How important is it for pitchers to be able to be good hitters?

TamiAz said:

My daughter is a pitcher and she's good.. Not elite, but very good. She's a 2018 and we are starting the recruiting season this weekend in Hemet. When she's hitting, she can kill the ball, but when she's in a slump, it's bad. That's where she is right now. How important is it for pitchers to be a good hitter in college? How much could this effect her being recruited?
Thanks.

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marriard said:

Depends on whether she wants to hit and pitch in college or just pitch. If she justs wants to pitch it will have no effect - who cares if she knows which end of the bat is which if she is never going to step into the batters box in college.

Most players don't do both - you have to be pretty special to do it in the top end of any of the college divisions. The more mid-level you target in a division, the shallower the talent pool and the more likely a team cannot afford to not have their pitcher hit if she is capable.

Is she is a 'very good' pitcher/average hitter - there will be more interest in her as ONLY a pitcher from a higher level college than if she insists on doing both.

Frankly at the college level, if you are a rotation pitcher, coaches would prefer to not have to hit you. Pitchers are rare and the season can be ruined real quick if she goes down injured running to first or being hit by a pitch. Unlike travel, you can't just get someone to guest pitch. You have what you have.

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Fastpitch86 said:

Think pitchers have just as much chance to get hit by a ball in the circle or while fielding ball. Over the years I haven't seen any pitchers get hurt while batting but have seen pitchers get while in the circle. If colleges are worried about their pitchers safety maybe they should also mandate fielding mask and heart guard protector while in the circle.

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riseball said:

Never miss an opportunity to get on a soap box, spout talking points and advance a tired agenda.

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