Phil Hughes Explains Dip in Velocity
During the 2007 season, we were all wondering why Phil Hughes wasn’t throwing as hard as he could. Granted, most of us attributed such wonders to his injury issues, but, for those of us who weren’t sure as to why this was occurring, who better to explain it then Phil Hughes himself?
The following is from a Q&A on Phil’s blog:
metalboy15 asked: Your mechanics/delivery seemed to get a lot closer to where it was before the hamstring injury (first 2 starts) upon the arrival of Dave Eiland back in September of last years, do you credit your late season success to this
After coming back from my injury last season my mechanics were a little out of whack. This led to a little loss of velocity and command. When Dave arrived in September we were able to work out some things and I think that had a lot to do with the success I had at the end of the season. It was nice to finish off the year on a good note so I have something to work toward to get back to my normal self in 2008.
So, in August (after the no-hit bid), when Hughes had returned to the club after spending a few months on the DL, his overall numbers indicated a problem.
32.1 IP 32 H 23 ER 6 HR 15 BB 29 K 6.40 ERA 1.45 WHIP
Now, due to testimony directly from Hughes, we can simply attribute these figures to mechanical problems related to his previous injuries. When September rolled around with Dave Eiland and fixed mechanics, we had a much better line:
29.2 IP 25 H 9 ER 2 HR 10 BB 18 K 2.73 ERA 1.18 WHIP
And of course, we all know what Hughes did in the playoffs. So, with all of this stuff figured out, and with Dave Eiland as the club’s pitching coach, let’s expect bigger and better things from Hughes come 2008 (as a Yankee, not a Twin). Also, as long as Jose Molina gets a few days in with Hughes, we should be even better.
March 21, 2008, 4:19 pm at 4:19 pm
[...] to work with him on his mechanics, an issue that seems to be reoccuring for him. A few months ago Hughes explained his dip in velocity last year, citing that it was a mechanical issue that he eventully worked out before [...]