Preface:

I started my life as a pitcher first by playing softball during my elementary school years, then "Japanese-style" (rubber-ball) baseball in middle school. I continued on in high school, college, and entered the pros (via the draft in 2015). From all this experience, what I feel most strongly is that baseball is definitely not a "competition amongst pitchers to throw the best pitch". In the game, the ultimate goal is for your team to win, and the pitcher's role in this is to "hold down the batters to prevent runs", this is paramount. Well then, "what is needed for this?", you may ask, and to start, I believe what's needed is "ease of throwing".

Theories for the mechanisms of pitching motion indeed exist, however, no matter how in-line with theory you may think you are, you must pitch in a way that works for you, or else you will struggle with control and become desperate to throw a strike. Basically, instead of the matchup "you versus the hitter" it will instead become a matchup "you vs yourself", which needs to be addressed before ever entering in a game.And so, no matter what your pitching form may become, you must first build a form from which you feel no stress. Only on top of this can you start on further developing a pitching form that is "difficult for batters to hit off" or "throwing one's ideal pitch", this is what I feel is important.

After entering the pros, this is what I have pursued, but to be honest up until around 2020, I kept thinking I had to pitch a certain way. I kept on thinking intensely about the various specific parts of my pitching form. I kept battling with an ever lingering anxiety and restlessness that "something isn't quite right". Finally around 2021, I was able to realize that pursuing a certain ideal form wasn't the most important thing.
Towards the end of this season, I started to be able to pitch in a more deftly relaxed way. I then think that moving into 2022 I was able to achieve a feel and mind for my pitching.

This book is a summation of my thoughts. These are my thoughts in the current year 2023, and of course they're probably still not fully realized yet, however that leaves room for me to continue growing in the future. It would make me grateful and very happy if by reading this book you become interested in baseball and even use it as a guide.

Shota Imanaga

Table of Contents:

Preface

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:

Concept of pitching motion

• Don't adhere to your pitching form and focus on the state of your body when your right foot lands.
• Understand the "passive" and "active" range of motion of a joint: Preparing for the release, first relax before exerting output.
• Feel the connection from the body movement and release your body to the side, imagining a cube as you impart vertical rotation on the ball.
• As long as you don't expose your left shoulder, there is no problem even if your right shoulder opens, Apply force from left to right in a rotational motion.
• How to produce the most vertical twist at the moment of landing, the key is to imagine tightening a screw with your right leg.

Chatper 2:

The Mechanics Of Each Phase

• <Standing Position and Stance> Standing on the first base side of the plate and posture in a cross.
• <Standing posture and preparation> Find and set the positions of your ankles, knees, and hip joints that tend to generate force.
• <Raising the leg> As if stomping, going from two axes towards one axis
• <Vertical Balance> Feeling gravity and buoyancy in lockstep around the solar plexus.
• <Step and Translational Motion> Feel there is a wall on your left side as you have the right leg lead, accelerating the body.
• <Takeback> Prioritize movement of the shoulder blades and feeling the power in your torso.
• <Top> The key is where to "drop" the ball to, in order to firmly swing the arm.
• <Landing and Rotational Movement> Bending the right knee slightly and firmly engaging the stop action.
• <Release> Power becomes consistent when the chest tilt and arm angle line up.
• <Finish> Ideally, the output and braking should be balanced 50:50

Chapter 3:

Control and Off-speed Pitches

• <Techniques of Control> Aim the throw not at the catcher's mitt, but in front of the mitt. When pitching from the stretch, the position of the arm at landing becomes more important.
• <Techniques of Control> The key to control when throwing to the inside corner is how much you rotate your torso using your right leg.
• <Techniques of Control> The key to controlling pitch height is visualizing your center of gravity and pitch trajectory.
• <Techniques of Breaking Ball Pitches> The repetoire of pitches including the fastball is 4 types. For off-speed pitches, pursue an off-speed throwing form.
• <Techniques of Breaking Ball Pitches> 1. Pitch grip for each pitch – Fastball (4 seam)
• <Techniques of Breaking Ball Pitches> 2. Pitch grip for each pitch – Slider
• <Techniques of Breaking Ball Pitches> 3. Pitch grip for each pitch – Changeup
• <Techniques of Breaking Ball Pitches> 4. Pitch grip for each pitch – Curve
• <Techniques of Breaking Ball Pitches> The "feel" in the left hand

Chapter 4:

How to prepare and what to be aware of for a game

• <Thinking Process for pitches during a game> Do not over think the first pitch, observe the opponent and feel out their tendencies
• <Dealing with what's working and what's not> When something isn't working 100%, do not try to achieve perfection, instead think of ways to win at 60%.
• <Adjusting to the environment> Before the game, try going full effort once. When the mound doesn't feel right, focus on relaxed/controlled effort.
• <Conditioning> Follow the planned flow but at the same time, fine-tune with your judgment.
• <Tossing/Warm Up> Focus on relaxed/controlled effort as much as possible. Firmly obtain the sensation of the fingers engaging the ball.
• <Practice in the bullpen> Within 22~23 pitches, check the tendencies of the pitches for the day. Even if they are not working, don't try to forcibly adjust.
• <Training> For every body part, think about the counter movement, and be ever aware of using your body effectively.
• <Equipment Preferences> Shape the glove to be a bit deep and use it so that it doesn't get flattened/squashed. File/Wear Down the shoe spikes just a bit.

Shota Imanaga's NPB Career

Cumulative Stats and Titles, Author Profile