Tigers pitchers are throwing harder than ever this spring, and that’s no coincidence | Cody Stavenhagen for The Athletic
March 22, 2024
Tigers pitchers are throwing harder than ever this spring, and that’s no coincidence | Cody Stavenhagen for The Athletic
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I’m not going to copy and paste the whole article, The Athletic is really worth the subscription, but here is the start and most interesting part of the article.
> Drew Anderson is 29 years old, and the synopsis of his baseball career already reads like a travelogue. There was a trip through the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system, a year spent in Australia, a quick diversion to Texas and then two years in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp.
> The circuitous route led him to Lakeland, Fla., when the journeyman right-hander signed a minor-league deal with the Detroit Tigers. On an early day of spring training, Anderson was consulting with pitching coaches Chris Fetter, Robin Lund and director of pitching Gabe Ribas. The coaches wanted Anderson to implement a mechanical change they call the lead-leg block, a way of stopping the body with the lead foot as a pitcher’s momentum heads down the mound. Sticking the foot transfers energy back to the upper body rather than a pitcher drifting down the mound or lazily falling off toward one side or the other.
> So there Anderson was with a water bag — essentially a responsive, water-filled weight — practicing the motion over and over. Block the front leg. Rotate the torso, whip the bag.
> The results were stunning. In 2021, the last time Anderson pitched in the major leagues, his four-seam fastball averaged 92.5 mph. After a few days spent perfecting the lead-leg block, he appeared in his first spring training game, and the radar read 98.5 mph.
> Imagine the reaction. Where has this been my whole life?
> “Exactly,” Anderson said. “I’ve always had velo. I’ve been able to get up to 97, but not consistently. I knew it was always there, but I needed to fine-tune those mechanics.”
> Although he may still have a difficult road to making the Opening Day roster, Anderson in one spring went from a minor-league flier to a pitcher with a chance to contribute in the major leagues this season.
1 comment
I’m not going to copy and paste the whole article, The Athletic is really worth the subscription, but here is the start and most interesting part of the article.
As PitchingNinja on Twitter said: [Chris Fetter & Robin Lund deserve the Nobel Prize for Pitching.](https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1770517731525202399)
> Drew Anderson is 29 years old, and the synopsis of his baseball career already reads like a travelogue. There was a trip through the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system, a year spent in Australia, a quick diversion to Texas and then two years in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp.
> The circuitous route led him to Lakeland, Fla., when the journeyman right-hander signed a minor-league deal with the Detroit Tigers. On an early day of spring training, Anderson was consulting with pitching coaches Chris Fetter, Robin Lund and director of pitching Gabe Ribas. The coaches wanted Anderson to implement a mechanical change they call the lead-leg block, a way of stopping the body with the lead foot as a pitcher’s momentum heads down the mound. Sticking the foot transfers energy back to the upper body rather than a pitcher drifting down the mound or lazily falling off toward one side or the other.
> So there Anderson was with a water bag — essentially a responsive, water-filled weight — practicing the motion over and over. Block the front leg. Rotate the torso, whip the bag.
> The results were stunning. In 2021, the last time Anderson pitched in the major leagues, his four-seam fastball averaged 92.5 mph. After a few days spent perfecting the lead-leg block, he appeared in his first spring training game, and the radar read 98.5 mph.
> Imagine the reaction. Where has this been my whole life?
> “Exactly,” Anderson said. “I’ve always had velo. I’ve been able to get up to 97, but not consistently. I knew it was always there, but I needed to fine-tune those mechanics.”
> Although he may still have a difficult road to making the Opening Day roster, Anderson in one spring went from a minor-league flier to a pitcher with a chance to contribute in the major leagues this season.