I use high velocity to keep hitters off balance.
I remember going to see my dad pitch against other coal-mining teams, and he was successful with the knuckleball. I saw how bad guys would look like swinging, and how guys talked about how he could throw every day and didn't hurt his arm. That's how I grew up learning.
I really like Dontrelle Willis' pitch; he's animated on the mound and is fun to watch - he gets into the game emotionally.
The first sport I played was baseball. I remember being on the Little League team and someone pitching the ball to me for the first time. I was ready to no longer hit the ball off the tee, and an adult pitched it to me underhand.
I use fast curves, pitched overhand and sidearm, fastballs, high and inside, and an underhand fade away pitch with the hand almost down to the level of the knees.
Your body is not made to throw like we throw. That's why you see softball pitchers pitching two or three games a day. It's a natural movement in softball. In baseball it's not a natural movement.
Once a year, I take my whole wine team down to see the Giants, and we meet the players. I've never seen anyone pitch like Lincecum that can throw the ball and get through the front leg. He has that stiff front leg.
I always tried to watch the pitcher and his complete windup from the moment he had the ball in his glove all the way through his motion, and tried to follow it all the way out of his hand, all the way to home plate.
Gentlemen, for the first 60 feet that was a hell of a pitch.
A pitcher's arm goes, and they're done.
In my bullpen sessions, I'm just trying to feel comfortable, throw strikes, and not get too complicated.
I just try to make the pitcher work.
There's nothing wrong with pitch counts. But not when it's spit out by a computer, and the computer does not look at an individual's mechanics. And you can't look at his genes. It should come from the individual and the pitching coach and the manager.
I never actually thought about my delivery. I was always just throwing the ball.
You continue to try to hammer out fastball command the best you can.
Pitchers are going to break. You can limit their pitches and limit their innings, and they're still going to blow out. Pitching is hard on the arm.
Like I'm seeing Chris Sale; he's got a similar pitching style and strikes guys out a lot. Why are people only talking about my strikeouts and all that stuff?... Why not the other guys, who have similar numbers and pitch counts?
Well, I mean, I like to be pretty athletic off the mound in terms of taking care of my job, which is covering first base, fielding bunts in certain situations, fielding slow rollers to the first base and having to communicate and direct traffic.
Rich Folkers is throwing 'em up in the bullpen.
In baseball I was very singularly focused. If I was pitching it was me versus the hitter.
I'm a huge advocate of pitching. You have to have good pitching as the solid core, the foundation. It keeps you in every game.
Nolan Ryan is pitching much better now that he has his curve ball straightened out.
And then when I went to stay in '68, I can honestly say that I was not focused on my career and on what it took to be a major league pitcher and to be a starting pitcher.
Give me 10 high school pitchers, let me spend a week with them, and I'll show you 10 pitchers who won't balk. It's not that difficult, and they better learn it.
My curveball is a blessing. My father taught it to me. He felt that it was a pitch he wanted me to learn, right on the side of the house, and it just ended up working. I never asked what the tricks were, or anything like that.
