Five ways pitchers can stay sharp, in shape during long interruption

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused either the indefinite suspension or cancellation of baseball seasons. Meanwhile, social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders have prevented players from working out in public facilities or participating in outdoor team activities like they normally would.

Considering those obstacles and the uncertainty of when, or if, Major League Baseball and other age levels in summer leagues will resume, how do pitchers keep their arms in shape? And if they don’t, are they more susceptible to injuries?

Ron Wolforth (www. Texasbaseballranch.com), a long-time pitching trainer who is founder of Texas Baseball Ranch and author of Pitching with Confidence: A Parent’s Guide To Giving Your Elite Pitcher An Edge, says too much inactivity during the prolonged disruption can have physical consequences for pitchers when competition resumes – and there are plenty of ways to keep up their conditioning even when in isolation.

“A new threat to throwing athletes will emerge amidst the COVID-19 outbreak,” Wolforth says. “Soft tissue needs preparation for the stresses of high-intensity throwing, and now the normal ramp-up time has been interrupted, so the risk to soft tissue could increase.

“Pitchers need to take a work-while-you-wait approach. The old saying, ‘If you don’t use it, you will lose it’ is 100 percent true. To minimize the risk of injuries, purposeful throwing must be maintained, and a consistent overall conditioning program should be adhered to.”

Wolforth offers other tips for pitchers to stay in shape and stay sharp during the wait.

“Just playing catch on a regular basis is far better than a shutdown,” Wolforth says. “You can maintain social distance in a yard with one other person and keep your arm loose. Too much inactivity puts you in catchup mode. If you take a week off it will take you two weeks to get back to the conditioning level you were at before the time off. Take off a month and it will take you six weeks.”

“The pitching athlete cycles when he is in season, and he should in fact be cycling right now,” Wolforth says. “Have two intense days in a seven-day period, separated by a minimum of 48 hours between intense pitching sessions. Have two light days and three medium days within that seven-day frame.”

“Wrist weights, a throwing sock, or a hand-speed trainer can be used inside the home as a bridge to keeping your arm and shoulder healthy and durable,” Wolforth says. “Throwing to a training screen or pitchback in fairly closed quarters can help improve control.”

“This time is a great opportunity to get better at certain things that you otherwise wouldn’t have the time to invest,” Wolforth says. “Mobility and flexibility, strength, balance, and stability, structural alignment, mechanical efficiency, and different pitches. Some of these are things you can work on in