Game Day Routine for Pitchers

As a pitcher you want to feel confident and prepared, make sure you bring the things on your checklist, coat, extra shirt, towel, fluids, etc.  Pitching is a rhythmic, controlled, explosive exercise.  Thinking too much or negative thoughts can adversely affect performance.  A pitcher needs to have done their road work on the days leading up to game day.  On game day you want to feel loose and ready.  The mechanical parts of how to pitch is worked on in practice, now it is performance time so don’t think – cut loose and see the catcher catch it.

Approximately 50 minutes before the game

• Dynamic stretching with the team – static stretching will decrease explosiveness for 11/2 hours or until about the 6th inning – So dynamic warm up for the whole body is best. 
• Warm-up as you typically warm-up, same routine throwing progression etc.  Warming-up should be a comfortable learned experience – not different because it is your turn to pitch.
• Make sure you get good and loose – stretch it out with some with longer catch - but not enough to alter your release point.
• Never warm-up with a jacket or any cover up that holds in the heat – warm-up in what you plan on wearing on the mound – if you are cold put some more clothes on under your jersey!  By warming up with a jacket on and then taking it off to pitch, your muscles will cool too quickly, especially if you have worked up a sweat with your coat on.  Arms can be damaged severely by muscles that are shortened by the temperature because they can strain or tear when asked to perform.

 

•  A pitcher wants to have a coat or cover up to put on in between innings to keep the arm from cooling down too much during the break.  As the temperature gets warmer it may be a good idea to bring a change of under shirt during the game it can be refreshing to get into a dry shirt when a pitcher has sweated through his current one during the game.

 

Approximately 30 minutes before game time

 

• The pitcher should start throwing to a catcher.–this can be adjusted with home team or visiting team designation, batting practice or the pitchers preference. 

a. Start short and work your way back to the mound.

b. After throwing a comfortable amount of fastballs on the mound – go behind the mound and throw from the wind-up to the catcher over emphasizing the follow through – this helps to stretch out the muscles that finish the pitches and when you go back to the mound it feels like you are on top of the catcher – a positive image for the pitcher to improve confidence in control.

c. Work out of the set position – throwing all of your pitches – first couple just to get the feel.  Then direct the catcher where he should be and hit some spots.  This should be able to be accomplished in 15 pitches or less.

 

d. When you are comfortable out of the set, now work out of the wind-up taking the same approach as from the set.  Throw all your pitches just to get the feel, then direct the catcher and hit some spots.  This should be able to be accomplished in 15 pitches or less

Pitchers may have a tendency to show their anxiety during this time – do not let them over throw because they are anxious – remind them that the routine has prepared them and they should have confidence in their ability to perform.  No one has ever won a game in the bullpen, but some have lost it.  Remind them that some of the best games ever pitched have started with a poor pre-game bullpen session.  The key is to shape the poor pre-game in such a way that it can help to refine the focus of the pitcher for the game.  They need to just do their job like any other player on the team is always a good consistent reminder.

e.  Now that you are ready get the first hitter of the game out, working as if there is an umpire.  You may want to do this with a stand-in hitter to make it as real as possible.  If the first hitter is walked the pitcher should work out of the set position because they are not ready.  Some pitchers may need to throw the whole first inning in this session, if you find it is necessary based on past performance.

f.  Once the pre-game bull pen session is complete the pitcher should have an amount of time – approximately 10 minutes to relax before the start of the game – just enough to let the heart rate decrease and calm the excitement but not enough to start thinking and lose the edge.

g.  Let the defense do their job.  Do not show a lot of pitches early in the game.  Get early hitters out with location, work efficiently to keep everyone sharp, not a lot of wasted time on the mound.  Making quality pitches to get outs, that is the pitchers job for today.