Detroit Tigers: The Tale Of Two Pitchers, Daniel Norris

Pitching mechanics are supposed to be repeatable. Detroit Tigers starter Daniel Norris has repeatable mechanics.

Detroit Tigers pitching coach, Rich Dubee, should take note that Norris has two sets of repeatable mechanics.

That is right. From inning to inning, and sometimes pitch to pitch, Norris will show batters different mechanics. I call this Good Norris and Bad Norris.

Bad Norris

Might as well start with the bad side. The difference in the mechanics is on the follow-through. Bad Norris keeps his back straight up on the follow-through.

Jun 11, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Daniel Norris (44) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Not bending the back on the follow through will affect several different parts of the delivery.

First of all, it will leave him susceptible to injury. When not bending his back, Norris is stopping all forward momentum after delivery to stand straight up. That puts a big strain on his spine to stay straight up.

But the real reason pitching coaches will teach bending the back is because it allows the pitcher to throw the ball low in the zone with little trouble.

While Norris may be able to get the ball low sometimes, he won’t be able to be consistent with it, which is where he gets into trouble with location.

Keeping his back straight also will flatten out his breaking pitches, but not completely. He will still get movement based on how tight the spin is on his breaking pitches, but the ball will break more when he bends his back.

Good Norris

This is the Norris that everyone is excited about. This pitcher has the potential to be dominant for the Detroit Tigers. Dare I say “Justin Verlander level.”

The difference when he bends his back is huge. He has better control overall and finds way more success.