Shohei Ohtani has exclusively pitched out of the stretch during his career, but is attempting to switch things up for his first season on the mound with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In most cases there is not a significant difference between pitchers throwing out of the stretch compared to the windup, and more often than not it comes down to personal preference. However, there are certain advantages that come with pitching from the windup.
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While Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior stands in the pro-windup camp, the change was prompted by Ohtani.
“That’s something he was looking to do. Like he mentioned, he’s always trying to get better. He wanted to feel some energy. It wasn’t something I necessarily brought to the table. It was something he did,” Prior explained.
“I like it. I always like guys in deliveries. Sometimes you move guys to stretch only just to simplify things, but I like when guys have some athleticism and some rhythm in their delivery. I think it helps their timing. So I think that’s what he’s messing around with right now.”
Deception is the name of the game for pitchers at any level, and is their greatest tool while on the mound. That can be accomplished through effective pitch sequencing and tunneling — in other words, making all pitches look the same coming out of the hand until the last moment.
Throwing from a windup can provide an additional level of deception and is the biggest advantage of not throwing solely from the stretch. The hesitation Clayton Kershaw implements in his leg kick during his windup delivery is the perfect example of this, but there are countless others throughout MLB.
Conversely, pitching out of the stretch leaves virtually no room to disrupt a hitter’s timing due to the straightforward nature of the delivery. But the simple delivery is the biggest advantage of pitching from the stretch, as it allows for greater ease to consistently repeat mechanics.
While pitching from the windup doesn’t necessarily lead to higher velocity, it does allow a pitcher to more effectively utilize their body’s momentum to generate an increase.
Ohtani’s new delivery is not inherently less stressful on his arm than pitching from the stretch, but it could help slightly in that regard. Instead, the main objective is helping him execute his mechanics better after going such a long time away from pitching.
“I think it can help with guys’ sequencing and timing, and ultimately will hopefully take some stress off an arm. To say that pitching out of the windup is less stressful than pitching out of the stretch, no,” Prior said.
“But again, it’s all about getting into certain positions for that individual. Some guys do it better with the help of the windup and timing, some guys don’t. It’s unique to that person. For him right now, trying to get a little more rhythm in the timing so it’s not so choppy, so to speak, and make sure he’s not in rehab mode and he’s more of getting ready to pitch and compete in games.”
Shohei Ohtani expected to resume pitching program
Ohtani’s rehab progression as a pitcher was put on hold as a result of his increased efforts to prepare for the Tokyo Series as a designated hitter, but that is now expected to change.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday, and after that the team should have some idea of his plan moving forward.
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