Building Velocity: What We Can Learn From Trevor Bauer

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Building Velocity: What We Can Learn From Trevor Bauer

Trevor Bauer isn't normal. Since Bauer isn't perceived to be normal, he has a tough time associating with others. Trevor Bauer has always been against the grain and because of this, Bauer has built himself into a successful professional pitcher. 

 At a young age, Bauer was always taught to ask why and find out the purpose of whatever he was doing. Bauer had troublesome relationships with teammates, coaches, and friends because he always asked why. Bauer's growth mindset caused many of his fixed mindset coaches to feel uncomfortable. Instead of understanding where Bauer was coming from, many dismissed him as odd because of his inquisitiveness. 

Bauer wanted to gain velocity and strength, through non-traditional ways.There are three ways to build velocity and arm strength. One way is to build strength, another way is to adopt more efficient mechanics, or create mobility.  Bauer is the poster-child for how the modern pitcher is built. Bauer endorses maximum effort training simply because it teaches intent. One of the purposes of long-toss and maximum effort training is that it builds intent. Kyle Boddy of Driveline Baseball has stated that it's best to have a young child learn how to throw with maximum intent first, rather than focusing on perfect mechanics. The reason being is because top level pitchers throw with maximum intent. Intent is different for every individual, but every successful pitcher pitches with intent. In addition to throwing with intent, this allows the body to organize itself in such a way so that the body will create the most efficient way to create velocity.  

Every person in baseball understands the purpose of long-toss. Long-toss promotes greater flexibility in the throwing arm through maximum intent in the throwing motion. According to a study by the  Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine of 16 NCAA Division I pitchers who long-tossed, found that their shoulders externally rotated from 129.4 degrees to 135.9 degrees in three days. That is instant improvement! A study by Dr. Kevin E. Wilk showed that shoulder mobility is critical in preventing injuries of all sorts in the throwing arm of a pitcher. According to Travis Sawchik and Ben Lindbergh's book "The MVP Machine," "Pitchers with deficits in external shoulder rotation were 2.2 times more likely to be placed on the injured list and 4 times more likely to undergo shoulder surgery compared to pitchers with sufficient external rotation." 

Another way to create arm strength is to use J-Bands, which are made by Jaeger Sports. J-Bands were originally created to help athletes recover from torn rotator cuffs. In addition with long-toss, the bands improved both internal and external rotation. After the J-Band warm-up, the player will long-toss. Using the J-Band warms up the ligaments in the arm and automatically prepares the arm to get stronger with long-toss. 

The last piece of the puzzle that Bauer uses has caught him grief from old-school baseball coaches. Before throwing a single baseball, Bauer will use a shoulder tube. This tube looks like a javelin and it warms up the shoulder muscles, forearm muscles, and upper chest muscles. The exercises looked funny to many other players, coaches, and friends, but it made Bauer durable and allows him to warm up to throw. This has been a piece that was used rarely by any baseball player before Bauer, but is now used in regularity by many players. The purpose of the tool outweighs the silliness that the exercises make it look. 

As I stated in the first paragraph, Trevor Bauer isn't normal. What has made him successful isn't his talent but rather his growth mindset and grit. Since Bauer is unconventional, his influence is seen throughout the game. You now see more players, coaches, and fans asking why. The best of the best no matter in what field, have a growth mindset. Because of Bauer's growth mindset, each of the tools such as the J-Band and shoulder tube allowed his arm to get stronger through intensive long toss. In addition to this, the long-toss allowed Bauer to pitch with maximum intent and strengthened his arm. No matter what level of baseball you are at, you can takeaway something with this post in order to make your athletes better, stronger, and healthier. 

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