The inside pitch

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Jun 12, 2015
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DD started pitching this season. She's thrown a little over 1200 pitches in games. She's hit one batter ever, on a change-up. Now, don't get me wrong. Her location is great. She can skate the ball over the outside edge like nobody's business. But inside, not so much. Her inside pitches tend to go more down the middle which of course leads to hits. The fact that she pretty much never hits a batter to me is just evidence that she's not pitching inside enough.

This isn't a skill thing, in my opinion. When we're practicing she can pitch inside as well as outside. She is not much for talking about her feelings but I believe she's afraid of hitting a batter. She's very sweet and sensitive and doesn't want to hurt anyone. This weekend this became more clear, as the coach called more inside pitches than usual, so it stood out. Couple of really great hits off her "inside" pitches highlighted the point.

Any tips for getting past this particular mental block?
 
Jan 22, 2011
1,610
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My DD understands that the inside edge of the plate is 'hers', so isn't afraid of pitching there even if the batter is crowding the plate. As I've mentioned before, she gets annoyed the few times she has hit the batter when they have been over the plate and the umpire awards a base. My DD is sweet and sensitive.... until she's inside the white lines.

Try to get your DD understand the whole strike zone is hers and she has the right to pitch anywhere in it.
 
Last edited:
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
We play a lot of games that are over after the 3rd inning, win or lose.

I would call inside pitches and more inside pitches.

DD hits more then her fair share of hitters, not ideal but you can not be afraid to hit them.

On purpose only once but ask what your DD thinks when she is batting.
 

bmd

Jan 9, 2015
301
28
Put some gear on, stand in the batters box and have her pitch to that fancy net you ordered the other week :)
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
Put some gear on, stand in the batters box and have her pitch to that fancy net you ordered the other week :)
The net arrives today, she's very excited. I'm thinking this is a great suggestion except I'll let her dad be the batter stand in while I observe her mechanics from a safe distance.
 
Jul 17, 2012
1,091
38
Tell her to just try it.. On a 2 strike count....And pay attention to how cool it looks when the batter jumps back and the ump rings it up as a K.

You are spot on...It IS mental. But she needs to realize it's her or the batter....serving up middle pitches because she has a fear of missing too far in and hitting a batter will result in her defending herself against line drives back at her....when she misses the other way!

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 

bmd

Jan 9, 2015
301
28
riiight....lol. She will probably enjoy hitting dad...I know that my dd does. She is young. She is going to hit batters. Its all part of the game. I think she needs to get comfortable with throwing inside and she just may need a little confidence in herself to trust the inside pitch. I am not a fan of pitchers throwing batting practice. But that would be another way she could practice throwing inside to a batter. Good luck.

The net arrives today, she's very excited. I'm thinking this is a great suggestion except I'll let her dad be the batter stand in while I observe her mechanics from a safe distance.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
Funny, bmd - when I mentioned the idea to her, she got a huge grin on her face. Apparently hitting her dad with a pitch sounds way more fun than hitting another 9 or 10 year old.

FR-great way to think of it, and dead on. Those down the middle pitches are deadly to defend against at that distance. She's already gotten nailed in the shin once so putting it that way probably will make an impression on her.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Your DD is a hitter, keep going back to her hitting.

P wants the inside, good luck.

I am guessing your DD doesn't moop when she gets hit.
 
Last edited:
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
Another thing to try is get a ball maybe a volleyball or something that size and put it on a tee so that the edge of the ball touches the edge of the box so about 1/2 over the plate and half off but not in the box and see if she can knock the ball off the tee, be careful to make sure she is not aiming or slowing down these she should good hard pitches just like normal.
 

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