HELP--Wild high

Going along with Coach Sam --

The three things I check for vertical wildness are the stride, the fingers, and the landing leg. You indicate you've already examined the stride, and Coach Sam has covered the elbow/arm position angle. So I'd try:

(1) See if the fingers are on top of the ball at release or behind the ball. I didn't see the pitcher's age; most pitchers don't know their finger position on a baseball, and many younger players have trouble staying on top of the pitch. When they try to add speed, they often put the fingers behind the ball, resulting in a weaker wrist position and a higher trjectory. Pitchers need to learn to feel the thumbs under/fingers over (on top) sequence. (This will also help to get the arm up). It's most likely that this approach (arm and finger position) will cure the problem. Otherwise,

(2) See if the front leg flexes on landing. The leg must not collapse, but it should have some "give" and bend to it. This will bring the release point lower and will also allow the hips to more fully release, resulting in more power. Modern pitching writers emphasize going "ball of foot to ball of foot", and it is important to land toward the toes instead of on the heel. But the flexing of the landing leg corrects many pitching p[oblems, including this one.

I first heard of this analysis from Tony Lucadello, a long time Phillies scout. He would examine the leg angle of each pitcher he evaluated. Darn if it didn't turn out that such an approach helps measure and train young pitchers.