Baseball Prospectus has an interesting, in depth article on the issues about long toss by Gary Armida called “Long Tossing: Can It Be The Cure To Pitching Injuries?“ It includes an interview with Alan.
Jaeger is a proponent of having pitchers throw as far as they can. Many of his students throw from 360 feet. His program seems extreme to most major-league teams and coaches, as the common practice is having pitchers throw from 120 feet. Jaeger believes that 120 feet limits a pitcher’s ability to reach his potential.
“Over the past 15 years of working with baseball players, I can tell you that if you take the time and distance constraint restrictions off a player, quite simply, their arm will have a chance to grow and evolve naturally,” Jaeger said. “Over time, this process allows the arm to maximize its strength, endurance, and recovery period; over time, players tend to be more athletic and intimate with their arms. And yes, even mechanics can be benefited through proper training when long tossing.”
Jaeger represents one side of the long-toss paradigm, but he faces significant opposition in MLB. One front office executive, who asked not to be identified, sees many problems with throwing from the seemingly extreme distances.
Check out the rest at BaseballProspectus.com [subscription may be required].
