pitching batting practice

[gasfreak]

What are you guys thoughts on pitchers pitching to the hitters in the cage

 

[Spartans21]

If it's a live situation and the pitcher is competing at 100% against the hitter I like it. If the pitcher is just groving meatballs over the plate I think it's counterproductive!

 

[knightsb]

One reason I don't like it is balls hit high can rain down on the pitcher after getting caught in the netting. I have been beaned in the top of the head behind a screen before by balls hit high.

 

[riseball]

Without question you are placing the pitcher at an increased risk of injury. That said, is she providing value above and beyond what a coach or non-skilled player could provide in that role? Is it worth it to have her pitch in practice and then lose her for a few weeks or longer. You need to decide if the risk is acceptable given the value provided. For most teams losing a good pitcher will render any hitting improvement moot.

 

[Sparky Guy]

If it's a live situation and the pitcher is competing at 100% against the hitter I like it. If the pitcher is just groving meatballs over the plate I think it's counterproductive!

You get a big AMEN from the choir over here. Too many times inexperienced coaches do not understand the difference between hitting practice and batting practice. Hitting practice is just that. Learning how to hit. Doing drills working on specific things in the hitting motion. Batting practice is learning how to hit off of live pitching in a competitive atmosphere.

When I did live pitching I would give the hitters an "At Bat" turn in the cage. The pitchers and catchers were trying to get them out. The catchers were the umpires for balls and strikes. Myself or one of the coaches would umpire the result of the at bat if the ball was put into play. If the player hit a weak ground ball on the first pitch she would be called out and her turn was over. There was no getting 10-15 pitches from the same pitcher. We tried to make it as game-like as possible. Often we would give them situations with different outs and runners on. Both offense and defense would work on what they needed to do. We rotated pitchers and catchers trying to make it so no hitter saw the same pitcher more than two or three times.

 

[Mocoso]

I must be spoiled but why bother with live pitching in a cage and not in actual field? We do live pitching to emulate competitive environment but not at the cage but in field. The one draw back of live pitching is it SLOWS practice way down... we usually will send half the girls way out in the outfield to work on other drills just to keep the pace moving.....

Dont think I ever considered live pitching in a cage... focus on cage has been to work on timing (fast vs slow pitcher or inside/outside pitches) - find the machine is fine for this type of focus.... I can see the advantage of a cage vs field for live pitching IF you have multiple pitchers (as it will make more girls cycle in less time)

 

[gasfreak]

That would be great but where we live it's 20 degrees. As far as getting hurt she will use a jugs ball that is the same size and weight as a real ball just a little softer so if it get hit right back at her. As far as pitches thrown what about like 3 or 4 good balls then have the pitcher and catcher work on getting them out. And it will be multiple pitchers not just one. I figured it would be good for both pitcher and batter instead of just me catching her

 

[wichita]

We also do live hitting on the field but with a net protecting the pitcher and play it live with the defense might as well get some live defense in there as well. We start the girls out with a 2-1 count to help speed up the game and no looking at called 3rd strikes ( we tell them before hand what the strike zone will be I.E. 1 ball off etc.) And if they do we have a pennants for the team what ever it may be ...never to harsh. Believe me it really helps in them figuring out how far off the plate they can really drive the ball well.

Also if you have 14- 15 players players take the 4 or 5 that aren't playing defense and play mini games just three outs and then rotate from defense to offense until everyone has had both played and hit on defense and offense and watch your kids come to life trying to beat the others. We have also let the winning team choose something for the losing teams do something for the loss I.E . Sing a silly song or so etching like that kind of works team bond g and chemistry into it as well. They all have a good laugh at it after.

 

[Spartans21]

That would be great but where we live it's 20 degrees. As far as getting hurt she will use a jugs ball that is the same size and weight as a real ball just a little softer so if it get hit right back at her. As far as pitches thrown what about like 3 or 4 good balls then have the pitcher and catcher work on getting them out. And it will be multiple pitchers not just one. I figured it would be good for both pitcher and batter instead of just me catching her

Instead of throwing 3 or 4 "good balls" you can practice different situations. One scenario could possibly be a 2-0 count. Your pitcher fell behind, so now she has to find some of the plate with the next pitch. This would give your pitcher a focus as well instead of just being a pitching machine. I think it would still be important to vary the counts though. Giving your pitcher an 0-2 count would allow your pitchers to work on their strikeout pitch and also help your hitters with their 2-strike approach/mentality....

 

[JAD]

In addition to the increased risk of pitchers being hit, coaches need to guard against overworking a pitcher. If 12 batters see 10 pitches apiece, that is 120 pitches, which is roughly equivalent to one game. Pitchers would also need to properly warm up before throwing any live pitching.