On HBO’s Real Sports this week, there is a feature on Dr. Mike Marshall and his attempt to reshape the way a pitcher throws a baseball. If you haven’t seen this piece, as a baseball fan you need to check it out. If you don’t have HBO, you can go to Mike’s website (http://www.drmikemarshall.com/) where you can view free videos of the awkward looking pitching style the former Cy Young winner claims will eliminate all arm injuries forever.

For Mike Marshall it all started after his career ended. Mike was a very successful reliever during career. After his playing days ended Mike wanted to understand what was causing the rash of arm injuries, specifically to the elbow and shoulder. Marshall earned a PHD and studied the mechanics and physiology associated with throwing a baseball. What he discovered was that for over a century, from the time they were little boys, pitchers were throwing a baseball entirely wrong. According to Marshall, he has developed a technique that will eliminate arm injuries and allow pitchers to throw more often, with better stuff and accuracy than ever before.

The only way to describe the pitching motion is that it is highly peculiar, at least in terms of what we are used to. Gone are the familiar leg kick and the turning to the side before throwing toward home. Also the pitcher throws off the other leg, you know the one we would throw off of as kids when we were trying to throw like a girl (no offense to the lady athletes out there). The action is highlighted by the arm first hanging down like a pendulum then swinging up and over the head with the thumb facing down while releasing the ball. Honestly, I am not the one to describe this technique. Go to Marshall’s web site for the nitty gritty. I warn you though, be willing to read with a dictionary near by. Marshall has no mercy for the layman in his description of the process. If you think Rick Peterson can be technical, you’ve seen nothing yet.

There is every reason to believe that what Mike Marshall is saying is correct in regard to the accepted motion for throwing a baseball. The evidence is in the number of surgeries that pitchers have undergone in the last 30 years. It’s astounding. The question I have is why then, if Marshall is truly on to something, hasn’t his technique been embraced. It’s not just professional baseball that has turned a blind eye to Marshall. Colleges and high schools have not run to Marshall for help either. But some pitchers have. Most are pitchers who suffered injuries or just could not stand the pain in their elbows or shoulders any longer. Those pitchers, who have taken the time to retrain themselves to the new way of throwing, swear by Marshall’s research. Their velocity improved and the curve balls they learned to throw were devastating. So again the question is asked, why not more acceptance?

One reason, which was brought out during the HBO interview, is who is going to teach this new technique. By admitting to this solution as the cure all, a lot of pitching coaches are going to lose their jobs. Plus, how do you teach all of the kids out there who pick up a glove and baseball that what comes natural is simply not correct. Marshall also recommends that kids should not pitch until they are 12 to 13 years old!

Another reason Marshall’s techniques have not be embraced is the fact that Mike is not a very politically correct guy. He basically blasts everybody in baseball, referring to them as stupid and incompetent then wonders why no one will listen to him. He has become quite the pariah. Most coaches and GMs think Marshall is a nut. They make a good point in that not one of his pupils has ever become a phenomenon.  If a pitcher were to work their way through the minor leagues using Marshall’s method, become successful at the Major League level and remain healthy through their career then maybe some would take notice of what Marshall is saying. But until then, Dr. Mike Marshall will just be known as the arrogant flake who’s more of an annoyance than a help.

Marshall’s arguments are compelling and he backs it up with scientific data using computer modeling. Yes he’s arrogant and condescending but I believe he is on to something. Change is never easy, especially in a sport that has been so conservative over the years. It will take a monumental effort to change what has been established. Perhaps some of his techniques can slowly work their way into the game. Last season, Marshall claimed that Joba Chamberlain was throwing an adaptation of his “pronation curve ball”. If true, many Marshall disciples would no doubt alter baseball.

One thing that could and should be done in the game (unrelated to Marshall) is to raise the pitcher’s mound. Prior to 1969 the mound was 15 inches high. It was reduced to 10 inches because pitching so dominated in the 60s. Homeruns were down and pitchers ruled the league with microscopic ERAs. The number of complete games and shutouts was very high, especially in comparison to today. Since the pitcher’s mound was lowered, offense started to take off. Also, injuries started to mount. One theory suggests that throwing at a lower lever might also be contributing to the rash of pitching injuries. Plus pitchers are babied way too much. They should throw more not less, another point Marshall maintains.

Perhaps baseball doesn’t want Marshall’s technique because they know it works. Would baseball really embrace a new breed of pitchers that would dominate baseball? Gone would be the home run kings and big RBI producers, and perhaps the revenue baseball so desperately needs. Yes, I am suggesting conspiracy theory. The truth however is probably more simplistic. The thing that people fear most is change. That’s why Mike Marshall will continue to profess while he is mostly ignored.