What stats are the most important in pitching?

[David Carter]

With runners on in 12U and 14U rec I always have the catcher in her ready stance and call the first pitch high, not for a ball just up in the zone. In rec I think it is really important to establish that they can't run on you, once your catcher guns down the first couple girls that try and steal they will stop running. It is important to stop those BB and singles from being an automatic runner on second or third.

That being said after the first pitch it is pretty much back to normal, concentrate on the batter call pitches you think will get her out, also once they stop running you don't have keep with the first pitch high sequence, again remember it should not be a wasted pitch it can be as high and outside as the umpire has been calling a strike.

 

[left turn]

Put numbers in the ball strike tally instead of checks, or tic marks. Then you can scan through the book looking at the strike box for "1's".

I think first pitch strikes and strike % are good focal points.

Here's a quick question somewhat related to the topic. Particular to the Past ball being poisonous. I can't tell you how many times this year DD put one on with a free pass (BB) and without another hit or walk in that inning, that walk turned into 3 stolen bases and a run. Our catcher was pretty good for her first year behind the plate, but she struggled with the balls in the dirt. I harp on DD to keep the ball down against better teams. The only problem is if she starts low, then misses low, we get past balls and advance base runners. Do you coach your pitchers to keep the ball up and out of the dirt with runners on base, with the chance that she can throw one down broadstreet? (12U Rec)

Thanks Frozen Rope, I must need a bigger score book. I don't think I can write that small in my current one. Also I keep up with the number of pitches with hash marks.

 

[WaSpeed02]

I think the most important stats depend on the age level/ability. Or at least it seems to me that getting girls on base at the 10U level frequently translates into runs on the board. It's probably a bit different with the older girls. That being said, right now I think WHIP is the most important indicator of how well the pitching is going for my DD's team as a whole.

Our 10U TB team has 4 pitchers, 2 of which are so-so on both speed and control and rarely pitch. Our 2 main pitchers, however, are honestly among the very best in the state at the 10U-A level. We are very lucky in that regard. We have only played against 1 team with a pitcher that rivaled our dynamic duo, and that team was from out of state (Portland, OR). Our main RHP's WHIP (AC's DD) is .840 and our LHP's WHIP (my DD) is .859. My DD gives up significantly more hits than the RHP, but walks a lot less (66 IP, 126 K/ 7BB). That being said, neither girl gives up many hits or walks and that has transitioned into a combined ERA of 1.77 and a lot of hardware for the girls this year.

 

[Rocketech1]

Our 10U TB team has 4 pitchers, 2 of which are so-so on both speed and control and rarely pitch. Our 2 main pitchers, however, are honestly among the very best in the state at the 10U-A level. We are very lucky in that regard. We have only played against 1 team with a pitcher that rivaled our dynamic duo, and that team was from out of state (Portland, OR). Our main RHP's WHIP (AC's DD) is .840 and our LHP's WHIP (my DD) is .859. My DD gives up significantly more hits than the RHP, but walks a lot less (66 IP, 126 K/ 7BB). That being said, neither girl gives up many hits or walks and that has transitioned into a combined ERA of 1.77 and a lot of hardware for the girls this year.

Curious to know something. With such low WHIPs, do your pitchers have a relatively high amount of wild pitches and hit batters to have an ERA of .177 (which is still very good) but would expect it to be lower around .100 with the excellent WHIP they have pitched. Just trying to reconcile the two stats.

 

[WaSpeed02]

Curious to know something. With such low WHIPs, do your pitchers have a relatively high amount of wild pitches and hit batters to have an ERA of .177 (which is still very good) but would expect it to be lower around .100 with the excellent WHIP they have pitched. Just trying to reconcile the two stats.

No. They each have 2 HB's. RHP has 331 BF. LHP has 268 BF. (All 4 HB on change-ups BTW). One weakness we have had this year is at our catcher position. Both catchers have made great improvements, but they still let a lot of balls get by them. It's not really WP's as much as it is PB's. Both girls throw very hard (consistently high 40's-low 50's) and have good movement on their pitches, so it makes it tough for our 2F's. Anyway, almost all of the runs we have given up this year have been in the 2-3-4 slots of the lineup against decent hitting teams. It seems to happen every game where the opposing team is able to string together a few walks/hits and drive in a run or two in one inning. 3 weeks ago our RHP gave up 3 ER's in the top of the first inning. That had never happened to her before. I think the "high" ERA in this regard is probably attributed the many scoreless innings against mediocre teams that ended in 4 or 5 innings in contrast to the 9-10 games we've had against quality hitting teams that were able to put 3-4 runs on the board in a full 7 inning game. It is frustrating when the girls only give up 4-5 walks/hits in a game, but 2-3 runs to go along with it.

 

[shockcoach]

I have found that if the strike to ball ratio is around 2:1, everything else will fall into place.

 

[Mrek]

Echoing what several people said here, K/BB ratio.
I found my DD got some success when she consistenly reached 3K/BB (or better).

So yes, I'll take 7 walks if I can have 21 K's

The other stat I like is OPB against for the lead off hitters in the inning.
Keep the leadoff batters off base and you will save a lot of runs.
Obviously .000 is what you want to shoot for in any game.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

When DD was learning, her PC told her that the only 2 stats he wanted to know about were K/BB and BA against her. This served her well until she started playing high level softball.