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When authors write how-to-do books, readers must question their credentials. Readers should ask, "On what academic training and what professional experiences do the authors claim expertise?" To validate my claim of expertise in baseball pitching, I offer my personal history, educational training and professional baseball playing achievements.
a. Personal History
I grew up in Adrian, Michigan, a small town near Toledo, Ohio. My four maternal uncles played high school football, basketball, baseball and/or ran track and my father played semi-pro baseball and fast pitch softball. These men filled my thoughts with athletics. As I loved them, I loved sports.
In 1954, I was eleven years old just in time for Adrian's Recreation Department to organize summer baseball leagues for eleven/twelve year olds and thirteen/fourteen year olds. For two years before then, friends and I rode our bikes to Island Park and played baseball all day, every weekday, all summer long. I don't remember anyone teaching me how to pitch; I just picked up the baseball and threw it.
In high school, I played third base and shortstop until my senior year, when I pitched nearly every game. We played two Twin Valley Conference games per week for the six week southern Michigan baseball season. I don't remember anyone teaching me how to pitch; I just picked up the baseball and threw it.
In June 1960, I graduated high school and, after American Legion summer baseball, I signed a professional baseball contract with the Philadelphia Phillies to play shortstop. I played minor league shortstop for four full years. Then, after a month into my fifth season, I changed to pitcher. I don't remember anyone teaching me how to pitch; I just picked up the baseball and threw it.
b. Academic Training
During off-seasons, I attended Michigan State University. I wanted to coach high school football, basketball and/or baseball. In 1964, I enrolled in Professor William Heusner's undergraduate Kinesiology course. He introduced me to baseball's two greatest pitching coaches, Sir Isaac Newton and Daniel Bernoulli.
Newton's three laws of motion taught me how to apply force to my pitches. Bernoulli's fluid flow equation taught me how to spin pitches such that they directions differently on their way to home plate. No longer did I just pick up the baseball and throw it; I followed Coach Newton's and Coach Bernoulli's instructions.
In 1965, I started my lifelong investigation of the mechanics of baseball pitching. I borrowed a 400 frames-per-second sixteen-millimeter camera from MSU's Agricultural Engineering Department and Professor Heusner's 64 frames-per-second camera and I filmed myself throwing my fastball and curve. I learned what camera equipment I needed to properly acquire data with which to complete a proper biomechanical analysis of baseball pitching.
In 1967, the Human Energy Research Laboratory of MSU's Physical Education Department purchased a Red Lakes Lo-Cam 500 frames-per-second pin-registered speed sixteen-millimeter camera. With this camera and the Agricultural Engineering Department's cameras, I again filmed myself pitching. I learned that with two cameras and no procedure to calibrate synchronous film frames, I had no way to verify my displacement and time data.
In 1970, under the guidance of Professor Heusner, Master's Degree student Jim Walton and Human Energy Research Department electronics expert, Bob Wells developed a high-speed timer. The visual display of this timer had four rows of ten lights each. The first, second, third and fourth rows synchronously blinked every ten seconds, every second, every one-tenths of a second and every one-hundredth of a second, respectively. To the naked eye, the fourth row appeared continuously lighted. By connecting the main timer to two additional displays, this one-thousandth of a second timer enabled researchers to precisely calibrate frames of film from three camera views. Now, I had the instrumentation with which to verify displacement and time data.
In October 1971, former MSU graduate teaching assistant and then Assistant Professor at Temple University, Michael C. Greenisen, brought a second Red Lakes Lo-Cam 500 frames-per-second pin-registered camera to East Lansing. With the Red Lakes camera of MSU's Human Energy Research Laboratory and the 400 frames-per-second camera from MSU's Agricultural Engineering Department, Mike and I filmed myself pitching.
With verified displacement and time data from these three cameras and the high speed timers, I biomechanically analyzed my fastball, curve and screwball. After my analysis, I now also followed Pitching Coach Marshall's instructions.
In addition to Kinesiology, Michigan State University taught me Gross Biomedical Anatomy, Physiology of Exercise, Motor Skill Acquisition, Child Growth and Development and more. In December 1965, I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education with a minor in mathematics. In March 1967, I earned my Master of Science degree in Physical Education, specializing in Child Growth and Development. In June 1978, I earned my Doctor of Science degree in the Physiology of Exercise with a cognate degree in Physiological Psychology. I specialized in Kinesiology and Motor Skill Acquisition.
c. Professional Achievements
As I gained scientific knowledge and major league game experience, I developed a plan for how I wanted to pitch. During my 1967 baseball season with the Detroit Tigers, I learned that I did not have pitches with with to equally challenge right and left-handed batters. I needed pitches that enabled me to pitch equally well to both sides of home plate. In 1967, I started training every day throughout the year to learn how to achieve the spin axes I needed to make my pitches move toward both sides of home plate. With my increasing knowledge of the Physiology of Exercise, I adjusted my interval training program. After every high speed cinematographic analysis, I adjusted my force application techniques.
Finally, before the 1972 season, I felt reasonably prepared to pitch as I planned. As a result, in 65 games, I pitched 116 closer relief innings with an 1.78 earned run average that produced 14 wins, 8 losses and 18 saves. Additionally, I convinced my field manager, Gene Mauch, that I could effectively pitch in more games.
In 1973, I pitched 179 closer relief innings in 92 games with a 2.66 earned run average that produced 14 wins, 11 losses and 31 saves. I set major league records for relief innings pitched (179) and appearances (92).
In 1974, I pitched 208 closer relief innings in 106 games with a 2.42 earned run average that produced 15 wins, 12 losses and 21 saves. I reset the major league records for relief innings pitched (208) and game appearances (106). I also set major league records for most consecutive games won (3), most consecutive games pitched (13) and most games finished (83).
From 1972 through 1974, I averaged 168 innings in 88 games with a 2.36 earned run average. My pitching plan succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. In 1979, I reset my major league record for most games finished (84) and set American League records for game appearances (90) and relief appearances (89).
For my 1972 season, sportswriters voted me fourth in the National League Cy Young balloting. For my 1973 season, they voted me second in the National League Cy Young balloting and I received the 1973 National League Fireman of the Year Award. With 179 relief innings pitched, I became the first closer relief pitcher to pitch more than the required 162 innings to qualify for the earned run average title.
For my 1974 season, they voted me first in the National League Cy Young balloting, making me the first relief pitcher to receive the Cy Young Award. I also received my second National League Fireman of the Year Award. New York Mets manager, Yogi Berra, selected me for the 1974 All-Star game and I pitched two scoreless innings. With 208 relief innings pitched, I became the only closer relief pitcher to twice qualify for the National League earned run average title.
In 1975, Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Walter Alston, selected me for the 1975 All-Star team. In 1978, sportswriters voted me seventh in the American League Cy Young balloting. In 1979, sportswriters again voted me seventh in the American League Cy Young balloting and I received my third Fireman of the Year Award.
I played professional baseball from March 1961 to October 1981. During my first four years, I played minor league shortstop and earned minor league all-star recognition three times, including in the double-A Southern League. Thereafter, I pitched for seventeen years, fourteen of which in the major leagues.
From 1974 on, sportswriters persistently asked me to explain how I could pitch high quality innings so frequently. I always answered that Biomechanics/Kinesiology, Physiology of Exercise and Motor Skill Acquisition trained me. They always wanted greater details. When I gave them greater details, they wanted me to give them simpler answers. With this book, I will as simply as possible again answer how pitchers should apply force to their pitches.
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