Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this “ohtani pitching” thing, and let me tell you, it’s been a wild ride. I started by just, you know, goofing around, trying to mimic his form. Didn’t even have a proper mound at first, just a patch of grass in my backyard.
First,I watched a bunch of videos of him, over and over. Just trying to absorb how he moves, his windup, everything. I’m a visual learner, so this was key for me. I literally paused and rewound those clips a million times.
My First Attempts:
- Stance: I tried to copy that wide, balanced stance he has. Felt awkward at first, like I was gonna fall over.
- Grip: I fiddled with different grips,Trying to find one that fit the movement . This took some experimenting, that’s for sure.
- Windup: Man, this was the hardest part. That high leg kick, the way he rotates… it’s insane. I probably looked like a confused flamingo for the first few weeks.
- Throw: The release is so quick. To get any kind of speed,I just followed through the direction.
I kept practicing, day after day. Slowly, things started to click. My balance got better, my leg kick got (slightly) higher, and I started to feel a little bit of that “whip” in my arm. I even built a makeshift mound out of some old dirt and plywood. Gotta have the right elevation, right?
I’m still nowhere near Ohtani level, obviously. But it’s been fun trying to deconstruct his pitching motion and see what I can learn. It’s made me appreciate just how much athleticism and precision goes into it. It’s not just throwing a ball; it’s a whole-body movement, a dance, really.
I’m going to keep working on it. Maybe one day I’ll be able to throw a splitter that actually, you know, splits. For now, I’m just enjoying the process of trying to get a little bit closer to that Ohtani magic.
