Awesome video of one of Dr. Marshall's star pupils, Jeff Sparks, demonstrating the quantity and quality of the pitches in his arsenal.
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=2658143
Here are a couple of audio interviews with Dr. Mike:
http://www.kpug1170.com/imageuploads/Files-FilePath-350.mp3
http://blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?show_id=25427
And an article from the website of one of the interviewers, Carl the Cabbie:
Some of the highlights from the article are excerpted below, you can click on the link to read the entire article. You wonder how long it will be before some team takes these methods and runs with them. The problem is maybe the good Dr.'s "bedside manner" may be an impediment, when most major league managers and GM's are, at heart, huge control freaks. I'm not sure a strong personality/ego like Marshall's would co-exist with most in control now.
Also, I think when one of your star pupils is unable to help the pitching staff of the Devil Rays, that hurts the reputation of the program. Although he pitched great while he was there and would probably be one of their better pitchers TODAY.
http://bestblog.mlblogs.com/inside_pitch/2007/05/dr_feelgood_3.html
The Marshall Plan
The same year John became the successful guinea pig for modern day surgery, Mike Marshall accomplished a feat that would challenge the traditional idea that arm injuries were an inevitable result of being a professional pitcher. In 1974 Marshall won the NL Cy Young Award by pitching in a phenomenal 106 games. More phenomenal were the other records Marshall set by pitching 208 1/3 relief innings that year, and at one point throwing in 13 consecutive games. Overall, Marshall went 15-12 with 21 saves and a 2.42 ERA. He was injury-free for the rest of his career!Most everyone in baseball including John thought Marshall was just a physical freak of nature. But, there was a method to Marshall's ability, a very scientific method that drew heavily on Sir Issac Newton's "Laws of Motion". Marshall has dedicated himself to learning and teaching now for almost 40 years.
Newtonnew_2 In 1967 after experiencing shoulder soreness while pitching for the Detroit Tigers, Marshall began to apply his love for science and research to himself. He wondered what was causing his soreness and went about experimenting with the mechanics of how he threw to rid himself of the discomfort. The discoveries Marshall would make were groundbreaking in the science of bio-mechanics applied to the throwing of a baseball. In 1978 Marshall, while still pitching for the Minnesota Twins, obtained his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology. Over the next 29 years Marshall would continue to develop his ideas on the best mechanics to throw a baseball.
For those unfamiliar with Marshall's work, here are some highlights of the mechanics behind Marshall's method. The scientific explanation for Marshall's ideas are pretty complex, so I've done my best to simplify them here. I've also linked to a video of a Marshall student throwing a baseball with these techniques. Unfortunately, the video is from Yahoo, so there's a thirty second commercial before the video begins. But, it's worth checking out:
1- Sir Isaac Newton's "First and Second Laws of Motion" teach that in any movement the direction of the force is the same as the direction of the acceleration. The most efficient and powerful movement is that which moves in a straight line. Because of this Marshall believes that pitchers should apply all of their movement in a straight-line force towards home plate. Any windup that requires you to turn your body away from the plate he believes is inefficient and causes extra stress to the arm. Marshall teaches a pendulum windup much like a softball pitcher uses or some of the pitchers from the early part of the nineteenth century.
2- Hidden Velocity- Marshall teaches pitchers to release the ball from their hand later than traditional approaches. He claims this will add extra velocity to a pitch.
3- Pronation of the Forearm- This means that a pitcher should turn his palm away from his pitching arm with the thumb pointing downwards upon follow though. This movement relieves stress in the elbow and shoulder and prevents the forearm bone from slamming into the upper arm bones.
4- Rear Foot Forward- Pointing the rear foot forward off of the pitching rubber alleviates stress to the knee and hip joint while also preventing groin pulls.
5- Throw in a Back To Forward Motion- Marshall claims that throwing across one's body causes extra stress to the arm that will cause many types of injuries.
6- No Leg Kick- As Marshall puts it, "Stand still and then lift your foot about four feet in front of you. How's your balance?". By teaching pitchers to move their foot forward without a kick, Marshall believes that one has a stronger center of gravity to exert force from.
7- Hand Under The Ball- Pitchers who throw with their hand on top of the ball are prone to rotator cuff and Ulnar Collateral Ligament problems.
These are just a few of the ideas Marshall teaches to improve a pitcher's health with his mechanics. To understand more fully, one really might want to take an anatomy class.
Marshall claims that if pitchers learned his methods, 95% percent of arm injuries would be preventable including Rotator Cuff problems and the infamous "Tommy John" injury and. Marshall's book, Coaching Baseball Pitchers (can be read free on the internet) should probably be on the nightstand of every pitching coach in baseball. So, why isn't it?
As Braves GM John Schuerholz explains,
"It's so far afield from the traditional, normal method... Not many people I've talked to would be comfortable embracing a concept that's so diametrically opposed to the teachings of baseball".
If baseball was to adopt Marshall's ideology they'd basically be indicting themselves for teaching inferior mechanics. In a recent conversation I had with Marshall, he shared with me his frustration from the fact that most pitching coaches have a very limited knowledge of biomechanics and science which creates a gap in communication, if not a total brain freeze.
"The minute I start talking to any pitching coach about the science their faces go blank," Marshall says, "But, when I give a lecture at any major university, I get a standing ovation".
Marshall makes no bones about what he thinks of baseball's power brokers. He thinks that the traditional mechanics that they teach pitchers actually cause most of the arm injuries.
"I got tired of appeasing the stupid... How long does a blond have to act like a **** before she gets a date? These people (in organized baseball) are idiots. They don't know a damn thing. The thing is, they're powerful. They get the kids and can destroy them. And they do."
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