2 pitches
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At what level? 16U, College, Professional?
IMO, they would probably be successful in high school and some colleges. As they face better competition, they will have less success. Monica Abbott is a good example. She has had to learn and continues to learn new pitches, because she found out a while back that she can't live on speed alone.
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- Jun 24, 2013
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You just described some of the best pitchers in D1, 2 pitches. The commentators make stuff up so it can be confusing.
I agree with cuzmail. 2 pitches can take you pretty far if they are two really good pitches. But if you want to go though elite lineups more than once, you probably need a 3rd pitch for them to at least think about. The 3rd pitch might be little more than a "show me" pitch most of the time but good lineups will adjust to a 2 pitch pitcher the 2nd time through the lineup.
- Dec 20, 2012
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I would say good enough to win a National Championship, ask Ricketts. FB, CU, Dropcurve, guess that is really 3 pitches but I figured a FB is a given. A large number of college/ international coaches say a FB, CU, and 1 other pitch is all that is needed. Guess that is proven true.
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Pitching successfully at the D1 level requires good speed, changing speeds, superior ball movement and excellent control. Most D1 pitchers have excellent control over the fastball and one other movement pitch. (Cat Osterman being a notable exception.)
My DD was an all-conference D1 pitcher. She had two pitches (fastball/drop). BUT:
1) Her fastball (62-65 MPH) moved.
2) She could throw the drop at three different vertical locations and could vary it left to right across the plate. The break on the ball was 12 to 18 inches.
3) She changed speeds on her drop anywhere from 50 MPH up to 62 MPH.
4) She had incredible control. She could place the ball on the black of the plate with her drop or fastball 90 out of a 100 times. If she walked someone, it was because she decided to walk them.
5) She could throw a screw or curve, but she had not mastered them. I.E., she might use a curve to get a strike on a weak batter once a game. Very ineffective.
That is the wrong question. No one has the time to really learn how to throw 4 pitches.
The trick in softball is beating *GOOD* teams. The trick is pitching is getting *GOOD* hitters out. So, If a kid can't throw a pitch in a tie game with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 7th, it is worthless.
If a pitcher can't reliably make a breaking pitch move 100 out of a 100 times, it it worthless. If a pitcher can't control the location of a breaking pitch, it is worthless.
When a Daddy says, "My kid can throw 4 pitches" and your start talking to him, he will say, "Well, it only moves 3 inches and she can only get it to move about 50% of the time and she can only throw it on the inside corner." Then, she can never throw that pitch with the game on the line.
My DD was an all-conference D1 pitcher. She had two pitches (fastball/drop). BUT:
1) Her fastball (62-65 MPH) moved.
2) She could throw the drop at three different vertical locations and could vary it left to right across the plate. The break on the ball was 12 to 18 inches.
3) She changed speeds on her drop anywhere from 50 MPH up to 62 MPH.
4) She had incredible control. She could place the ball on the black of the plate with her drop or fastball 90 out of a 100 times. If she walked someone, it was because she decided to walk them.
5) She could throw a screw or curve, but she had not mastered them. I.E., she might use a curve to get a strike on a weak batter once a game. Very ineffective.
That is the wrong question. No one has the time to really learn how to throw 4 pitches.
The trick in softball is beating *GOOD* teams. The trick is pitching is getting *GOOD* hitters out. So, If a kid can't throw a pitch in a tie game with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 7th, it is worthless.
If a pitcher can't reliably make a breaking pitch move 100 out of a 100 times, it it worthless. If a pitcher can't control the location of a breaking pitch, it is worthless.
When a Daddy says, "My kid can throw 4 pitches" and your start talking to him, he will say, "Well, it only moves 3 inches and she can only get it to move about 50% of the time and she can only throw it on the inside corner." Then, she can never throw that pitch with the game on the line.
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If she could vary speeds of 12 mph on her drop, I'd argue she was effectively using her "slow" drop as a change up.
- Jul 26, 2010
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Most college pitchers only have 2 pitches. They just call their inside fastball a screwball, their outside fastball a curveball, and their high fastball a rise ball.
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If the kid can throw at "70" that alone will get her some where!
Only a handful of girls can throw that hard and the ones that can you best believe their daddies already have them on a coaches radar.
Next question!
Only a handful of girls can throw that hard and the ones that can you best believe their daddies already have them on a coaches radar.
Next question!
