Outthinking the Batter When Pitching In Baseball

A boy may have a strong arm and know all the mechanics of pitching, but if he doesn't think about the hitter's weaknesses and strengths, he'll become nothing more than a "thrower" and will not help his team much.

A pitcher, even more than a catcher or manager, will know which of his deliveries the batter can or cannot hit. That is, if he studies the hitter constantly. This is just as true in Little League ball as it is in the Major Leagues. As a matter of fact, the younger the hitters are, the more faults they have. Thus, the young pitcher has a great advantage if he thinks about the hitters. Here are some general principles to follow.

Try to get "ahead" of the batter with the first pitch. That doesn't mean to groove the ball waist high and over the center of the dish. That means get the ball in the strike zone where you think the batter is weakest. If the batter stands so far away from the plate that his bat will not reach the outside corner, there is only one thing to do - pour that fast ball over the outside! If the hitter crowds the plate, fire it over his fists! Now then, if he looks strong at the plate and you know nothing about him, your best pitch is always low and outside or high and inside. Once around the league, the average pitcher should know something about the hitters. Don't worry about not learning all there is to know about every hitter. If you find one or two with weaknesses and can get them out consistently, you've made a good start.

The "situation" (as covered in Chapter 16) tells the pitcher a great deal about what to throw. If he expects a sacrifice, for example, he should pitch high, which will increase the possibility of a pop-up.

If a runner on 3rd streaks for home on a "suicide squeeze" play, he has to keep the ball away from the batter and put it where the catcher can make the tag. (Throwing at the feet of a right-handed batter is recommended; pitch-out if a lefty is at the plate.)

If the pitcher suspects a steal, he shouldn't throw a slow curve but stick to the fast ball.

When a pitcher has a 3-ball 2-strike count on a hitter, he should go to his best pitch. If his "best" is the curve, use the curve. It it's the fast ball, use the fast ball. Remember, though, that the "best pitch" may vary from game to game.

Try not to throw the same pitch twice in a row. Change speeds. Move the ball around the strike zone, always shooting at the corners. In doing this, your objective is to upset the hitter's timing. This is especially important when the pitcher faces the league's best hitters. The long foul, remember, is just another strike.

The pitcher who gets two quick strikes on the hitter should "waste" the next one by putting it where the batter can't possibly hit it.

Don't curve ball a weak hitter! Don't let up on a weak hitter! If the hitter is really weak, the fast ball can overpower him usually. If you throw the curve, you're throwing a slow speed pitch and it may be the only one this hitter can get his bat on.

If you're getting a hitter out regularly with one pitch, don't start experimenting with another.

If you're striking a lot of batters out and the game is going well for you, keep that pitching foot on the rubber and pitch as fast as the umpire will let you. On the other hand, if things are going bad, stall all you can to "cool off" the opposition.

Jimmy Cox
http://www.articlesbase.com/baseball-articles/outthinking-the-batter-when-pitching-in-baseball-134111.html

Baseball Training for Pitching – The Designated Hitter

Baseball Training for Pitching - The Designated Hitter (DH) is a life-like, heavy-duty polyethylene silhouette figure of a batter who stands in at the plate in place of a real batter. This product and more available at http://baseballtips.com/dh.html

Duration : 2 min 38 sec

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Baseball Tip & Clip #12

Coach Marty Schupak & www.BaseballCoachOne.com present another important youth baseball tip for coaches, parents, and players. Visit www.BaseballCoachOne.com for more youth sports tips and to browse through a wide collection of sports instructional DVDs.

Duration : 2 min 11 sec

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Does anyone know of any baseball pitching exercises that deal with the timing of the hip/shoulder dissociation?

I am an intern and my internship coordinator specializes in baseball pitching-which I know nothing about. He would like me to find or make up exercises that help promote the movement of the hip/shoulder dissociation. Anything for ideas would be great also. Thanks.

practice

baseball pitching – How fast should your fastball be, compared to how fast you can throw at max?

if the hardest i can throw a baseball is 75mph, how fast should my average fastball be. should i try doing 75mph each pitch? or will my arm deteriorate too quickly? or should i limit it to like 70mph or what?

kk thanks

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Different Baseball Pitching Grips

Baseball is a bat and ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball towards home plate to start a play. Pitchers generally throw a variety of pitches, each of which has a slightly different velocity, trajectory, movement, hand position, wrist position and arm angle. Baseball is popular in certain countries like North America, Central America, parts of South America, Caribbean, and parts of East Asia and Southeast Asia. There are four basic tools of baseball - bat, ball, mitt and field. the different pitching grips are four seam fastball, two seam fastball, three finger changeup, circle changeup, palm ball, beginners curveball, straight curveball, knuckle curveball, slider and split finger fastball. The four seam fastball is held with a basic grip and thrown naturally. It is the easiest pitch to control because of its end-over-end spin. So use its speed and its pinpoint location to freeze hitters.

Some pitchers grip it across the narrow part of the seams (called a two seam football), which produces more of a sinking fastball. A split finger fastball is also called as splitter. A split finger fastball is named after the technique of putting the index and middle finger on different sides of the ball, or "splitting" them. Credit for the invention of the curveball is generally given to William Arthur "candy" Cummings. Cummings claimed that he invented the curveball after studying the movement that sea shells made when thrown. To throw a curveball, grip the ball by placing your middle finger on the inside half of the seam and apply pressure to the ball. A knuckleball is a type of pitch thrown by a pitcher where the ball does not rotate as it moves towards home plate.

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Knuckleballs are difficult to throw, catch and hit. To throw a knuckleball, the pitcher will grip the seams with the index finger and forefinger with a claw-like grip, making sure he digs his nails into the seams. Knuckleball does not emphasize velocity. Rather, the emphasis is on lack of rotation. A knuckle baller will always find a place on a professional roaster. The key to an effective changeup is deception. A change up might look like a fastball, but come in slower and lower in the strike zone. Certain tips will throwing a circle changeup is to practice the pitch before sing it in a game. Do not try to force the pitch; the grip will slow it down. To throw the circle changeup you must exert a lot of power.

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Author: Mari milian

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Mari milian is an Expert author for Baseball training system and fastpitch softball bats. She has written many articles like Pitching practice target,baseball pitching drills,softball pitching techniques and baseball training tips. For more information visit: thepitchingpad.com contact her at caterina.milian@gmail.com

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