HS - Do you have your ace pitcher go for the K's or the easy gounders?

[riseball]

For quite a while I have been blessed with some very dominate pitchers averaging double digit K's in a game. For the most part my pitch calling was not about K's or ground balls. Just throwing balls to a batters strengths and strikes to a batters weaknesses. The high K's were a result of how well the pitcher was throwing and the abilities of the batters. The only time I try to specifically get a K is with a batter that is weak in which case I go right at them. I have had my share of riseball pitchers and some very good drop ball pitchers. What I have noticed is that when a riseball pitcher threw one that did not move it got hit hard. Where with a dropball pitcher even if the ball did not move it was at least down in the zone. I think that the reason you typically see more K's from riseball pitchers at the elite level is a great riseball is harder to hit than a great dropball.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

This whole debate, of course, is moot if you get some of the plate umpires DD has had so far this season

 

[riseball]

True. It is especially bad when your DD has sick movement and the PU can't see the ball. Let's not forget the role of the catcher in the equation.

 

[Rocketech1]

With these hot bats and elite hitting instruction, there is a very fine line between inducing a weak ground ball and giving up a line-up drive in the gap. I was watching a D1 college game this weekend and the pitcher threw a perfect off-speed drop ball that fooled the batter, way out in front and off balance, and she still jacked it over the outfield fence. I'll take my chances with trying to strikeout the batter and walking the occasional player in the process.

It would be interesting to hear the mindset of some successful college pitchers and what their strategy is/was when pitching. I will ask my DD's instructor this weekend.

Where's Rick Pauly when you need him?

 

[doublenickel]

Love the Bull Durham quote

 

[Little Angels Softball]

If TRYING for that K gets you knocked over the fence versus getting a ground ball out to end an inning from a well placed low and away pitch because you threw the right out pitch at the right time, then in that case NOT getting the K hurt you big time much more than than the 1 in 3 chance you got a K. Maybe you can throw the low and away pitch because of the threat of the K - but that is what real pitching is about.

And many a team has been fooled into thinking they are 'making good contact' when all they are doing is grounding balls into easy outs.

Ground ball pitchers make mistakes, too. There are also good low ball hitters. Ground ball pitchers get hit over the fence just as the strikeout pitcher gets a ground ball out to end an inning every once in awhile.

No pitcher can strike out every hitter. No pitcher can induce every hitter into a ground ball. No softball god can induce every infielder into making a perfect play every single time even if one did.

It is this simple...

There is absolutely no situation in softball where a ground ball is preferable to the defensive team over a strikeout. None. Ever.

In any situation, a ground ball (even a weak one) is always preferable to the offensive team over a strikeout. Always.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Ground ball pitchers make mistakes, too. There are also good low ball hitters. Ground ball pitchers get hit over the fence just as the strikeout pitcher gets a ground ball out to end an inning every once in awhile.

No pitcher can strike out every hitter. No pitcher can induce every hitter into a ground ball. No softball god can induce every infielder into making a perfect play every single time even if one did.

It is this simple...

There is absolutely no situation in softball where a ground ball is preferable to the defensive team over a strikeout. None. Ever.

In any situation, a ground ball (even a weak one) is always preferable to the offensive team over a strikeout. Always.

Moving the K pitcher to the side a moment. I agree I'll take a K over a batted ball any day. The reality is it doesn't come so easy against top tier competition. Sally throwing 20k's against the Mudrats in some remote place doesn't mean she's an effective pitcher, it means the Mudrats just suck.

Coming from a family of college pitchers, one must understand why some are taught to be "ground ball pitchers". Pitchers have a degree of control how a batted ball is put in play, about as much as the hitter does. Ground ball pitchers usually give up more hits than say a fly ball pitcher ( high zone pitcher ), but the GBP's extra base % is lower. ( and rarely does a grounder go yard ) A HZP usually gives up less hits, but for more extra bases. GBP's also tend to have a much higher double play rate than HZP's. Two outs with one pitch ends many a offensive rally.

I saw an article last year with some MLB stats on the strikeout vs the grounder, and how many outs were produced by each. More outs produced by grounders by a pretty decent margin. The other side to that coin would be how many runs were manufactured by grounders to K's. ( wish I could find the article )

MLB usually will sway more towards a GBP over a HZP. GBP's statistically have shorter innings, lower pitch counts, and lower long balls, lower extra base %. HZP have just the opposite.

At the end of the day it's a coaching philosophy. You use what is successful for your team, if it's not successful, you need to change.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

I just keep coming back to this. And our very own US National team, perhaps the most dominant team in nearly any sport in history, has always selected strikeout pitchers to fill its roster:

Fernandez, Smith, Granger, Harrigan, O'Brien, Finch, Osterman, Abbot .... all strikeout pitchers in their prime.

 

[riseball]

That is because the very best of the best are strikeout pitchers.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

That is because the very best of the best are strikeout pitchers.

Yep, about .001% of softball pitchers. The rest have to pitch with what works to get a win. If you have a .001 DD my hat is off to ya, the rest learn to maximize what they got backed up by their teammates.