Alright, so I wanted to try out Craig Kimbrel’s pitching stance, the one where he hangs his arm down like he’s waiting for someone to shake his hand or something. I mean, the guy’s a beast on the mound, so I figured, why not give it a shot?
First off, I went to the park. It’s a nice little local spot with a decent enough backstop. Not exactly Fenway, but it does the job. I brought along my old glove, a bucket of scuffed-up baseballs, and my buddy, Mark, to catch for me.
I started with my usual windup, you know, the classic over-the-head motion. Felt good, felt normal. Threw a few fastballs, a couple of sliders – just getting warmed up. Mark said my fastball was popping, but let’s be real, he says that every time.
Trying the Stance
Then came the moment of truth. I decided to mimic Kimbrel’s stance. I dropped my pitching arm down to the side, just like Kimbrel does. It felt so weird. Like, really unnatural. I could see why people call it “Spider Arms” or “Kimbreling”. But hey, I was committed.
- The First Pitch: I tried to go into my motion from this weird arm-hanging position. It was awkward, to say the least. The ball sailed way high over Mark’s head. We both had a good laugh about that one.
- Getting the Hang of It: I kept at it. I tried to focus on keeping my balance and getting some power behind the throw. It’s tricky because you’re not using that usual windup to build momentum. You gotta generate all that force from a dead stop, basically.
- Finding Some Control: After a few more wild ones, I started to get a feel for it. I wouldn’t say I was painting the corners or anything, but I was at least getting the ball in the vicinity of the strike zone. Mark was impressed, or at least he pretended to be.
- Adding Some Heat: I started putting more into it, trying to get some real velocity on the ball while using this stance. That’s when it got interesting. I could feel a different kind of power, like a quick burst instead of a long build-up. And let me tell you, those fastballs felt like they were coming in hotter than usual.
- The Final Test: After a while, I felt like I had a decent grasp of this stance, or at least as much as I could get in one afternoon. I told Mark to get ready for some heat. I wound up as best as I could from that hanging-arm position and let it rip.
The ball shot out of my hand with some serious zip. Mark caught it with a loud thud, and even he had to admit it felt different. “Dude, that was fast,” he said, shaking his hand a bit. I felt pretty good, I gotta say.
So, there you have it. My attempt at Craig Kimbrel’s pitching stance. Was I as good as him? Not even close. But I did feel like I got a little taste of what makes his style so unique. It’s all about that quick, explosive power. I might not switch to it full-time, but it’s definitely something I’ll keep messing around with. Who knows, maybe I’ll become the “Spider Arms” of my local park. A guy can dream, right?
