Pitchers With The Throwing Yips
Did you ever suddenly become unable to find the target when pitching?
Instead of throwing the ball you try to aim it or guide it towards the catcher’s mitt but the ball seemed to have a mind of its own.
You try to force the ball in the strike zone but it feels like you have forgotten how to pitch. It seems like you haven’t thrown a strike in forever and your control is shot.
You wonder how you suddenly lost your ability to throw a strike but there is no particular reason or explanation you can find.
You very well may be experiencing the “pitching yips.” The pitching yips are a sudden, unexplained loss of control or inability to throw the ball accurately.
The pitching yips manifest itself in the inability to throw strikes or throwing a high percentage of wild pitches.
One thing is for certain, if you didn’t suddenly change your pitching mechanics, the major cause is probably mental.
The pitching yips have ended many pitching careers. The yips can get into your head causing you to lose your confidence and mess with your mechanics.
As your muscles tighten due to the heightened anxiety, you force pitches and try to make the perfect pitch. Instead of trusting your pitches, all you can see is the ball landing everywhere but where you want it to go.
In baseball circles, the yips are not discussed. It’s like that family secret that boils just under surface. It is often a difficult issue to overcome because it is never truly dealt with by most baseball players.
Refusing to admit there is an issue keeps you stuck in a loop of fear, freaking out and failure. Call it what it is… the yips and start moving forward.
Rick Ankiel was a highly-touted pitcher with a bright future for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2000, 20 year-old Ankiel pitched his first full season and posted an 11–7 record, a 3.50ERA and 194 strikeouts in 30 games started. Ankiel struck out batters at a rate of 9.98 strikeouts per nine innings and allowed only 7.05 hits per nine innings.
Ankiel started Game One of the National League Division Series against Atlanta Braves.
In the third inning, Ankiel fell apart allowing four runs on two hits, four walks and throwing five wild pitches before being removed with two outs. From that moment on, Ankiel battled the yips eventually causing him to switch positions.
Ankiel’s Yips Spiraled Out of Control:
- Throwing five errant pitches in the first inning of Game 2 in the 2000 NL Championship Series
- Throwing two more wild pitches in the seventh inning of Game 5 National League Championship Series.
- Walking 25 batters and throwing five wild pitches in 24 innings in 2001.
- Being sent down to the minors in 2001 and walking17 batters, throwing 12 wild pitches and jacking up his ERA to 20.77 in 4.1 innings.
- Walking 49 batters and throwing 10 wild pitches in 54.1 inning in his 2003 minor league stint.
During that 2000 playoff run, Ankiel outwardly denied any mental block but inwardly could not move past his pitching yips.
ANKIEL: “I’m not worried at all. I just know what I was doing. I knew what I was doing before, but I went out and threw again today and it was the same thing, throwing the way I wanted. I just have to carry that into the game. I just didn’t finish the pitch.”
The first step is to admit you have a mental block. You don’t need to put a label on it but you do need to face your performance issues so you can mentally attack them head on.
How to Counter the Devastating Effects of the Throwing Yips:
Ask yourself, “Did I suddenly lose the talent I once displayed?” or “Is there a lingering injury altering my mechanics?”
If not, your solution lies in your mental game. Accept it and work through.
Write two columns: “My mindset pitching my best games” and “My mindset when I yip.”
Determine the differences in your thought processes, focus and approaches to these opposite performances.
Remember, your mental game requires the same attention as you give your physical game.
Related Baseball Articles:
- Overthinking and The Throwing Yips
- One Mental Key to Beat The Throwing Yips
- Solutions For The Throwing Yips
Get Expert Mental Game Coaching for Yips!
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