Pitch Calling - Important?

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Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
How is it that in MLB a catcher can call a game, and also in the Minors, but a catcher cannot in softball? I'd be interested if Mr. Hillhouse asked Mr. Coach Klein what to throw when he was active.

Further, Terry Bradshaw called his own plays in the NFL without the help of a coach.

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As [MENTION=332]sluggers[/MENTION] mentioned it's not brain surgery. That said many MLB catchers earn just as much. It is their job, their profession. The catchers in college softball are just passing through. Given a choice of spending countless hours reviewing video or spray charts they most would rather spend their time doing something else. Those who get wrapped around the axle regarding WHO calls the pitches are missing the point. What matters is HOW the pitches are called. It is either a collaborative approach or it is not.
 
Oct 1, 2014
2,219
113
USA
As [MENTION=332]sluggers[/MENTION]What matters is HOW the pitches are called. It is either a collaborative approach or it is not.

Collaborative is in IMHO the key word here! And it's not a one time, pre-game assessment of what to throw regardless of what's happening. Also, the calls need to be delivered with some savvy as well...not dictated without any feel for helping your player control the pace (and everything that factors into that).
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
And it's not a one time, pre-game assessment of what to throw regardless of what's happening.

If Suzy throws a drop-ball and she cant' hit her spots we arnen't going to her third and fourth pitch. We are moving on to the next pitcher if possible.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
Pontificating is what this site is all about. And yes, I like to think that I’ve learned a lot from it. Thanks to the pontificators out there for sharing your knowledge and experiences.

Just so I understand completely, you read the stuff here, but you don't coach, you don't play, and you don't help your DD?

You don't believe in tests? You don't believe in evaluating people? I guess you have a subscription to Golf Digest and you have watched golf on TV, and therefore you know how to play the game.
 
Mar 1, 2016
195
18
Late to the discussion, but here’s my two cents:

Sometimes the coach knows what he/she is doing and can call pitches effectively and keep hitters off balance. Sometimes coaches suck at it. Every coach thinks they’re the best at it. Even when the other team is teeing off on the pitcher, it must be the pitcher’s fault, not pitch selection. Unless, of course, the pitcher is the coach’s daughter. Then it’s the catcher’s fault. Sound about right?

Funny story: a couple of years ago, DD was coached by a former 4-year starter D1 catcher. This woman did everything she could to empower the catchers on the team to learn the game, learn which pitches should be used in certain situations, how to fool runners into giving hitters the wrong locations, all that stuff. Then in games, the coach called the pitches. DD was confused. “Why is she teaching us all this stuff if she won’t let us use it?” she would ask. But the coach knew her stuff and rarely called a bad game or even a bad inning. Then one day, the coach had a fight with her boyfriend on the way to the field and was in a bad mood. She told the catchers to figure out among themselves who was going to catch and then call the first game. DD stepped up and did it. Pitcher threw a one-hit shutout, and it was the last game that coach allowed DD to call. That coach doesn’t coach travel ball now because she became a college coach and the NCAA frowns on that kind of stuff.

Fast forward to the next team, and the coach sometimes calls pitches that the pitcher doesn’t have. He’s old and forgetful. But the pitcher isn’t allowed to shake him off. And the coach calls the same pitch over and over until the pitcher gets it right. Pitchers get frustrated and fall apart. So DD works out a deal with pitchers where she gets the pitch call from coach and proceeds to call her own game anyway. She just calls pitches that LOOK like they might have been what he called because they finished in the right spot (subbing fastball up for riseball or outside drop for curve and such). He doesn’t know the difference and never figures it out or catches on. DD calls three no no’s for three different pitchers that way, coach thinks he’s the hero, and the players just smirk at each other all the way back to the parking lot.

See? Sometimes it just doesn’t matter what we think. It only matters what the coach feels in that moment in that game on that day in that city at that park. It only matters that the coach stays happy. Is it important that catchers know how to call their own game? Sure. Is it going to happen regularly? Nope. It makes no sense to argue about it, and quite frankly, some of you are WAY too amped up about it.


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May 17, 2012
2,804
113
She just calls pitches that LOOK like they might have been what he called because they finished in the right spot (subbing fastball up for riseball or outside drop for curve and such). He doesn’t know the difference and never figures it out or catches on. DD calls three no no’s for three different pitchers that way, coach thinks he’s the hero, and the players just smirk at each other all the way back to the parking lot.

And if she did that on my team it would be her last game on that team. It's also sad that you condone it. Not sure what life lesson you are teaching there....
 
Mar 1, 2016
195
18
And if she did that on my team it would be her last game on that team. It's also sad that you condone it. Not sure what life lesson you are teaching there....

I’m teaching her to do what is best for the team. She does what is necessary to help out her pitchers and for the team to be successful. She would gladly sacrifice herself so others can succeed, and selfless service is absolutely something I condone. Sometimes a coach’s ego is not the most important thing in a game. She knew it was a risk to do that back then, but it was one she was willing to take so that the pitchers wouldn’t quit the team in the middle of an inning because of an overbearing coach. It’s safe to say she wouldn’t ever play for you in the first place because it sounds like you’re just like him.


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Jun 5, 2012
38
8
Ontario, Canada
I don't normally comment on these kinds of thread because I'm from a different era, different country and boys/mens fastpitch but this is a subject I just can't get my head around. In 30 years of playing competitive fastpitch the only time a coach ever called a pitch for us was when he called time, came to the circle and told our pitcher not to let this guy reach a pitch for the rest of the game. The game was played by us for better or worse and discussions about what happened took place between innings. Nobody ever thought it should be different.
IMHO, if your pitchers and catchers do not want to control and call the game themselves there are only two legitimate reasons. They either don't know how or are afraid of making mistakes. Responsibility for both of those things are with coaches. Unfortunately the elevated importance and cost of the games today has created an environment where adults need to be in control and kids have no margin for error.
As a coach now, there's no better feeling than watching my battery set up and sit down a batter on their own. I'm glad I'm in an environment where the kids still have some level of control over their game.
 

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