Check Your Pitching Mechanics | Henken [Baseball Pitching Lab Japan]

Every pitcher has an ideal pitching motion in mind and works daily to get closer to it.

However, when you actually watch your own pitching mechanics, you may be surprised to find that it looks completely different from what you imagined.

In this section, we will explain the importance of objectively analyzing your own mechanics and key points for checking your pitching motion.

Understand Your Own Adjustment Points

For example, when trying to improve your pitching mechanics, if there is a gap between your mental image and your actual movement, no matter how much you adjust your image, the gap will remain and results will not follow.

You may be told by a coach, “Try throwing like this,” and attempt to follow the advice.
But if you don’t understand how to achieve that movement, you won’t be able to execute it properly.

The root of these problems is not fully understanding your current mechanics.

Even if you understand your mechanics, improving them is challenging—but without that understanding, it becomes even more difficult.
If you don’t know where you currently stand, you cannot find the path to your ideal form.

Clearly identify your starting point—your current pitching mechanics—then establish checkpoints to guide you toward your goal.

By checking your mechanics regularly, you may also be able to quickly identify the causes of poor performance.
Simply comparing your mechanics on good days and bad days can reveal important differences in balance and body usage.

As your understanding deepens, you will even be able to make adjustments during games.
For example:
“My velocity is down today.”
“Maybe I’m throwing too much with my arm.”
“Let’s focus more on using my lower body.”

Or:
“My pitches are staying high.”
“Maybe my stride is too short.”
“Let’s check my stride length.”

By recognizing patterns in your mechanics and knowing how to respond, you can make effective adjustments.
This is useful not only for performance fluctuations, but also for adapting to different environments, such as mound height or field conditions.

How to Check Your Pitching Mechanics

Now, let’s actually check your pitching mechanics.

The best way to evaluate your mechanics is to record yourself pitching.
Shadow pitching in front of a mirror can be helpful, but there are differences in tension and movement compared to actually throwing a ball, so it is better to review real pitching footage.

A video camera provides the best image quality, but modern smartphones are more than capable of capturing clear footage.

Ideally, record your pitching motion from four angles: front, back, first-base side, and third-base side.

When saving the footage, make sure to include notes about what you focused on and what you tried to adjust, so you can review them together later.