An overlooked part of off-season throwing

Like many baseball players, when I came out of the gym and starting throwing for real on a field once the season started, my arm was quite sore for a few days.  After about a week, the soreness

went away and my arm became accustomed to the rigor of throwing during outside workouts.  Players in warmer climates may not have this problem since most – if not all – of their pre-season throwing is done outside.  This is much harder to do if you live in the colder climates.

No matter how you train indoors, throwing inside is different than throwing outdoors.  Thus the soreness that a lot of players go through.  But that doesn’t mean that players can do nothing about this.  In fact, players who workout indoors can do a lot to lessen the soreness based on the types of pre-season throwing they do. 

The biggest tip I can give for indoor players is to do the best you can to mimic as much as possible the types of throws you will need to make when you go outside.  Of course, this is going to be different based on what position you play. 

Pitchers have it the easiest since throwing 60’6″ off an indoor mound to a catcher is a pretty close replica of exactly how you will throw outdoors.  It can be toughest for outfielders whose outdoor throws are the longest.  For them, the best thing to do is to do some indoor long toss.  How to accomplish that in a small area is explained in this post HERE. 

For infielders, a standard size gym can mimic many of the 90 foot throws most infielders will need to make.  The same goes for catchers.  However, an overlooked part of indoor off-season throwing for infielders and catchers involves using different arm angles.

For catchers and infielders, there are many times during a game where they will be required to throw using different arm angles.  It can range from straight over the top (catcher throws to second or third on steal attempts; infielder throws from deep in the hole) all the way down to below side arm (catcher bare hands a bunt and throws to first; an infielder charges a slow roller and throws to first).  Unfortunately, most players do not include this type of throwing in their off-season routines.  Because of this, their arms are not used to this type of throwing when they go outdoors.  A lot of soreness and even early season arm injuries can be the result.

With a month or two left in the off-season, be sure to start incorporating this type of throwing into your workouts to better prepare for outdoor demands.

Your arm will thank you for it.