It's important to teach pitchers in the youth baseball leagues to properly follow through after releasing the ball. There are many reasons for this, including:
Protecting themselves from a line drive.
Without the proper position it is difficult to get the glove up in a defensive position to block a line drive hit right back at the pitcher. This can be very serious. There have been instances of major league pitchers who were never the same after being hit with a line drive off the bat.
Be able to field a bunt.
Even at the kids baseball league level managers will take advantage of situations were a pitcher may fall off the side of the mound. Managers will have their skilled youth baseball hitters bunt the ball to the opposite side of the infield. When kids get to the high school level it will be exploited to the fullest.
Be able to field a ground ball
In kids baseball games many of the hits are up the middle. If the pitcher drags his back foot after pushing off the mound it is hard to get in position for defense. Have you ever seen future Hall Of Famer Greg Maddux? He's one of the best fielding pitchers ever, and proved it, by winning the 2006 Gold Glove award.
Be able to cover first base on a pitch to the right side.l
Even at the 7 - 9 year old youth baseball level we teach young pitchers to cover first base on a ball hit to the right side of the infield. This could be particularly hard for lefty pitchers who fall off the left side of the mound after there release. When this occurs they have a lot of ground to cover to get to first base.
What are some tips
Teach kids how to pitch from the stretch.
There are less moving parts and the pitcher doesn't have to displace all the momentum from the big windup - which leads to them falling off the mound and/or not be balanced to defend on the ground ball. I do not understand why we don't see more of this. If you look at the pro relief pitchers like Billy Wagner of the Mets throws the ball over 100 mph; exclusively from the stretch.
Teach the kid baseball pitchers not to drag the back foot.
The pitcher should bring the leg even with the front leg. If they do this successfully they will be balanced even to field bunts, cover first and react to line drives effectively.
Teach the young pitchers to keep their balance centered in the middle of their bodies.
What I see is many kids leaning toward one side. This is a sign of overthrowing. Keeping the body centered will help pitcher accuracy as well.
Wear a protective cup.
God forbid a ball is hit back to a pitcher in that part of the body where the pitcher cannot defend himself. It could become a very serious injury. As a kids baseball coach I will not let a player pitch without a protective cup. Some of you might laugh - but it's safety first!
End your windup in a position of a fielder.
After releasing the ball the pitcher's needs to focus on defense and become an infielder. So, the correct stance for a pitcher is to have both legs in front of him, body balanced over the torso, glove hand in front of him with his eyes looking at the base.
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