Best Pitch

[greg99]

If thrown correctly, what is everyones opinion on what would be the best pitch to throw. Or maybe what pitch would you throw the most in a game?

I was talking with a coach this past weekend and his thoughts on this caught me be surprises. Just wanted to know what everyones else thought.

I don't want," throw the pitch the pitcher throws the best", she throws them all great for the sake of this question.

Thanks

 

[tojo]

The best pitch to throw in the game would greatly depend on the batters you are facing. For instance, I know batters on the same team that cannot hit a rise but others that cannot hit an inside pitch or change up,etc. Throw the pitch that exploits the batter's weakness. IMHO, there is no one pitch that you can throw the most without considering the competition especially if she throws all the pitchs great as you suggest.

 

[sluggers]

Or maybe what pitch would you throw the most in a game?

Greg, you are missing the whole idea of a "game within a game". The batters and the umpire dictate what the pitcher throws, not the pitcher.

The pitcher wants the hitters to hit her breaking pitch. But, of course, the batters want to hit her fastball.

Once the batters' skill levels match that of the pitcher (around 16U), the batters adapt to what the pitcher is throwing. If a pitcher is a rise ball pitcher, they start laying off the high stuff. If the pitcher is a drop ball pitcher, they start laying off the low stuff. When the batters do that, then the pitcher has to throw more fastballs.

Similarly, the umpire's strike zone tells you what the pitcher can throw. E.g., if the umpire's strike zone is low, then that reduces the effectiveness of the rise ball.

E.g., my DD has pitched games where the umpire has a strike zone about the size of a piece of paper. She had to throw fastballs mostly in order not to get behind the batters, and then use the drops when she got ahead in the count. If umpire had a low strike zone so that she could throw a drop for a strike, then the batters got lots of drops.

The plan for a pitcher going into any game is simple:

(1) Throw all of her pitches on the edge of the umpire's strike zone.
(2) Change speeds.

 

[greg99]

I agree with what everyone here said. That is why I asked the question. The coach i was talking to liked one particule pitch (screwball)more than the others in general. I found that a pretty broad statement. I agree that it all depends on the batter and umpire. I have watched very few collage games and I didn't see many screws thrown. From I know of pitchers on team USA, no pitchers theres best pitch is a screw. Seems a bit off that this coach thought the screw ball should be the pitvh of choice.

 

[howellhandmade]

I agree with what everyone here said. That is why I asked the question. The coach i was talking to liked one particule pitch (screwball)more than the others in general. I found that a pretty broad statement. I agree that it all depends on the batter and umpire. I have watched very few collage games and I didn't see many screws thrown. From I know of pitchers on team USA, no pitchers theres best pitch is a screw. Seems a bit off that this coach thought the screw ball should be the pitvh of choice.

Kind of depends on the context of the conversation. I can recall the same general sort of thing being said in various discussions, including here -- that a screwball that moves in or down and in against a RH batter has a better chance of falling under the plane of the swing and getting grounded at worst, while a down and away curve has a better chance of staying in line with the plane of the swing and getting hit. No doubt it's an effective pitch if it moves, and I think you do see it at the top levels although there are others here who can speak better to that than I.

 

[coachdan]

The best pitch to throw in the game would greatly depend on the batters you are facing. For instance, I know batters on the same team that cannot hit a rise but others that cannot hit an inside pitch or change up,etc. Throw the pitch that exploits the batter's weakness. IMHO, there is no one pitch that you can throw the most without considering the competition especially if she throws all the pitchs great as you suggest.

100% agree with tojo on bold....

 

[CoachFP]

Greg99, you have got to stop listening to people that don't know what they are talking about. The best pitch to throw is the one that you can command best and the batter has the most trouble hitting. I learned a long time ago, the hardest pitch to hit is a "ball". If you can get batters to swing out of the strike zone then that is the pitch to throw.

 

[razmataz]

I agree with what everyone here said. That is why I asked the question. The coach i was talking to liked one particule pitch (screwball)more than the others in general. I found that a pretty broad statement. I agree that it all depends on the batter and umpire. I have watched very few collage games and I didn't see many screws thrown. From I know of pitchers on team USA, no pitchers theres best pitch is a screw. Seems a bit off that this coach thought the screw ball should be the pitvh of choice.

My DD best pitch is a screwball, she is not overpowering but for some reason it darts in on the batters hands, and at least in our area 12u and even 14u at tiomes have a hard time adjusting, perhaps because a lot of these girls stand to close to the plate.
Someone else posted a few months back that at the college worls series 1-2 years ago a pitcher threw like 90% screw balls ? If I remember correctly

 

[greg99]

Yes, every pitcher will have Their best pitch. When talking to the coach it seem that he would Force the screw on his pitchers. He thought that out of all the pitches if the pitcher could command the screwball they would be a better pitcher then if they could command a curveball, or rise , or drop.

As i said , that seemd a bit off. if that was correct I like their would be awhole lot more pitchers that have screwballs as their go to pitch.

 

[greg99]

CoachFP, I try to listen to everything,everybody. Doesn't mean i actually believe them. My DD is doing about 50% of what you have learned, she can throw "balls" now to just get the batters to swing at them. LOL.