Ryan Berry Interview

[glenn__davis]

Oh, they're no joke.

He rocks the Lowenstein's.

Yeah, we need to sign this guy solely for the glasses.

[kinsofboo]

There are some good pics of his delivery on this site, he doesn't look like he brings the ball back as much as most pitchers.

http://www.expressfan.com/2009/ncaa/rice09txam/index.htm

[McLovin]

That isn't Berry -- Berry is right-handed.

Duh. I googled 'Ryan Berry' images and blindly took anything back. My bad.

It does look like he has the 'inverted W' motion that a lot of Rice guys seem to end up with. 1:23 in for example.

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Nice writeup here: http://www.texasleaguers.com/home/2009/4/4/scouting-ryan-berry-rice-university.html

[TJ Wrangler]

Duh. I googled 'Ryan Berry' images and blindly took anything back. My bad.

It does look like he has the 'inverted W' motion that a lot of Rice guys seem to end up with. 1:23 in for example.

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Nice writeup here: http://www.texasleaguers.com/home/2009/4/4/scouting-ryan-berry-rice-university.html

He's definitely inconsistent with his timing. In that video alone, it ranges from decent to awful. Sometimes his forearm is still horizontal, while other times he's closer to vertical.

[Stotle]

He's definitely inconsistent with his timing. In that video alone, it ranges from decent to awful. Sometimes his forearm is still horizontal, while other times he's closer to vertical.

And in my opinion, it's at least in part because his hand break is inconsistent, and this year he occasionally got into almost a circular motion with his joined hands as he went into his leg kick. I think simplifying that a bit might help with more consistent timing and less stress on his shoulder. Breaking higher may help with the elbow, but now that's making enough tweaks for me to question what the ripples might be. He shows a good feel for both curves and his change, so I honestly don't know how much I'd mess around with it (I guess that's why no one is beating down my door and offering a job as a Minor League pitching instructor ).

[markpolis]

Duh. I googled 'Ryan Berry' images and blindly took anything back. My bad.

It does look like he has the 'inverted W' motion that a lot of Rice guys seem to end up with. 1:23 in for example.

Nice writeup here: http://www.texasleaguers.com/home/2009/4/4/scouting-ryan-berry-rice-university.html

I wonder if this is something taught or encouraged by the Rice staff to gain a few MPH and torque on their pitches. The long-term effects clearly aren't worth the short-term gains. If so, I seriously have to question the coaching staff and the pitchers who sign with Rice. Time and time again, this staff has destroyed the arms of these young men. :cussing:

[BRob51]

There are some good pics of his delivery on this site, he doesn't look like he brings the ball back as much as most pitchers.

http://www.expressfan.com/2009/ncaa/rice09txam/index.htm

Man, that is a great look Berry has got. I can't wait to see that flow in an O's uniform.

[TJ Wrangler]

I wonder if this is something taught or encouraged by the Rice staff to gain a few MPH and torque on their pitches. The long-term effects clearly aren't worth the short-term gains. If so, I seriously have to question the coaching staff and the pitchers who sign with Rice. Time and time again, this staff has destroyed the arms of these young men. :cussing:

That's an interesting point. When it comes to velocity, a lot of the harder throwers today are elbow lifters and inconsistent with their timing. At the same time, you have guys like Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson who weren't elbow lifters. I'm not sure the link is there to determine if that certain "flaw" is better for velocity. I think that the potential gains in velocity are canceled out by the possible increase of injury risk due to poor timing.

[mark_beckens]

Oh, they're no joke.

He rocks the Lowenstein's.

[NoVaO]

I wonder if this is something taught or encouraged by the Rice staff to gain a few MPH and torque on their pitches. The long-term effects clearly aren't worth the short-term gains. If so, I seriously have to question the coaching staff and the pitchers who sign with Rice. Time and time again, this staff has destroyed the arms of these young men. :cussing:

Your post made me go back and look at video from Rice players drafted since 2004 and I don't think the coaching staff does anything specific for players to generate velocity.

They didn't have many guys with true inverted arm actions. Joe Savery is one. Townsend was another, but he was inconsistent from pitch to pitch. His mechanics were terrible in general. Townsend's arm action was poor because he would break his hands late and then let it hang there, resulting in the arm being late and bad timing. The whole point of a late hand break is to allow the arm to be more explosive without hitches or pauses.

But in general most of the guys used mechanics that weren't athletic. They all were different, but a lot of them were tall-and-fall guys or short striders. Arm action was often a little loopy. Overall, just very stiff and unathletic mechanics. But it varied of course.

They also used to abuse pitchers, but that hasn't been the case recently.

Berry's mechanics are actually unique for Rice standards. His arm action is very short and quick, while Rice pitchers typically have longer arm actions.

I think one area Berry's delivery helps is deception. I'm not quite sure his mechanics specifically help with velocity. I do think his arm action needs to be cleaned up. I would look at what the Giants did with Tim Alderson (see prospect No. 3) as a possible guideline if they were to make any changes to Berry's arm action.

[NoVaO]

That's an interesting point. When it comes to velocity, a lot of the harder throwers today are elbow lifters and inconsistent with their timing. At the same time, you have guys like Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson who weren't elbow lifters. I'm not sure the link is there to determine if that certain "flaw" is better for velocity. I think that the potential gains in velocity are canceled out by the possible increase of injury risk due to poor timing.

I'd disagree with you on Ryan. He definitely lifts with his elbow. It's a matter of degrees however...Berry is on the extreme end of that.

I'd also disagree somewhat on Johnson. Again, it's a matter of a degrees...we're not talking about a BJ Ryan arm action here, but he does lift with his elbow. He doesn't allow the elbow to go above the shoulder, however.

One thing I notice the best pitchers do is throw through the cocked position. The pitcher's forearm is only in a vertical, 90 degree position -- if at all -- for less than millisecond. Sometimes this will lead to a "late" arm, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing in my estimation, especially if a pitcher is able to repeat it and consistently command their stuff.