Tom Seaver died this month, his great mind ravaged by dementia. There is a tragic irony here because Seaver was one of the smartest, shrewdest, most creative pitchers to ever step on the beam clay of an MLB bump.
Tom Terrific wrote a brilliant book called The Art of Pitching. It dissected, analyzed, chewed up and digested every aspect of tossing a five ounce Rawlings. Art, indeed.
Take a good look at this pic. Notice the dirt on Seaver’s right leg. He got down the hill with so much drive his knee often scraped the clay. They said Tom Terrific and Roger Clemens were Drop and Drive pitchers. No way, Jose. They were both Drive and Drop and there’s a huge difference. Stay tuned and we’ll explain.
Harvard on the Hill
Seaver was Harvard. Microsoft. MIT. Apple. A superb athlete but so cerebral he could reinvent his mechanics in the middle of his delivery. For mere mortals that’s like trying to walk, chew gum and teach Einstein’s Theory of Relativity while balancing on your head.
One of his mantras was how fast he got his right paw into throwing position. He stressed getting the ball out of his glove as quickly as possible. Get it Out and Get it Up.
This leads me to Mister Segue.
Dave Talks Baseball 