The intent of the Baseball Collegian Pitching Project is to inform coaches and players and parents of some of the many theories on being a successful pitcher.

Most every concept has advocates with very strong opinions on either side of the argument. Too often, a theory is chosen based on popularity, conventional wisdom, or because someone famous does it that way, as opposed to one’s own analysis. With so many contradicting theories, it is essential to have an understanding of all of the possible options before deciding which one to commit to.
These pitching theories are presented without judgment, without confirmation bias, with no preconceptions, and without dogma or commercialism. In turn, the strong hope is that people are inspired to do the work to make up their own mind based on as much information as possible – and in turn, do what makes most sense to them.

Last month, the discussion was about whether curveballs are healthy to throw. This month, the discussion turns to which side of the rubber to throw off.

Q. Which side of the rubber should you throw off?

General Belief:
• Arm side Guy Hansen – A Baseball Guy (2016)
A relatively recent development has been the idea that right-handed pitchers should throw from the left side of the rubber and left-handed pitchers should throw from the right side of the rubber. Do I think this is the way to go?
Definitely not. I believe that for pitchers it hinders deception – a seriously undervalued aspect of pitching – and leads to weak lower body action and mild to extreme across the body direction in the delivery, both of which can lead to performance issues and to physical issues, including injuries caused by undue strain on the arm and shoulder.

Other Philosophies:
• Glove Side Perry Husband – The Science of Pitch Sequencing – Book 3
The slider seems to move less when you move over (to the glove side), but the reality is that the movement is the same, it is now just going against the grain and appears to be less. It sets up the fastball up and inside (to a RHH), change-up down and in, and slider, to all be in the same flight path for 20 feet. This idea of moving to a point on the rubber where more pitches share a line to the 20-foot mark is the very easiest and smartest place to start. Many major league pitchers have made adjustments using this approach with huge success.
The 12-to-6 curveball is easier developed using this concept of moving to a point on the rubber, where you are throwing against the grain.

• Either Side Leo Mazzone – Pitch Like a Pro
Tom Glavine stands on the third-base side of the rubber when he pitchers – even though conventional wisdom teaches that left-handed pitchers stand on the first-base side and right-handed pitchers stand on the third-base side.
So what the heck is Glavine, a lefty, doing on the third-base side? His fastball sinks and fades. His change-up fades. He wants to start on the third base side of the rubber to catch more of the plate and to give him the proper angle to the right-handed hitter.
The lesson here is that you can’t generalize about where to stand on the mound. You have to experiment to determine what’s going to work best for your personal style of pitching.

• Either Side Derek Johnson, The Complete Guide to Pitching (2013)
Another interesting strategy that has become popular recently is using the drag mark for the pitcher’s back foot as a “tell” or signal for where the pitcher should start on the rubber. In this strategy, if the drag mark goes to the middle of the plate, the pitcher is on the correct side of the rubber because the drag line is a remnant of the pitcher’s line to the plate. If the drag line goes away from home plate, the pitcher should move until his mark lines up properly. I have used this method with pitchers for the past year or two and believe it is a good starting point; however, other questions about ball movement and command of the pitcher still need to be answered. In other words, it is a great place to start, but not necessarily an absolute!

• Either Side Steve McCatty – Nationals Pitching coach
Matt Grace and Blake Treinen are just two pitchers in the Nationals organization who have moved along the rubber, a change that Steve McCatty believes can be helpful but is not “a career-changer.” In his nine major-league seasons pitching for the Oakland Athletics, he said he tried moving all over the rubber with little effect. Sometimes, he would have to move simply because another pitcher had been throwing from the same spot, tearing up that part of the mound.
In the end, standing on the rubber is as much about comfort as tangible effects. If a pitcher believes it helps, he will have confidence pitching from a certain spot. And with that confidence, he might have more success. (washingtontimes.com)

• Either Side (for a sinker) Scott Johnson – Fangraphs
The efficiency is the same, no other way to put it, which is the beauty of statistics and sabermetrics. (fangraphs.com)