Tossing the football and running routes? It serves some practical purpose for the Flying Squirrels

Slightly more than two hours before the Flying Squirrels’ game against the Reading Fightin Phils at The Diamond on Tuesday night, Dusten Knight, Conner Menez, Nolan Riggs and Garrett Williams were part of a group of pitchers running routes in the outfield and catching a football from Jonathan Medici, the team’s strength and conditioning coach.

The minor league season is winding down and football is almost in full swing, but for pitchers, throwing and catching a football can serve some practical purpose. The activities are part of the pregame routine for some — the route running is a form of conditioning, and throwing the football can help warm up their shoulders and arms.

“I think just going out there and just chucking it around, it’s a way to have fun and keep loose … and do something different besides throwing a baseball all the time,” right-handed reliever Ryan Halstead said.

Medici, who is in his first year with the Squirrels and his second in the Giants’ organization, said that this is really the first year that he’s used the football activity as part of warmups. He said throwing the football is optional.

The route running is not completely optional, though he said the players have some leeway. For example, if a pitcher is slated to throw a particular day, Medici may give them him the day off. Players may run routes two or three times per week.

Route running is the primary component of the Squirrels’ use of a football. Running routes can help to get the players going harder than they might on a normal sprint.

“You’ll do 30-yard sprints at 90 percent, but you’ll run [after] a football 100 percent,” Medici said. “So like, when we really want that top speed, that’s kind of what I go with.”

When it comes to catching the ball, Medici said that Knight is one who can turn on the jets and go after it. Knight, a Tahlequah, Okla., native, said he played football growing up. In high school, he played wide receiver as a junior, and quarterback and running back as a senior.

Knight said that throwing the football is a great warmup — he said that it helps get the blood going through the arm.

“It’s a little heavier; it’s not as bad on the arm as a baseball is,” he said.

Medici said that throwing a football recruits the same muscles in the shoulder as throwing a baseball, but that there’s a lot less force that goes through the body.

“So you’re not working very hard, but you’re warming up your shoulder to kind of do the same thing,” he said.

Knight has heard that throwing a football is good for the two-seam fastball as well. Medici said that when you throw a football you pronate — the motion when your thumb turns toward the ground. He said that you also want to pronate a little bit on the two-seam fastball.

Halstead added he thinks tossing the football helps guys with their off-speed pitches too. He said that, when you’re throwing a slider or curve, the arm is cocked the same kind of way.

If the Squirrels were to field a football team, Halstead might be one of the prime quarterback candidates. Both Knight and Medici cited him as one of the best throwers on the team.

“I like it just because it just keeps you moving around,” Halstead said. “Gets [some] different athletic movements and just kind of flushes the arm out a little bit, a different way.”