There's got to be a fine line where I can find I'm still throwing the ball how I usually throw it, but it's able to dive down after a certain height and get to the guy.
I'm a breaking-ball pitcher.
I have always been a guy who is aggressive in throwing the ball.
I never actually thought about my delivery. I was always just throwing the ball.
I'm the kind of person that if I try to throw it hard, it doesn't come out as good. So my whole thought process is to stay smooth, stay on top of the ball, and just get my hand out in front.
You worry about how you're throwing the ball, how you're executing your pitches.
Ken Holtzman could pitch a game in ninety minutes. Wouldn't throw a breaking ball. And he had a great breaking ball.
Whenever you see riot footage on TV - you know, someone throwing a brick in Pakistan or somebody throwing a fiery piece of pooh through a Starbucks window up in Seattle - you ever see anybody throwing anything underhand? I think it just takes all the aggression out of the act.
He (Sandy Koufax) throws a 'radio ball,' a pitch you hear, but you don't see.
I grew up in an era where the perfect drive was a line drive, with quite a bit more spin.
My dad taught me really early so I could take a lot of pressure off my elbow. Because the way I throw it, it doesn't crank up my elbow like everyone else's curveballs.
At an early age, if you develop a delivery or a throwing motion that is direct to the plate, then that's fine. If you have one that's slightly open, that's fine, too.
You don't just throw the ball - you propel it.
I don't think I have accuracy problems. I do think when my feet aren't set, I deliver a different type of ball.
My batting practice would be a guy throwing balls in the way in which I liked it. It was all about getting ball on bat, rather than something whizzing past your ear.
In '05, '06, '07 and '08, I wasn't throwing any changeups at all. Maybe two or three per game. In '09, I started playing with the grip, started throwing it in the bullpen and playing catch. It came out really good.
