MacGregor #79P Leather Practice Baseball (DZN)

Youth - High School practice quality  Compressed cork core  Full grain leather cover (unlike most practice balls)  
Customer Review: McGregor #79P - just what we needed
The 79P has proven to be just what we needed for "real game" practice in the batting cage - very durable.
Customer Review: Great value
These baseballs are a great value for practice balls. You won't find leather baseballs at prices close the under $20.00 a dozen that these were priced at. Overall, a good practice ball.

Baseball Pitching Mechanics - How Long is Your Stride?

Why is a long stride important? There are two reasons why you need a good stride. One is to gather enough momentum to foot strike so your fastball has pop. The most exciting reason is that 1-foot = 3 mph perceived pitching velocity. The closer you are to home plate when you release the ball the better. To the batter's eye the ball appears to be going faster than it really is. So, you are working with distance. Furthermore, when you throw inside, the batter has to react that much quicker to the pitch as well. In order for him to hit the ball on the fat part of the bat, he has to react much quicker to get the bat around. Again, distance helps you as a pitcher.

How do you get a longer stride? Maintaining a proper strength and flexibility pitching workout is important. For example, if your hip flexors aren't conditioned to handle the demands of the workload pitching places on them, it will affect your distance and you will be more prone to injury. To add distance, try a delayed shoulder rotation. Some pitchers gain an extra 6 inches to a foot delaying their shoulder properly. Work on releasing the baseball later; this will also help you gain some pitching velocity.