Show me a left hander who throws like a right hander, and I will show you a
pitcher with potential to be very successful. Left-handed pitchers who throw
like right handers have a greater opportunity to achieve MLB success than their
right-handed counterparts.
One of the more blatant examples of how little MLB pitching coaches really
know about pitching mechanics was the trade by the Mets of Scott Kazmir for
Victor Zambrano. The word on the street was that the Mets' pitching coach,
Rick Peterson, thought Kazmir’s mechanics needed to be changed to prevent
future injury. Apparently Kazmir did not agree, and hence the trade.
I found it quite interesting because I fell in love with Kazmir’s mechanics
the very first time I saw him throw baseball (high school video clip).
I will also say that it appears that Kazmir’s mechanics have changed his since
high school, and in my opinion not for the better. Possibly that's a subject
for another day.
Some of the young guns who have right hander “stuff,” starting top left-hand
corner and going clockwise: Scott Kazmir, Erik Bedard, C.C. Sabathia and
Dontrelle Willis.
Erik Bedard throws the ball well, having led the American League in strikeouts
last year. He also has a very interesting baseball history.
A Franco-Ontarian, Bedard began his baseball career in the Orleans Little
League and the Ontario Baseball Association. He pitched he 1992 Orleans Junior
Red Sox team which beat Glace Bay in the 1992 Canadian Championship. Bedard did
not play high school baseball, which is the norm in Canada due to the short
season. Just 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds as a senior, he grew seven inches and
gained 30 pounds during the summer between graduating from high school and
beginning college. He accompanied a friend to a tryout at Norwalk Community
College in Norwalk, Conn., and made the baseball team as a walk-on
While in college, he added 10 mph to his fastball, gained another 30 pounds,
took the "lowest level" non-credit English language course to enhance his
knowledge of the language, and became a junior college All-America.
Bedard has the throwing tools to be a successful left hander. At least the
Mariners think so.
Willis burst onto the baseball scene in 2003 as much for his funky delivery as
for his success on the pitching mound. Willis’ delivery was a throwback to the
likes of Louis Tiant. And Willis can throw the ball. He had statistically solid
years from 2003 until last year. His ERA jumped, as did his home runs, and his
ability to locate seemed more a problem than in previous years. It would be
interesting to compare his mechanics of 2003 to what he was doing last year to
see if he is another potential victim of MLB coaches making his mechanics
“look better.”
Sabathia is probably the most interesting of all. The Cy Young Award winner in
2007, he has gotten off to a shaky start. And then there is the little matter
of his pitching for contract this year. The hot stove talk before the season
began was whether Sabathia would break Johan Santana’s contract record. (The
three largest contracts for pitchersall have gone to left handers—Mike Hampton
, Zito, and Santana.
Sabathia has been a workhorse for Cleveland since 2001, averaging almost 200
innings a year. Hde can get it up there (fastball consistently in the low 90s).
But I never liked the way he threw the ball—a portion of his velocity is
simply due to his size, in my opinion.
Raw throwing ability does not guarantee major league success. You still have to
know how to pitch. But given two pitchers of equal throwing ability, the left
hander has a greater chance of achieving success.
Still, the same things that work for a left hander are also working against him
. And in some ways, the left hander is on a more precarious precipice than his
right-handed counterpart.
Next: What the Lord giveth, the MLB hitter taketh away—and exactly what are
effective throwing mechanics?
假如一位左投學會怎樣投起來像右投，那他將有潛力成為非常優異的投手。比起右投，投
起來像右投的左投有更高的成功機會。
從Scott Kazmir的交易案中可以知道大聯盟對投球機制是有多麼的不了解。有傳言說大都
會隊的投教Rick Peterson認為Kazmir需要改姿勢以避免受傷。顯然Kazmir不這麼認為，然
後就被交易了。
我覺得(這件事)很有意思因為我在看到Kazmir投球的第一天就被他的投球機制所吸引。
(這是高中時期的影片)
此外我還要說的是在高中後Kazmir的投球機制有些改變，而這些改變我認為並不是往好的
方向前進。也許這會是另一篇文章的主題。
一些有右投手的stuff的年輕左投。順時針方向:Scott Kazmir, Erik Bedard,
C.C. Sabathia, Dontrelle Willis。
Erik Bedard丟的很好，在去年的美聯三振排行榜上名列前矛。他的投球生涯也是相當有意
思。
身為一位說法語的加拿大人，Bedard在Orleans Little League和Ontario Baseball
Association開始他的棒球生涯。在1992年率領Orleans Junior Red Sox拿下加拿大冠軍。
他在高中時沒有打棒球，這在球季短的加拿大是很常見的。高中時還只有5-4,120磅的他，
升大學時一口氣多了7吋30磅。他和一位朋友一起去Norwalk Community College測試，並
成了隊中的一位板凳球員。
在大學時，他又多了30磅，球速加快10mph，英文能力變強，並取得美國大學生的身分。
Bedard有成為成功左投的丟球條件，至少水手隊是這麼想的。
Willis在2003年以他奇怪的姿勢和優異的成績在棒壇中嶄露頭角。他投球姿勢很像以前的
那個Louis Tiant。他懂得怎麼丟球，有好幾年優異的表現。但在去年，他的各項成績大幅
衰退。比較他現在和以前的的投球機制應該會很有意思。也許他又是另一個大聯盟投教幫
他把姿勢變得"正常"的另一個受害者。
Sabathia也許是其中最有意思的。2007年的賽揚獎得主，在今年開季時有點掙扎並有些關
於合約上的事情。在開季前的一個熱門話題是他的新合約會不會打破Santana的紀錄。
(獲得投手前三大的合約都是左投:Hampton, Zito, Santana)
Sabathia在2001年後每年都貢獻近200局給印地安人隊。他有能力和打者正面對決。但我從
不喜歡他的丟球:我覺得他的球速有部份是靠他的身材。
光只有丟球能力並不能在大聯盟立足，你還是需要知道如何投球。但比較兩位丟球能力相
同的投手，左投有更高的成功機會。
然而，同樣的事情也可以是反作用力。在某些方面而言，左投比起右投更靠近災難的邊緣
。
下一章:What the Lord giveth, the MLB hitter taketh away—and exactly what are
effective throwing mechanics?