Question for tdarko about pitching

[wmonfor]

I've heard before that you pitch professionally, so you seem to be the person to ask about this.

What is the routine for a pitcher between starts? I'm talking about what he does to prevent hurting his arm or over-exerting himself between starts. What does he do from the time he steps off the mound til the time he throws his first pitch in his next start?

Also, what does steroids do for a pitcher? The Grimsley thing had me wondering abou this. Putting on 20 pounds of mucle won't add 10 mph to a fastball or a sharper break on a curveball, will it?

[Your Mom]

I'm not tdarko and I certainly didn't pitch professionally, but there's some good stuff on routines both in season and off season in Tom House's and Leo Mazzone's books.

[Rubeskies]

Hey, I pitched for a high level Div II college that won the DII World Series.

From the time I'd step off the mound after I was removed, I would go straight to the trainer and he would ice down my entire arm, shoulder, elbow, forearm. I'd then usually watch the end of the game before taking a hot shower to get the blood flowing again to those areas.

The day after a start is usually a very light day. I'd often do some light jogging maybe some light core work, but not much. A lot of stretching.

Day after that I'd usually throw on the flat, do some long toss for a short time. I'd also get on the mound to do the towel drill. The towel drill is where you go through your mechanics on the mound, simulating real pitching, but you are only weaving a towel between your pinky and index fingers. The idea is to snap it far out in front of you. This works the same muscles as pitching but doesn't strain them as much. It allows you to work on your full mechanics without putting full strain on your body.

Also on this day I might do a pool workout.

Day 3 I'd do long toss and get on the mound and throw a bullpen session at 80-85%. I'd do a lot of running and core work today.

Day 4 would be light running and on the mound I would only do the towel drill and throw a few breaking pitches to make sure they were sharp.

Day 5 The day I'd start I'd have the trainer stretch me out. Then I'd do light running, long toss, then warm-up 90% in the bullpen.

Some pitchers like to go right from full warmup in the pen to the mound. I'd usually prefer to rest for 5-10 minutes in the dugout before going out to start the game.


One reason pitchers use steroids is mostly for rapid recovery after pitching. They can also help you come back from an injury quicker. Some think that using these will make you recover quickly, but they will also increase the risk of a more serious injury.

EDIT: I'm not really sure what kind of steroids help you recover quicker. Probably not HGH but I'm not really sure.