The Pitching Edge - Tom House

The Pitching Edge

by Tom House

NEW, 168 pages

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About The Pitching Edge

Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, and on and on. Tom House helped develop these athletes into the great pitchers they became-Hall of Famers and Cy Young award winners. Having spent 20 years in the Major Leagues as a pitcher and pitching coach, and more than that studying the science of pitching, House was well-prepared to unleash the maximum potential from his star pitcher pupils. Now, in the new edition of his highly acclaimed The Pitching Edge, House accomplishes through a book what he has been doing directly for decades with pitching prodigies.

To House, pitchers are products of four things-their genes, their degree of mastery of the pitching motion,their level of physical conditioning, and their mental toughness and skills. The first factor cannot be changed; the other three can, and they form the three parts of The Pitching Edge.

Part I is the best, clearest, and most complete information on pitching mechanics ever presented in a book. Each phase of the pitching motion, from initial set up through the post-follow-through is explained in detail and demonstrated through computer-generated stick figures and accompanying full-body line drawings. Here, and throughout the book, the author offers special trouble-shooting advice for pitching problems in an element called House Calls.

Physical conditioning specifically for pitchers is covered in Part II. Far beyond the standard training advice, this section of the book provides clear exercise and program prescriptions for taking care of the throwing arm, preparing between starts and relief appearances, and maintaining all off-season fitness gains throughout the long competitive season.

Finally, in Part III House looks at the psychology of pitching. More than the standard goal setting and mental imagery mumbo-jumbo, this section mixes what House has found to be most effective in mental and emotional management on and off the playing field. Always focused on the practical, this part of the book includes many valuable lessons and tips for making winning strategic pitching decisions throughout the course of a game and season. As a bonus feature, House includes his new Athletic Determination Inventory, which measures pitchers` motivational drive and mental makeup.

In all, House has masterfully combined the art and science of pitching into a very useful guide for players and coaches. This book truly is The Pitching Edge.

About Tom House

Tom House is one of the top pitching experts in the world. After playing for the legendary Rod Dedeaux at USC, House pitched in the Major Leagues for the Atlanta Braves from 1967 to 1975, for the Boston Red Sox from 1976 to 1977, and for the Seattle Mariners from 1977 to 1979. He then coached pitchers for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and Texas Rangers. He also has coached in Japan and Latin America.

In addition to his on-field experience, House has made pitching a scientific study. His company, Bio-Kinetics, uses computer-generated, three-dimensional motion analysis to help athletes maximize performance through proper biomechanics. House also holds a PhD in psychology and has been a sport psychology consultant for many professional and amateur baseball players.

House is the author of eight previous books on baseball and has produced eight instructional videos on pitching. He is a member of the Major League Baseball Players' Association, as well as the American College of Sports Medicine and the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology. In 1998 House was presented with the American Baseball Coaches Association's lifetime achievement award.

When he's not coaching or analyzing pitchers, House enjoys jogging, weight training, and golf. He and his wife, Marie, live in Del Mar, California.

Reviews of this Book

"Tom and I worked together when we were with the Texas Rangers. He's always been ahead of his time when it comes to baseball information and instruction. This revised Pitching Edge is a must-read if you want to know what's new with pitching training, techniques, and thinking."
Rob Nen
Pitcher, San Francisco Giants

"In person, in videos, and in books, Tom has always tried to give coaches and athletes state-of-the-art methods to prepare for competition. This second edition of The Pitching Edge updates his mental and physical training protocols, providing new drills to help improve the skills of any pitcher who is willing to work."
Charles Nagy
Pitcher, Cleveland Indians

About Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team (the batting team) take turns hitting against the pitcher of the other team (the fielding team), which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning and nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.

Evolving from older bat-and-ball games, an early form of baseball was being played in England by the mid-eighteenth century. This game and the related rounders were brought by British and Irish immigrants to North America, where the modern version of baseball developed. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States. Baseball on the professional, amateur, and youth levels is now popular in North America, parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean, and parts of East Asia. The game is sometimes referred to as hardball, in contrast to the derivative game of softball.

In North America, professional Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL). Each league has three divisions: East, West, and Central. Every year, the major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. Four teams make the playoffs from each league: the three regular season division winners, plus one wild card team. Baseball is the leading team sport in both Japan and Cuba, and the top level of play is similarly split between two leagues: Japan's Central League and Pacific League; Cuba's West League and East League. In the National and Central leagues, the pitcher is required to bat, per the traditional rules. In the American, Pacific, and both Cuban leagues, there is a tenth player, a designated hitter, who bats for the pitcher. Each top-level team has a farm system of one or more minor league teams. These teams allow younger players to develop as they gain on-field experience against opponents with similar levels of skill.

The Pitching Edge