Submarine Pitching Mechanics: How to Throw a Submarine Pitch
Mind & Muscle Expert Team
Elite Baseball & Softball Performance Collective
Submarine pitchers have one of the most deceptive deliveries in baseball — but learning to throw one correctly takes more than just dropping your arm. Here is exactly how the mechanics work, which pitches are most effective, and the honest answer on arm health.
What Is Submarine Pitching?
Submarine pitching is a delivery style where the pitcher releases the ball from below hip level — sometimes as low as knee height. The arm slot is the lowest in baseball, below sidearm, and the pitcher's torso tilts dramatically toward the throwing arm side to make the release angle possible.
The defining characteristic is horizontal movement. A submarine fastball behaves like a sharp-breaking slider to hitters who have never faced it. The ball comes from an angle their timing system is not built for, which is why the delivery remains effective even at modest velocity — many successful submarine pitchers throw 82–88 mph.
Famous submarine pitchers include Dan Quisenberry, Kent Tekulve, Brad Ziegler, and more recently Peter Moylan. Each found the delivery as a way to maximize movement and extend their careers.
How to Build Submarine Mechanics: Step by Step
Step 1: Drop Your Arm Slot Gradually
Never go straight to submarine. Start by throwing at ¾ arm slot for 2–3 weeks, then drop to sidearm for another 2–3 weeks. Only after sidearm feels natural should you move to submarine. Rushing the transition is how pitchers get hurt. Your rotator cuff and elbow need time to adapt to the new stress pattern.
Do all early-stage work at flat ground, 60–70% effort, with a focus on feel — not velocity.
Step 2: Tilt Your Torso, Not Just Your Arm
The most common mistake is trying to submarine by dropping the arm while keeping the torso upright. This creates extreme strain on the shoulder and produces inconsistent release points.
True submarine mechanics require the torso to tilt 30–45 degrees toward the throwing side, with the glove side shoulder rising. The arm follows the torso — it stays in its natural socket, the body tilts around it. Watch Brad Ziegler's delivery frame by frame: the arm does not drop, the body rotates under it.
Step 3: Adjust Your Stride Direction
Submarine pitchers typically stride across their body more than overhand pitchers. A right-handed submarine pitcher will stride toward the third-base side of the mound. This stride direction is not optional — it enables the torso tilt and creates the hip separation that generates velocity despite the unusual arm path.
If your stride is straight ahead, you will feel the tilt as awkward and unbalanced. Once you get the stride right, the torso tilt feels natural and explosive.
Step 4: Keep Your Grip Identical to Overhand
One of the biggest misconceptions about submarine pitching is that you need special grips. You do not. Use your standard four-seam, two-seam, slider, and changeup grips. The arm angle automatically changes the spin axis, creating the movement that makes submarine pitches effective.
The one adjustment some pitchers make: on the sinker/two-seam, slightly turning the ball to emphasize inside-outside seam pressure can amplify the run. But start with your normal grips and see what happens naturally before manipulating anything.
Step 5: Film Every Bullpen Session
Submarine mechanics are nearly impossible to self-correct without video because what you feel does not match what you are doing. You need a side-angle camera (set at hip height) and a behind-home-plate angle. Review every session looking at: torso tilt at release, stride direction, and release point consistency.
Inconsistent release point is the first thing to fix — before worrying about velocity or movement. A variable release point means hitters can pick up your pitches earlier, eliminating your main advantage.
Best Pitches for Submarine Pitchers
The foundation pitch. Gets sharp horizontal run that stays down in the zone. Generates weak contact and ground balls at a high rate. This should be your primary pitch — 50–60% of pitches.
From submarine, the slider breaks in a flat, sweeping plane that looks like a fastball for the first 30 feet then disappears. It is the strikeout pitch. Most hitters never see a slider from this angle and can't make contact even when they know it's coming.
Same arm slot as the fastball, 8–10 mph slower. Particularly effective against opposite-handed hitters who are already off-balance from your arm angle. Keep it low in the zone.
Rarely works from submarine. The arm angle fights the natural break direction of a curveball. Most submarine pitchers who try it end up with a flat pitch that sits in the zone. Skip it.
Is Submarine Pitching Better for Your Arm?
This is the most common question — and the answer is: it depends, and probably not in the way most people expect.
The biomechanical research on submarine delivery is limited compared to overhand pitching, but the available data suggests that submarine mechanics shift stress rather than eliminate it. The shoulder experiences less of the internal rotation stress typical of overhand pitching. However, the elbow may experience different valgus forces depending on your specific mechanics and grip.
Where submarine pitching does reduce injury risk: it allows pitchers with certain shoulder injuries or structural limitations that make overhand throwing painful to continue pitching effectively. Many MLB submarine specialists (including Kent Tekulve, who threw over 1,000 games) extended careers by 5–10 years with the delivery.
Bottom line: Do not switch to submarine to "save your arm" without consulting a sports medicine physician or certified pitching coach who understands the delivery. The transition itself, if done incorrectly, can cause new injuries. If your arm is hurting, rest and evaluation come first.
Who Should Learn Submarine Pitching?
Submarine delivery is most effective for pitchers who:
- →Throw 78–88 mph and need a way to get outs without overwhelming velocity
- →Have natural sinker action on their fastball that they want to amplify
- →Struggle against same-side hitters and want a platoon advantage
- →Are looking for a specialty role (left-right matchup reliever, sinkerball specialist)
- →Have been told their overhand mechanics are a high-injury-risk pattern
It is not ideal for pitchers who throw 90+ mph overhand with good command. The velocity advantage of overhand pitching outweighs the movement advantage of submarine at elite velocity levels. Submarine is a weapon for pitchers who need something different — not a universal upgrade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions
The research is mixed, but most sports medicine literature suggests submarine delivery does not inherently protect your arm. The elbow stress pattern is different — not necessarily lower. What does reduce arm stress in any delivery is mechanics quality, pitch count management, and adequate rest. Some pitchers with shoulder issues find submarine less painful because the shoulder rotation changes, but this varies individually. Never switch to submarine specifically to protect your arm without guidance from a sports medicine professional.
Start by gradually lowering your arm slot over several weeks — do not drop it all at once. Begin with a ¾ slot, then move to sidearm, then to submarine (below hip level). Your torso will tilt significantly toward your throwing arm side. Your stride direction shifts — submarine pitchers often stride across their body more. Keep your grip the same as overhand; the delivery angle does the work. Practice flat-ground at reduced intensity before going to the mound.
The two-seam fastball and sinker are the most effective submarine pitches because the arm angle creates natural downward movement. The slider breaks in a flat, sweeping plane that is nearly unhittable from submarine release. The changeup works well because it comes from the same arm slot as the fastball. The curveball is difficult to execute cleanly from submarine and is rarely used. Most submarine specialists rely on a fastball-slider-changeup arsenal.
Yes, but it takes longer to develop the later you start. Young pitchers (under 14) adapting to submarine mechanics have an easier time because their neuromuscular patterns are still forming. Adult pitchers can make the transition but should expect 3–6 months of deliberate practice before feeling natural. The tilt and stride adjustments are the hardest part — the arm slot itself usually develops faster than the body mechanics that support it.
Yes. The extreme arm angle creates a different spin axis on the ball, producing horizontal movement that overhand pitchers cannot replicate. Sinkers and two-seamers from submarine release run hard toward same-side hitters and tail away from opposite-side hitters. The movement is natural — you do not need to manipulate your grip to create it. This is the main advantage of submarine delivery: movement that looks like a straight pitch until it breaks sharply at the plate.
