dropball question

[pitchmom]

I'm not sure if I'm asking this right to get the answer I'm looking for, but here goes.

Where should the dropball be crossing the plate. If a batter doesn't swing at it......will it be a ball....or should it cross the plate in the strike zone. The reason I ask is because when my daughter throws it, sometime the batter chases it and she gets a strikeout. But, if the batter doesn't swing,....it has always been called a ball. I was told after a game that it was coming in right, but the ump just didn't know how to call a drop....is that possible.


And, I may as well ask this as this as long as I'm posting. What should she do as a pitcher when the ump will not give her corners. One game, it seemed to me that she was throwing good, but the ump kept calling balls. I spoke to a (pretty experienced) parent after the game who had been sitting behind the plate and he said that she was hitting corners all night but wasn't getting the calls. Is there anything that she can say or do in that situation.

Thank you for any help you can give and please, if anyone finds my questions silly, don't tease or post a snide remark. I'm just a mom trying to help her daughter get better at what she loves to do.

 

[dbias]

Dropballs should be thrown to the batters knees, looking like a strike at the batters decision point, and ending up low and getting lower as it crosses the plate. Many dropballs are called a ball because the catcher is setting up too deep and therefore giving the appearance of being lower than they really are, and many catchers compound this by letting the glove drop with the drop's trajectory often letting the glove hit the dirt. Getting the catcher up tight to the batter and having her freeze the glove at the height of the catch will help the PU see the pitch as a strike.

As for PU not giving the "corners" well this must just be chalked up as a life experience that things will not always go your way. Pitcher and catcher must find a "strike" and slowly try to work it more "out or in" a little at a time. My experience is that umps will usually give more leeway on the outside corner than the inside corner. Also a low and out pitch may be a ball, where as a pitch that is just as outside as the low and out will be a strike if it is not as low. Some umps that do this seem to have what I call a diamond strike zone. They give more out and in as the pitch nears the beltline, which is dangerous to the pitcher. If your not getting the corners then number priortity becomes changing speeds as much as possible as your DD will have to throwing "fat" pitches to keep from turning the game into a walkfest.

 

[dellla96]

My dd's best pitch is a drop ball. She throws a ton of them and was a freshman on the varsity. She had a lot off success. The key on the drop is for it to look like a strike and fall in the dirt. Some umps simply fall in love with pitch and call it a strike. Some don't. Tall umps seem to like low pitches and short umps seem to not like low pitches. If the ump isn't given it to u then you simply throw it higher and get the strike. It's still low in the zone and hard to hit due to the downward action. Eventually a team will simply catch on after 3 to 4 innings so you need to also mix in a high fastball at the hands to every batter. My dd only throws 55, so the movement and placement is critical to success.
It's been great pitch and his her go to pitch.....

 

[bobbyb]

You will have to get use to sometimes not having the corners cause it happens quite often. She can't get frustrated...she just has to focus more. I tell my dd to work on moving the pitch in just a few inches till she finds what the ump wants. Then find it hi and lo...just don't hang it over the middle...right down the gut while your trying to find the spots.

Read this thread and use a string like the video on this page for the drop. Where the drop falls depends on the amount of break. If most batters are practicing ideal contact at about half a foot in front of the plate we want the drop to be falling then. You can play with the distance to help her see where its dropping and change accordingly as the ball drops more. We usually have it set about 3 feet in front of plate and move it a little back at times when spin is great.

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/1508-teaching-drop-6.html