Clayton Kershaw Pitching Mechanics

I think all of us enjoy watching Clayton Kershaw work his magic on the mound!

What I enjoy about Kershaw is the crazy movement of his pitches, especially his curveball. He’s got the very best Major League hitters stumped and swinging at curveballs that, at times, drop 2 feet in front of home plate. I love it!

The question right now: Is Kershaw going to be seeing the type of money Justin Verlander just signed for this year? Yes, he is that good! Right now his contract sits at $19 million for last year until the end of 2013. It’s arguable that he is just as good as or better than Verlander. Do you think he deserves a $200 million dollar contract as young and good as he is?

Let’s set aside the contract talk right now and take a look at Kershaw’s pitching mechanics.

I want to point out a couple of things in his delivery I think he does extremely well to maintain balance and create explosive power.

Here’s the slow motion video clip of Clayton Kershaw’s mechanics

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOc8ue1gAOA-A&w=320&h=240]

At 1:11 you will see he is in a great balanced position with glove and throwing arm aligned with his spine (straight up and down). Although he raises his glove and throwing arm above his head they are still aligned with his spine line. His knee is slightly bent and his weight is on the ball of his pivot foot.

At 1:19 he really pushes off the ball of his back foot and is starting to get into the equal and opposite position with both arms. Notice how his head stays over his center of gravity “belly button” all the way to foot strike.

1:23 His hips rotate slightly before his upper body. This gives him a little more torque. You will see most power pitchers do this. You want to make sure that your lower half rotates before upper body. He’s in a great equal and opposite position with both arms. His pivot foot is still on the ground and head still over center.

1:24 This is perfect! His front glove arm stays in front of his spine line until release of the ball. You will notice his pivot foot (back foot) stays on the ground until release as well, great drag line. Keeping his foot on the ground until release of the ball also gives him more power. Pitchers that lift the pivot foot too early will lose some power.

What I think Kershaw can do better is lead with his hips much like Verlander and other pitchers you will see me critic over the next 5 weeks.

Hey, I’m not saying his mechanics are bad. I’m just saying that he could get a bit more power in his delivery, even more explosive power to footstrike.

If you are 100% ready to learn how to throw faster like Kershaw, Verlander, Hamels, Sabathia and ESPN’s pics for the top 20 pitchers in the MLB then you don’t want to miss out on this!

Click below to learn how to generate explosive power in your delivery, throw nasty pitches, throw with a major league mindset and more!

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As always, Make it a great day!

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