The Pitcher's Father

[coach james]

If pitchers are not the most important then why are they the only players with a W-L stat? How do you explain that a number one pitcher might have a 20-1 W-L and a number 2 might have a 10-10 record for the same team when the number 1 is usually pitching against better teams?

This is an excellent point. I think it's a fair generalization to say that in 95% of most teams the pitcher is the most important, followed by an extremely close second is the catcher.
Not to take anything away from the other 7 on the field, but with out a quality battery, you'd better have a outstanding defence and a stacked lineup just to stay somewhat competitive.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

A little "hindsight is 20/20" here from the old guy here -

A great catcher is worth its weight in gold. If I were to play the blame game I would say that DD was severely limited by catching in HS.

Here is what I saw => DD would prep all off-season long with her great movement pitches. We got to HS and all I heard from reports was that HS HC will not call the riseball or dropball because the catcher can't catch it. This in turn became a high school season on fastballs and changups. Which turned into a TB season start of "DD has no control on those pitches so I can't call them".

It was a viscous circle every year. DD's PC & I thinking that every off season that "wow, batters aint gonna touch those movement pitches" that converted to "wow, catchers aren't catching those movement pitches".

I look back on this and I don't know what I could have or should have done. Except maybe scope out the catching situation prior to HS and move DD into a district with a strong catcher......

 

[YOCOACH]

We can keep debating who's the most important player on the field or we can realize, as several other posts have already said, that you need BOTH a good, if not great pitcher and a quality catcher in order to achieve any level of success in this game at the older ages. As someone noted, a pitcher is not easily replaceable. That said, can anyone don catchers gear and get behind the plate? Yes. However, will they be able to keep strikes looking like strikes and get the borderline pitches called strikes? Will they stop runners from advancing on a ball in the dirt or will it hit the backstop and have the BR moving bases? How about being able to catch movement pitches or will those go to the backstop as well? Can they throw down on steals effectively or will they be too late since they're unprepared and too slow? How about popping from the knees after a blocked ball and a the BR stealing (assuming they blocked in the first place)? How well do you think a mediocre or bad?inexpereinced catcher will be able to control the game?

So what it comes down to is this, You might not be able to even play a game without a pitcher but you can almost guarantee you will lose that same game against a good, aggressive opponent without a quality catcher...especially at the older age groups. At this level, you pretty much have to beat both the catcher and the pitcher in order to be successful.

 

[Cowdogz]

If pitchers are not the most important then why are they the only players with a W-L stat?

Good question. Why is it that a pitcher gets the credit for what her offense does while she is sitting on the bench? Why is it that she gets penalized if her defense doesn't show up, or gets the credit if they make a ridiculous number of incredible plays, when she can't control anything that happens after the ball leaves her hand? Why is it that she lost the game if she gave up 1 run but didn't get any support from her offense? Pitcher wins and losses are meaningless. Wins and losses are a team stat. That's why baseball statisticians have come up with WHIP and ERA+ and FIP and other stuff that gives us a better idea of what is actually happening.

 

[CoachHarley]

Have you ever coached a team or gone through a REC league "draft"? I don't want to put pitchers on too high a pedestal, but they are the only player that touches the ball on every pitch......

Yes, and Yes.

And the pitcher is not the only player to touch the ball every pitch.

The game I referred to in an earlier post was a rec game. One of the best pitchers in the league, struck out 3 batters, but, because the catcher dropped the third strike the batter ran to first. They were safe every time because the first baseman couldn't keep her foot on the base while she caught the ball, if it was even catchable and not thrown to right field.

 

[CoachHarley]

We can keep debating who's the most important player on the field or we can realize, as several other posts have already said, that you need BOTH a good, if not great pitcher and a quality catcher in order to achieve any level of success in this game at the older ages. As someone noted, a pitcher is not easily replaceable. That said, can anyone don catchers gear and get behind the plate? Yes. However, will they be able to keep strikes looking like strikes and get the borderline pitches called strikes? Will they stop runners from advancing on a ball in the dirt or will it hit the backstop and have the BR moving bases? How about being able to catch movement pitches or will those go to the backstop as well? Can they throw down on steals effectively or will they be too late since they're unprepared and too slow? How about popping from the knees after a blocked ball and a the BR stealing (assuming they blocked in the first place)? How well do you think a mediocre or bad?inexpereinced catcher will be able to control the game?

So what it comes down to is this, You might not be able to even play a game without a pitcher but you can almost guarantee you will lose that same game against a good, aggressive opponent without a quality catcher...especially at the older age groups. At this level, you pretty much have to beat both the catcher and the pitcher in order to be successful.

Well said.....

 

[chinamigarden]

I'm finding these guys are a bit much to take. They blame the catcher for their daughter not hitting their spots. "Is she [the catcher] calling what I'm calling?" Yes, she is, but your daughter is 12 and really can't hit a spot with any consistency except the dirt in front of the plate. And then after somehow getting out of an inning where she threw 15 dirt bombs he tells the head coach "The only real problem we had out there was with passed balls". I understand it can be stressful to watch your DD pitch; she's in the spotlight, it's the most important job on the team (after catcher etc., but don't blame the catcher for her struggles. She's not as good as you think she is, just like everyone else's DD and like everyone else's DD she'll have some off days. That's ok. You don't need to make excuses or blame others.

Why is the pitcher's dad calling the pitches in this scenerio?

 

[chinamigarden]

Yes, and Yes.

And the pitcher is not the only player to touch the ball every pitch.

The game I referred to in an earlier post was a rec game. One of the best pitchers in the league, struck out 3 batters, but, because the catcher dropped the third strike the batter ran to first. They were safe every time because the first baseman couldn't keep her foot on the base while she caught the ball, if it was even catchable and not thrown to right field.

Of all the things to dispute on this thread how is it that you can dispute that the pitcher is the only player who touches the ball on every pitch? Unless the opposing team never so much as fouls a ball off during a game and the catcher receives every single pitch, its obviously true.

 

[JJsqueeze]

With older and better teams you need a whole package to win consistently. BUT as another hypothetical-if the coach of a top notch team had to pick a starting player to be injured and miss the rest of the season I am betting the pitcher is the last they would choose.

It is ok to admit that the pitcher is a more valuable position, it doesn't mean you favor them, it just means you have a grasp on reality.

 

[CoachHarley]

Oops, good point. I stand corrected.

But, Lets play a game with just a pitcher, no other defense at all. If the pitcher is the only important position then that should be all a team needs. One player. Put a pitcher in the circle and that's it and lets see what happens.

I think most are missing the point. While the pitcher is one of the most important positions, its not the singular most important. If the catcher cant catch, you will be screwed also. Have a really weak first base that ducks when the ball is thrown to her, you're done. Can you get away with 2 outfielders? Even no outfielders? Yes, but you better be able to hit the ball when your team is at bat. But, I do not disagree that a really weak pitcher with a lot of walks will kill a team. Once again, for that team to be able to compete they better be good at hitting.

Point is, softball is a team sport and you cannot rely on one singular player to make or break the team.