The basics

Tuesday, March 17

My oldest son is taking some pitching lessons to clean up a few things in his motion. He’s always been a solid pitcher, but this is the first time we are doing actual lessons.

Listening to the coach (a legend in the pitching world who has coached dozens of pros), it was fascinating to watch him break down the science of pitching, and the basics. He explained that there are essentially 4 things that are non-negotiable. He showed clips from several top MLB pitchers who all had these 4 things consistently in their motion. “After that, it’s up to your personal preference.” Every pitcher may have a number of unique things about their motion, but the 4 basics were always present. “Turn these into muscle memory and you’ll be good to go.”

He talked about all the things pitchers who come to work with him want to work on. They want to throw harder, have more pitches, etc. “Doesn’t matter if they can’t get these 4 things down.” He’s had some pitchers he’s worked with that for 2-3 months they never actually got on a mound to throw pitches. They just worked on making these things natural.

It’s a reminder that in our pursuit of growth, being brilliant in the basics will take you further. You don’t need hacks, shortcuts or the shiny new thing. You just need to do the boring work of being great in what matters.

Focus on the basics today.
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Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin