What are yip pitches in baseball?
What are the pitching yips in baseball or softball? Throwing yips are another variety of “yips”. I have worked with many players who had problems with golf yips and throwing yips. Pitching yips, while rare in baseball, are very difficult to shake because players get stuck in a “yip cycle.”
When you’re having trouble shooting, you just can’t release the ball freely or send it to your target easily. Most ballplayers with the throwing or pitching yips lose control of their accuracy and are unable to hit the target. Some players may pause or freeze during the throwing motion.
Others may start with the full swing and when they do, they swing their arm forward. Pitching problems can affect pitchers, catchers, and infielders alike.
What are throwing yips?
The Mayo Clinic has done some research on yips and reports that the problem is both psychological and neurological. Performance anxiety about the result leads to muscle spasms, making athletes feel out of control. They also report that athletes with yips have a neurological problem called “focal dystonia.”
Yips primarily affect golfers, tennis players, and baseball players. The Mayo Clinic has tested athletes with Botox injections to relieve the symptoms of yips, but this therapy did not completely cure them.
In my opinion, after working with several athletes on the yips, the main issue is performance anxiety and fear of failure. Ballplayers who have a bad start can also start messing with their mechanics and make things worse. In many cases, they begin to worry about the outcome and how others see the problem.
One case of throwing problems I worked with was a high school pitcher who couldn’t return the ball to the pitcher accurately. Please note that returning the ball to the thrower does not affect the outcome of the game. He would get up and return the ball to the pitcher and fail to hit the target, often throwing a blooper.
What’s interesting is that he could throw well to second base with little to no trouble when he counted! Is this a physical problem with the mechanics of it? Or is it a mind game problem?
My philosophy is that a bad start can yip some players. And when you start labeling yourself as someone who throws yips, you start to think that you have an incurable disease. Some players try to be more perfect with their shot. And when you want to make the perfect throw, you push yourself too hard and control your movement too much.
First, you have to simplify your throwing motion again, not make it more complex or perfect. Second, you have to regain the freedom of the throw, just like you would play catch as a kid. Third, as you gain confidence, your freedom and accuracy begin to return.