How to get 'junk' ball pitcher some respect?

[BoardMember]

DD is 13 and in middle school and throws 52..........The other 2 pitchers are "younger"........I'm assuming 12? And they are throwing consistantly in the upper 50's?........And you are wondering why the coach took the two 12yo's throwing almost 60mph?.........

They are facing other 12-13yo grade school players from the same school? And you think these "grade school" players are going to "rock" these 60mph pitchers? Not a chance........

Grade school ball is NOT travel ball.........Not even close.........Travel ball teams are made up of the very best ONE OR TWO kids from EVERY grade school.........I'd venture to say that 59mph pitches will "fly by" 10 out of the 12 kids on the "grade school" roster......

Hell maybe he cut your kid because he don't have a catcher that can handle her movement........

 

[BoardMember]

Just for reference........My oldest DD, who set D1 records on the mound that still exist today..........CAUGHT the first three years of her HS career because......Even though she was the BEST TB PITCHER in the area.......Because no one else on the HS team could catch the other pitcher........

 

[knightsb]

10-Under Typical 37-41 MPH Top Pitchers 43-46
12-Under Typical 44-47 MPH Top Pitchers 50-53
14-Under Typical 46-49 MPH Top Pitchers 52-55
16-Under Typical 50-53 MPH Top Pitchers 54-57
18-Under Typical 53-56 MPH Top Pitchers 58-61
College Typical 59-64 MPH Top Pitchers 65-72

Jenny Finch's top pitching speed by age
Age / Top Speed
8 / 49
9 / 51
10 / 53
11 / 55
12 / 59
13 / 62
14 / 63
15 / 66
16 / 68
17 / 68
18 / 67
19 / 67
20 / 69
21 / 70
22 / 71
23 / 71


If your middle school has two Finch proteges at 12 years old, please start bottling the water an selling it.

 

[JNew0872]

My DD is 7th grade and throws with pretty good movement because that is what her pitching coach focuses on. She was passed up in the fall for faster pitching (12u) with less movement. We did not dwell on it. She went to the coach after being cut and asked what she needed to work on to make the team in the Spring. She then worked hard from August to December on those things which included increasing her speed. From August to December she increased 7mph and is still spinning the ball. She is now #1 pitcher on the team that passed on her. My point: make a positive out of negative. Also, my DD's pitching coach has her throwing hard every pitch while spinning it. DD's need movement and speed. Don't let off to have movement. It just takes practice to do both.

 

[Coach JV]

In the fall, we played a couple of friendlies(16U). I used 2 pitchers-one a 'flame thrower'
the other a junker.
Game 1-Junker in the circle 5 IP 6H 1BB 4R 6k IMHO she pitched well vs a good hitting team
(lost 4-3) but it was immaterial-
Game 2-Flamethrower in the circle vs the same team 5 IP 2H 0BB 1R 12k won 3-0

Both were very effective in their roles. The junker is my #3, generally speaking she
pitches thru the lineup once before they start to hit her to OF. I do not give her lots of innings,
but she knows her role and we are both comfortable with it. The flamethrower has a lot of spin
and throws Rise and DC with a few CU mixed in. She is much more effective for a heavy load
of innings as her FB in practice is in the 60-62 range, in games more like 58-59. Her rise and DC
both come in nearly at same velocity and I would like to clone them both as they allow me to give a good team
2 completely different looks.

NOW- when we played 14U-Junk baller could dominate and handle teams start to finish, now, her 'go to'
is a curve which breaks hard and late but is in the 50 mph range and the 16U can hit her

 

[BoardMember]

This is the best advice........Get her speed up and keep "spinning it".........Odds are that at 13yo, she's so used to spinning at 52mph, when she tries to spin it at 59mph she doesn't know how, or isn't strong enough to do so.........

My DD is 7th grade and throws with pretty good movement because that is what her pitching coach focuses on. She was passed up in the fall for faster pitching (12u) with less movement. We did not dwell on it. She went to the coach after being cut and asked what she needed to work on to make the team in the Spring. She then worked hard from August to December on those things which included increasing her speed. From August to December she increased 7mph and is still spinning the ball. She is now #1 pitcher on the team that passed on her. My point: make a positive out of negative. Also, my DD's pitching coach has her throwing hard every pitch while spinning it. DD's need movement and speed. Don't let off to have movement. It just takes practice to do both.

 

[Greenmonsters]

IMO, even if you don't agree with Hal all the time, his experiential advice regarding effectively mixing speed, spin, and change of velocity is the key to success.

Edited to add: However, it takes an experienced pitch caller to make it work and frankly there aren't many coaches or catchers in the FP game that have a clue.

 

[BoardMember]

IMO, even if you don't agree with Hal all the time, his experiential advice regarding effectively mixing speed, spin, and change of velocity is the key to success.

Edited to add: However, it takes an experienced pitch caller to make it work and frankly there aren't many coaches or catchers in the FP game that have a clue.

IMO, "slow and slower" is not an effective "mix" of speed........The mixer has to have a "high and low" setting to be effective......

As I've said here 1000 times........Give me a heater.......And I'll train them to "mix em up"........The opposite is just not possible........

Give me a thumber and I'll teach her to throw gas just isn't reality.........

 

[bucket pinata]

[video]http://www.facebook.com/paul.cermak?ref=tn_tnmn#!/photo.php?v=503103599746371[/video]Heat sure is fun to watch tho! me and my DD having fun last sunday.she just turned 13.took my life in my own hands taking this vid.LOL

 

[GOINGDEEP]

The effect of Junkers is not to be K queens like Finch, Abbott, etc. Their skill set is tuned more towards keeping the fat of the bat off the ball with unpredictability. They usually induce high numbers of fly and ground outs. Those not blessed with height, long limbs, and above average speed have to compensate somewhere.

Easy on the old baseball guys, we got feelings too!!