Here’s a great story of a $100 Million dollar pitcher having success at the AAA level, and get this… He’s doing it with a 79 MPH fastball.

If you’re a low velocity pitcher stuck in the mud and unable to pick up any speed, or you’re a guy who struggles with inconsistent velocity… You’re going to love this!

But-

It also applies to all you ‘obsessive velo’ guys who worry yourself sick about velocity and see nothing wrong with sniping the unsuspecting, on-deck hitter with the good ole’ #1.

Today’s story is a testament to the art of pitching. It’s about a guy who could care less how hard he throws, because he’s getting paid a million dollars a year to…

Mow down MLB hitters with Little League Stuff!

Meet Barry Zito.

Last week I decided to head over to the Nashville Sounds new stadium and see the 100 Million Dollar man, I’d read where Barry Zito was attempting to make a comeback after sitting out last year.  Over the past few years of his career, Zito had experienced a drop in velocity.

So, I wanted to see for myself how Barry was doing, and here’s what I discovered.

Zito was never considered a power pitcher, in fact, he made his millions off his curveball, but still – He was able to run the ball up there around 87- 90 mph.  But- before you knew it, the 90 mph fastball was gone and he was pitching without much success, at 84-85 mph.

So, he decided to take a year off and train…And that’s where I start with this story.

When the 79 MPH kept popping up on the scoreboard, pitch after pitch, I had to wipe my eyes, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing….and it wasn’t even $1 beer night.

Here was the former Cy Young winner, pitching for the Nashville Sounds. I couldn’t believe it, a $100 million dollar pitcher getting paid $1 million a year to throw a fastball that topped out at 83 mph (twice)… But was still successful.

Let’s face it…

A lot has changed since his glory days. Unlike Uncle Rico on Napoleon Dynamite…

• He can’t throw the rawhide a quarter mile and…
• He has no chance of ever throwing it over the mountains again.

Nope.

His Cy Young days are well behind him and he’s perfectly fine with that.

Let’ just say…

I’ve been doing this a long time and if you would have ever told me I’d see a Cy Young Winner pitching successfully at 79-81 mph mark, at the AAA level…

I’d swear it would have to happen on $1 beer night.

But- It wasn’t.

 

As I sat there and watched him throw, I noticed several differences between the Barry Zito now compared to the old Barry Zito.

• His mechanics have changed, slightly since his earlier days…

• Most prominent was the absence of the hooking of the wrist…

And to my surprise…

The knee-buckling curveball was no longer knee-buckling, but still very effective.

• What I witnessed that night was a pitcher with a very high skill level…
• A guy that knew how to compete…
• Wasn’t afraid to throw the soft stuff for strikes.

I couldn’t help but think of how many young pitchers could learn from watching a million dollar pitcher, actually ‘pitching’, not throwing.

Nowadays, pitchers and coaches,  are obsessed with velocity.

Most never become comfortable with who they are…

Never create an identity for themselves and instead…

Strive to ‘look’ like someone else…

Attempt to change their mechanics to model someone else’s, falsely believing if pitcher ‘x’ had success and stayed injury free, the “I” will too…

In other words,

Pitchers aren’t comfortable being themselves or making the most of what God granted them.

I can’t help but ask myself…

• “Why can’t more pitchers be happy getting hitters out ‘under the radar’ versus the ‘sniping the on-deck hitter’ with “VELO” ?”

• Why has it suddenly become cool to talk only about velocity, even though there’s no such thing as a professional velocity league?

• What ever happened to pitchers focusing more on getting hitters outs than getting lit up, but… “Hey, I may have hit the on-deck hitter and walked 7 in a row, but I threw 90 mph one time.”

There’s times, I actually believe pitchers think this game is played in a barn, a shed, and in tennis shoes… But the last time I checked, it requires cleats and is played on dirt with 9 other people, referred too as teammates.”  

The art of pitching is gone…

Today’s pitchers don’t have the skill level, or pitching IQ…

• To change speeds…
• Shift hitters in the box…
• And, Compete in the strike zone…

At the end of the day, we can blame the pitchers all we want but the truth is-

Today’s pitchers are being taught and instructed in an environment that’s not conducive to the true essence of baseball, and the art of pitching, is a lost art!

So, it was very refreshing for me to watch Barry Zito, standing on the mound and perfectly content at pitching 79-81 mph.

And what I found that was so ironic, was this…His velocity is so low, that it was creating the same effect as if it were 100 mph, but on the other end of the spectrum.  Instead of hitters being blown away and unable to make contact, they were swinging like it was Bugs Bunny pitching…(I actually think one hitter swung twice at the same fastball.)

And even though he didn’t throw a pitch over 83 mph the entire game…

• You still see late swings.

• You still see swings and misses…

Why?

Allow the Sounds pitching coach to tell you why… Read what he had to say on Fox Sports.

“A lot of people get all bent out of shape about throwing to the radar gun.”

And if you find it mind bending that he only threw 3 fastballs past 82 mph that night, what about this…

Zito throws his curveball as low as 66-67 mph.

I know what you’re saying…

“Lantz, if you’re throwing like that, you’re not going to get a shot at making a competitive travel ball team, much less, a professional contract.“

And you’re right.

But –

He’s still fun to watch.

In a day and age that’s obsessed with velocity, it’s nice to see guy throwing pies for a million dollars a year.

Call it a change of pace, but I call it a…

• Testament to the true essence of pitching…

• Perfect example of a pitcher who found a way to compete with lesser stuff…

A MLB league pitcher pitching in the minor leagues, beating MLB hitters with a Little League fastball….Most importantly, I call it a lesson in the art of pitching and how skill can trump ability.

And if only…

More pitchers would take notes and realize that any pitcher, regardless of your velocity, can still have success if:

• You throw strikes…

• Can change speeds….

• Move the ball…

• Compete….

• Throw 3 pitches for strikes…

• Locate the fastball

At the end of the day-

Velocity gets your foot in the door, and will keep you there longer…But – this game is played on dirt, requires cleates and as of right now, there is no professional “velocity league”.

Take my word for it… If you don’t understand what it really means to pitch, you won’t pitch long.

Trust what you FEEL,

 

 

P.S: I’ve got some HUGE news that I can’t wait to reveal inside my summer pitching programs. Fortunately for me, I’m surrounded by some of the leading researchers and doctors in the world at Vanderbilt Hospital.

During my summer programs, 15 lucky participants will get the opportunity to be the first in the world to get the inside scoop on the new velocity program that will be released soon.

I’ve partnered with one of the leading brain surgeons in the world and the information that we’re going to be sharing will change how pitchers are trained and developed.

Dr. Sills, and his team of neuro physiologists have created a cutting edge system to give you real scientific data needed to safely increase your velocity without the need for weighted balls or long toss.

In fact, this new velocity system will answer why you’re velocity is inconsistent and best of all, lays out your entire program day by day, eliminating the guess work and ‘one-size’ fits all programs that are putting 1000’s of pitchers at risk for injury and failure every single day.

And last but not least- The new velocity system will answer questions that have puzzled pitchers and pitching coaches for years…

• When to throw…
• When to take off from throwing…
• What you need to change with your sleep patterns, diet , strength training…
• Monitor the effectiveness of your recovery program…

Best of all – How to reduce your risk for injury while increasing the levels of your performance.  

If you’re interested in becoming one of the first in the world to see it for yourself, click the link below.

http://www.lantzwheeler.com/summercamp15

P.S.S: I just told one of my MLB pitchers that I’ve never been so excited for the off-season to get here. In fact, I’m convinced this new velocity program will change the way pitchers train and are being developed!