Pitch Calling

MadBandit22 · Jan 8, 2020

djcarter1966 said:
Yeah very few things make me cringe more than hearing someone say their PC wants them to throw the ball straighter because their fastball has a little tail that goes down and away a little....ugh

Honestly you should have a straight FB in your repertoire. The 4 seam should be straight as an arrow with pin point accuracy. Your 2 seam what I call cutter/splitter (baseball speak) should have good break similar to a curve. Ours is down and in to RH hitter. Our 3 seam we call a thumb ball and it’s moving all over the place. It’s DD’s own creation and has good movement but not consistent to same area.
Then of course you have rise, drop, change, curve, and drop curve. Haven’t experimented yet with screw ball.
We generally stick to 4 pitches in game situations. Usually 2 fastballs, curve, & change.
When hitting spots in practice mostly use 4 seam FB. Sometimes curve & 2 seam for down and in to RH. Occasional rise/drops to mix them in.

riseball · Jan 8, 2020

MadBandit22 said:
Honestly you should have a straight FB in your repertoire. The 4 seam should be straight as an arrow with pin point accuracy. Your 2 seam what I call cutter/splitter (baseball speak) should have good break similar to a curve. Ours is down and in to RH hitter. Our 3 seam we call a thumb ball and it’s moving all over the place. It’s DD’s own creation and has good movement but not consistent to same area.
Then of course you have rise, drop, change, curve, and drop curve. Haven’t experimented yet with screw ball.
We generally stick to 4 pitches in game situations. Usually 2 fastballs, curve, & change.
When hitting spots in practice mostly use 4 seam FB. Sometimes curve & 2 seam for down and in to RH. Occasional rise/drops to mix them in.

For the sake of context what age group(s) you are referencing when you advocate throwing a pitch that is "straight as an arrow" with no movement?

MadBandit22 · Jan 8, 2020

riseball said:
For the sake of context what age group(s) you are referencing when you advocate throwing a pitch that is "straight as an arrow" with no movement?

14-18U. I’m an advocate of lots of movement but there are times when placement and speed will confuse/ over power a hitter. Especially when you set-up the hitter for such a pitch.

MadBandit22 · Jan 8, 2020

MadBandit22 said:
14-18U. I’m an advocate of lots of movement but there are times when placement and speed will confuse/ over power a hitter. Especially when you set-up the hitter for such a pitch.

Sometimes the pitcher is just better than the hitter. Other times hitter guesses right and comes out on top. Cat & Mouse game. The cat knows what she is throwing and where she wants to throw it. The mouse is guessing in most cases or playing to tendencies. Or gets a hold of a mistake. Outstanding pitchers should show no tendencies and have confidence to throw any pitch in any count.
Your average pitchers will usually tip their hand and establish a pattern that can be exploited.
Sometimes you gotta go best on best. Rear back and bring the express and see if they can catch-up to it.

riseball · Jan 8, 2020

MadBandit22 said:
...Sometimes you gotta go best on best. Rear back and bring the express and see if they can catch-up to it.

As I said my DD was into the 70's when she brought gas but would never dream of throwing a pitch that did not move. YMMV

MadBandit22 · Jan 8, 2020

riseball said:
As I said my DD was into the 70's when she brought gas but would never dream of throwing a pitch that did not move. YMMV

How about your facing a very patient team intent on making the pitcher work. They are notorious for taking the 1st pitch.
What are you going to throw to get started? If they want to give me a 1 pitch advantage you can bet we’re throwing something hard around the middle of the plate.
This is rarely the scenario but I’m talking about a straight pitch to a certain location not right down the middle of the plate.
Whether it’s high & tight or low and away. The “movement” pitches that don’t move or miss their mark are usually the pitches that get hit hard.

MadBandit22 · Jan 8, 2020

MadBandit22 said:
How about your facing a very patient team intent on making the pitcher work. They are notorious for taking the 1st pitch.
What are you going to throw to get started? If they want to give me a 1 pitch advantage you can bet we’re throwing something hard around the middle of the plate.
This is rarely the scenario but I’m talking about a straight pitch to a certain location not right down the middle of the plate.
Whether it’s high & tight or low and away. The “movement” pitches that don’t move or miss their mark are usually the pitches that get hit hard.

There aren’t many ladies that Legit throw in the 70’s. My guess is your DD is Carly Hoover or Kelly Barnhopper. There may be a few others like the So for Alabama but those two stand out.
Not an SEC fan I think they are overrated in softball & football.
I think they are the best conference in softball top to bottom. But when almost every team in your conference makes the tourney and your not winning the WCWS every year that gives me pause. Best conference yes. Best team no.
I hope Clemson knocks the stuffing out of LSU!!!

riseball · Jan 8, 2020

MadBandit22 said:
How about your facing a very patient team intent on making the pitcher work. They are notorious for taking the 1st pitch.
What are you going to throw to get started? If they want to give me a 1 pitch advantage you can bet we’re throwing something hard around the middle of the plate.
This is rarely the scenario but I’m talking about a straight pitch to a certain location not right down the middle of the plate.
Whether it’s high & tight or low and away. The “movement” pitches that don’t move or miss their mark are usually the pitches that get hit hard.

Hope she wers a mask. Hopefully someday you DD will make it to college ball if that is her dream. But to do so she needs to understand that those shenanigans will not work beyond TB. Do her a favor and build the discipline now. Even if they are patient and taking the first pitch, you always throw your A game where the ball is never fat down the middle.

MadBandit22 · Jan 8, 2020

riseball said:
Hope she wers a mask. Hopefully someday you DD will make it to college ball if that is her dream. But to do so she needs to understand that those shenanigans will not work beyond TB. Do her a favor and build the discipline now. Even if they are patient and taking the first pitch, you always throw your A game where the ball is never fat down the middle.

That would be nice if you never had to throw down the middle. Maybe when machines start calling pitches that will be the case.
Some umps seem to enjoy squeezing pitchers and forcing them to be more around the plate.
I don’t think we’re too far apart here. I would cite MLB pitchers with a 3-1 count. More often than not fastball right down broadway because likely hitter is taking all the way.
My point being “blowing a hitter away” is still an element in the game. Maybe less of a factor in softball but still a bullet in the gun if girls know how to use it properly.

riseball · Jan 8, 2020

MadBandit22 said:
There aren’t many ladies that Legit throw in the 70’s. My guess is your DD is Carly Hoover or Kelly Barnhopper. There may be a few others like the So for Alabama but those two stand out.
Not an SEC fan I think they are overrated in softball & football.
I think they are the best conference in softball top to bottom. But when almost every team in your conference makes the tourney and your not winning the WCWS every year that gives me pause. Best conference yes. Best team no.
I hope Clemson knocks the stuffing out of LSU!!!

There are more kids that can throw 70 than people realize. For my DD she was usually best around 67-69. More control and better movement. Seems 70 is slowly becoming what 65 used to be back in the day.

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