, ideas, too many thoughts, etc. from the others -- he liked that Nick was a pro player, but he loved him being a lefty, his big personality and him being younger.

---

We're in the Houston area. My boy's previous coach took a position with a program in the Dallas area and he's working with Mike Linskey at the D-Bat facility in Humble. From my perspective I'm less concerned with a coach's professional playing days and more with their coaching history and how they interact with the kid.

He's really good at analyzing stuff and breaking it down which my boy responds well to. Lots of focus on the kinetic chain and generating power from the ground. But it helps a lot that my kid is like 5'2" 130. He's consistently in the upper 50's and has topped 60 but can't throw that for a consistent strike yet. That being said, the top tier teams we've played recently (and gotten beaten by) will catch up to the fastballs so learning a change up is key. No breaking stuff allowed until he's about 16.

My first thought reading these post was it goes by so fast - my kids played on those same fields it seems like yesterday. My oldest is now a sophomore pitcher for one of the local 6A high schools (lefty as well)

I took him to a pitching coach (Doug Petit) when he was 9-10, after that we played select so most of his pitching coaching came from his programs. We also have a pitching mound setup in our backyard so he could practice as needed. Our main practice right now is mostly long toss.

Most of what he learned at the 9-10 year old age was stepping straight (we have done the line thing mentioned above, used a cone, etc..), leading with the hip/pushing off with back leg and getting his arm back in concert with his motion so he would have a consistent release point.

I coached both of their early select teams (10/11u-USSSA AAA) and mainly we just focused on the basics (push off on the back leg, get the arm back early enough, step towards the plate/keep shoulder in). Its just reps at that age - I don't think there is alot you can do until they get more mature. We had each kid pitch 20-25 pitches every week at practice. The last 2 years he has worked on more fine tuning, but that started in late junior high.

Based on the one pitch video it looks like he is doing fine - at 9u I would let him play and just pitch in your backyard to get a repeatable motion. Just focus on a few basics and get them down really well.

At the end of the day just enjoy the grind and watching him pitch. Everyone is going to have good and bad days - pitching is not easy - its just about always being positive and getting better.

TarponChaser said:

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baseballaficionado said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Not a pitching coach but my oldest boy turned 10 in July and pitches as well. He's really just getting into it and pitched a little bit in 9U during a spring that was curtailed by covid. His team moved to 10U this fall and he started 2 games (we've only played 7).

Anyway, I'm learning as he does. But he's been doing lessons with a coach who pitched in the minors a good bit, had a few stints in the show and has been coaching youth pitchers for 25 years. His son is a freshman pitcher at Rice. My son has responded really well to the coaching and has even begun to understand what adjustments to make when pitches don't go where he wants them to.

My take is that your kid is looking really good for a beginner. Focus on the balance position when he's starting his motion and understand that when he starts his leg lift he should already be leaning forward from the hip with his glove-side back pocket facing the plate a little. It's tough to figure out but practice will help- stay tall on the backside and shortly before the front foot lands the back knee bends and really drives off the rubber.

A couple tips which have also helped my son- draw an imaginary line from the rubber towards home right down the middle of his back foot. His front food should land on or slightly to the arm side of that line. That keeps his shoulder from flying open and losing accuracy. Also, work on the glove side starting out across the chest and then creating rotation which pulls the chest down and increases velocity.

These things will help the kid focus on throwing rather than aiming. Aiming is where it goes awry. Power, accuracy & control comes not from aim but the mechanics beginning on the ground.

---

Awesome. I like the line idea and could even use that to mark a landing area to enforce driving down the mound. I really appreciate it!

Glad to hear your boy is doing well. We've been lucky with the covid stuff and still playing, but it's jacked up where we play and practice. What area are you all in?

Edit - And I would take him back to one pitching coach, which was Nick Kennedy, but he's only around a few months out of the year. My son really loved him and it just wasn't the same working with other coaches. Outside of different drills, ideas, too many thoughts, etc. from the others -- he liked that Nick was a pro player, but he loved him being a lefty, his big personality and him being younger.

---

We're in the Houston area. My boy's previous coach took a position with a program in the Dallas area and he's working with Mike Linskey at the D-Bat facility in Humble. From my perspective I'm less concerned with a coach's professional playing days and more with their coaching history and how they interact with the kid.

He's really good at analyzing stuff and breaking it down which my boy responds well to. Lots of focus on the kinetic chain and generating power from the ground. But it helps a lot that my kid is like 5'2" 130. He's consistently in the upper 50's and has topped 60 but can't throw that for a consistent strike yet. That being said, the top tier teams we've played recently (and gotten beaten by) will catch up to the fastballs so learning a change up is key. No breaking stuff allowed until he's about 16.

---

We have a few D-bats around here and they are great!

I agree on not needing a pro, but the kids seem to buy-in more. I am glad your son is doing great and I hope he has a super rest of the season.

Yes, the super hitters will put the fastball in play, no matter what. I agree 100% about a good change. The knuckle change is the easiest pitch for my son and what we've been trying to really hone in on lately.

PDUB98 said:

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My first thought reading these post was it goes by so fast - my kids played on those same fields it seems like yesterday. My oldest is now a sophomore pitcher for one of the local 6A high schools (lefty as well)

I took him to a pitching coach (Doug Petit) when he was 9-10, after that we played select so most of his pitching coaching came from his programs. We also have a pitching mound setup in our backyard so he could practice as needed. Our main practice right now is mostly long toss.

Most of what he learned at the 9-10 year old age was stepping straight (we have done the line thing mentioned above, used a cone, etc..), leading with the hip/pushing off with back leg and getting his arm back in concert with his motion so he would have a consistent release point.

I coached both of their early select teams (10/11u-USSSA AAA) and mainly we just focused on the basics (push off on the back leg, get the arm back early enough, step towards the plate/keep shoulder in). Its just reps at that age - I don't think there is alot you can do until they get more mature. We had each kid pitch 20-25 pitches every week at practice. The last 2 years he has worked on more fine tuning, but that started in late junior high.

Based on the one pitch video it looks like he is doing fine - at 9u I would let him play and just pitch in your backyard to get a repeatable motion. Just focus on a few basics and get them down really well.

At the end of the day just enjoy the grind and watching him pitch. Everyone is going to have good and bad days - pitching is not easy - its just about always being positive and getting better.

---

I gave you two pitches in the video, but had to cut it short of the full video because people say his name later on. I put the camera down in between pitches as not to distract him, but there is one more pitch. Ha

We (the team and personally) practice pitching here and there, but we play almost every weekend, so there really isn't time for full pitching sessions with the kids who ate heavy innings over the tournament weekend. You can work in some drills and so forth, but that's really about it.

We've been winning a lot and just got another bump already, so this weekend will be interesting. I don't like to watch him or the team grind. I prefer the 11K / 0BB / 0ER AA championship games. It's easier on my heart that way, but I know it's about to get tougher with the majors teams coming on now.

I will look into Doug and may start going to him when we have the chance. I am glad your boy is doing well and I hope you all get to play some high school ball this next season. I feel so bad for these high school and college kids that didn't get to play last season.

I never really worked on long toss much growing up, but have heard a lot about the benefits lately. We worked on it some and watched Trevor Bauer do it when he was younger, but we (son and I) kind of lost our way with it. We will need to get that going again soon.

TarponChaser said:

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Not a pitching coach but my oldest boy turned 10 in July and pitches as well. He's really just getting into it and pitched a little bit in 9U during a spring that was curtailed by covid. His team moved to 10U this fall and he started 2 games (we've only played 7).

Anyway, I'm learning as he does. But he's been doing lessons with a coach who pitched in the minors a good bit, had a few stints in the show and has been coaching youth pitchers for 25 years. His son is a freshman pitcher at Rice. My son has responded really well to the coaching and has even begun to understand what adjustments to make when pitches don't go where he wants them to.

My take is that your kid is looking really good for a beginner. Focus on the balance position when he's starting his motion and understand that when he starts his leg lift he should already be leaning forward from the hip with his glove-side back pocket facing the plate a little. It's tough to figure out but practice will help- stay tall on the backside and shortly before the front foot lands the back knee bends and really drives off the rubber.

A couple tips which have also helped my son- draw an imaginary line from the rubber towards home right down the middle of his back foot. His front food should land on or slightly to the arm side of that line. That keeps his shoulder from flying open and losing accuracy. Also, work on the glove side starting out across the chest and then creating rotation which pulls the chest down and increases velocity.

These things will help the kid focus on throwing rather than aiming. Aiming is where it goes awry. Power, accuracy & control comes not from aim but the mechanics beginning on the ground.

---

This is dead on. I feel like at that age, it's hard to get kids to understand that pitching isn't just about taking a step and throwing.

I'd start by having him lift his leg up and balancing with it at a 90 degree angle. Just lift and balance repeatedly. Balance is key. There's no real reason to go past 90 degrees with the keg when you pitch, but some people do as a matter of preference. That's fine, just make sure they stay in balance.

Combine out of the keg lift position, have him practice leading with his heel, and as the poster above says, make sure that his front side back pocket is facing the catcher. This will help him learn to drive off then rubber with his back leg. A lot of kids, especially at that age, seem to fly wide open after the leg kick and they lost a lot of power and accuracy.

These were the things that helped me the most as a young pitcher.

All that said, your kid looks incredibly good for his age, and really should be having fun and not worrying TOO much about fundamentals.

baseballaficionado said:

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the super hitters will put the fastball in play, no matter what. I agree 100% about a good change. The knuckle change is the easiest pitch for my son and what we've been trying to really hone in on lately.

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Good stuff.

My boy's team was newly formed for this past spring. All the kids played together in a different organization but as often happens there was drama so this group split off on our own. We played AA in the spring and started off up & down but finished the summer vs. AA teams on a 15-0 run. We've played open/major level this fall and are 4-0 vs. AAA teams and 0-3 vs. major level (per USSSA we lost to the #2 & #5 teams in the state- #5 twice).

Vs. a AAA team my boy last had 3 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 0 H & 0 runs. Only 34 pitches.

Then vs. the #5 major team he pitched 4 innings with 2 Ks and 2 BB. He only gave up 1 run until the 4th when we had some errors and the wheels kinda came off. I think he gave up 8 hits but only 2 were solid. The rest were weak contact. But most ABs were similar- he'd blow a fastball past them for strike 1, they'd be late and foul off one for strike
2, and then they'd choke up and catch up to another fastball. Being able to throw off speed would have been huge.

AustinCountyAg said:

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his pitching his fine, but that field is crap. Where is the grass?

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Lots of places younger kids (10U and under) play on softball fields with portable mounds because there aren't enough fields.

"playing almost every weekend" sounds horrible for both parents and children. I understand if you're doing this for just a month or two out of the year but please god don't be doing this 8 out of 12 months with a nine year old.

Nuke LaLoosh said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Not a pitching coach but my oldest boy turned 10 in July and pitches as well. He's really just getting into it and pitched a little bit in 9U during a spring that was curtailed by covid. His team moved to 10U this fall and he started 2 games (we've only played 7).

Anyway, I'm learning as he does. But he's been doing lessons with a coach who pitched in the minors a good bit, had a few stints in the show and has been coaching youth pitchers for 25 years. His son is a freshman pitcher at Rice. My son has responded really well to the coaching and has even begun to understand what adjustments to make when pitches don't go where he wants them to.

My take is that your kid is looking really good for a beginner. Focus on the balance position when he's starting his motion and understand that when he starts his leg lift he should already be leaning forward from the hip with his glove-side back pocket facing the plate a little. It's tough to figure out but practice will help- stay tall on the backside and shortly before the front foot lands the back knee bends and really drives off the rubber.

A couple tips which have also helped my son- draw an imaginary line from the rubber towards home right down the middle of his back foot. His front food should land on or slightly to the arm side of that line. That keeps his shoulder from flying open and losing accuracy. Also, work on the glove side starting out across the chest and then creating rotation which pulls the chest down and increases velocity.

These things will help the kid focus on throwing rather than aiming. Aiming is where it goes awry. Power, accuracy & control comes not from aim but the mechanics beginning on the ground.

---

This is dead on. I feel like at that age, it's hard to get kids to understand that pitching isn't just about taking a step and throwing.

I'd start by having him lift his leg up and balancing with it at a 90 degree angle. Just lift and balance repeatedly. Balance is key. There's no real reason to go past 90 degrees with the keg when you pitch, but some people do as a matter of preference. That's fine, just make sure they stay in balance.

Combine out of the keg lift position, have him practice leading with his heel, and as the poster above says, make sure that his front side back pocket is facing the catcher. This will help him learn to drive off then rubber with his back leg. A lot of kids, especially at that age, seem to fly wide open after the leg kick and they lost a lot of power and accuracy.

These were the things that helped me the most as a young pitcher.

All that said, your kid looks incredibly good for his age, and really should be having fun and not worrying TOO much about fundamentals.

---

Thank you for the tips and the kind comments!

TarponChaser said:

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baseballaficionado said:

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the super hitters will put the fastball in play, no matter what. I agree 100% about a good change. The knuckle change is the easiest pitch for my son and what we've been trying to really hone in on lately.

---

Good stuff.

My boy's team was newly formed for this past spring. All the kids played together in a different organization but as often happens there was drama so this group split off on our own. We played AA in the spring and started off up & down but finished the summer vs. AA teams on a 15-0 run. We've played open/major level this fall and are 4-0 vs. AAA teams and 0-3 vs. major level (per USSSA we lost to the #2 & #5 teams in the state- #5 twice).

Vs. a AAA team my boy last had 3 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 0 H & 0 runs. Only 34 pitches.

Then vs. the #5 major team he pitched 4 innings with 2 Ks and 2 BB. He only gave up 1 run until the 4th when we had some errors and the wheels kinda came off. I think he gave up 8 hits but only 2 were solid. The rest were weak contact. But most ABs were similar- he'd blow a fastball past them for strike 1, they'd be late and foul off one for strike
2, and then they'd choke up and catch up to another fastball. Being able to throw off speed would have been huge.

---

Your boy is beast. I hope he keeps winning and getting stronger. It's fun and stressful to watch a dominating pitchers duel, though.

TarponChaser said:

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AustinCountyAg said:

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his pitching his fine, but that field is crap. Where is the grass?

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Lots of places younger kids (10U and under) play on softball fields with portable mounds because there aren't enough fields.

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Long weekend and a busy start to the week. We got the #1 (2 and 0 domination on Saturday) seed and promptly pissed that away with errors on Sunday. There are things you can and can't do in the open bracket, and shaky fielding isn't on the approved list anymore.

astros4545 said:

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I think its time to get the kid pre-emptive Tommy John surgery

All the cool dads are doing it

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I was going to let this go, but I just can't. It's twisted. As a fellow Astros fan, who stayed out of the thread for superstitious reasons, I am sad for you. From Verlander, Lance, my son or any other pitcher, it's not a funny joke -- it's the whole reason for this thread.

There is a reason I want proper form and it's not because he's bad. Not many can touch him right now, but that doesn't help with the arm issues.

Your comment is in horrible favor.

Thanks.

Honestly, he's 11th out of 11 kids on the team when it comes to skill in the field but he hits really well and pitches well. He can run but he's still a puppy who hasn't grown into his paws yet. He's a AA fielder, a borderline majors hitter, and a majors pitcher.

I'm 6'3" and he's supposed to end up around 6'5". And it's definitely stressful to watch but he's having fun and learning that hard work pays off.

TarponChaser said:

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Thanks.

Honestly, he's 11th out of 11 kids on the team when it comes to skill in the field but he hits really well and pitches well. He can run but he's still a puppy who hasn't grown into his paws yet. He's a AA fielder, a borderline majors hitter, and a majors pitcher.

I'm 6'3" and he's supposed to end up around 6'5". And it's definitely stressful to watch but he's having fun and learning that hard work pays off.

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I feel you. My son went from the four hole to the end, with me encouraging the coach to move him down in the batting order. A beast on the mound and at first, but his hitting has gotten weak.

But you have to be excited for the way your kid is throwing and build on that. That's what I am doing. At the end of the day, pitchers are odd birds. Just be excited that they're excelling at one aspect of a very tough game.

Buck Compton said:

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baseballaficionado said:

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astros4545 said:

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I think its time to get the kid pre-emptive Tommy John surgery

All the cool dads are doing it

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I was going to let this go, but I just can't. It's twisted. As a fellow Astros fan, who stayed out of the thread for superstitious reasons, I am sad for you. From Verlander, Lance, my son or any other pitcher, it's not a funny joke -- it's the whole reason for this thread.

There is a reason I want proper form and it's not because he's bad. Not many can touch him right now, but that doesn't help with the arm issues.

Your comment is in horrible favor.

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Dude, it was a lighthearted joke. You're taking this waaaaaaay too seriously. And had nothing to do with the Astros.

Preemptive TJ is a running joke in baseball circles because of its prevalence in the game now, the fact that young pitchers can even gain some velocity, etc.... It's not just from bad form just from violence of deliveries these days and it's not the career-ended it used to be, so it's just poking fun.

In the end, baseball is still just a game. Have some fun with it.

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It's not lighthearted at all. Maybe from someone who has nothing to lose from TJ. It's my main concern with form and usage and my main point of contention. About like a Nazi joke to Jew.

A 14 year old ticket taker had a huge arm contraption on the other day and when I asked --- TJ surgery. Really funny. Made me even feel bad for asking about it, but I am sure his parents are to blame. Just jokes, dude.