Pitching Strategy

[SBmom8992]

DD (10U) is on her own when it comes to pitch location and pitch calls. Recently she faced a batter who was really crowding the plate. She went up and in on her and wound up hitting her in the upper arm. I asked her what happened to see if the ball got away from her and she told me that she wanted to jam her and move the batter off the plate.

This got me to thinking...there's lots of stickys and good information on this forum about the physical aspects of pitching but not too much about pitching strategy. For example, as DD moves up to 12U next year and she starts to see slappers, how does this impact what pitch she should throw and where? I think it's important to be a smart pitcher and want to start her thinking about batter line up, where batters stand in the box, etc.

DFP pitching coaches and bucket dads/moms, what do you tell your pitcher about strategy?

 

[MK37]

I've been thinking about this very thing. The other night DD was pitching and the batter she was facing was way out in front and pulled a couple foul. Next pitch, deep to left field. I started thinking DD has to improve on the strategy part of the game and think more. Thanks for starting the thread.

 

[coach james]

It all starts with dd's pc and how her thought process works. If team coaches aren't recognizing the batter's tendencies when they're on deck and is leaving the pitchers on their own....that's a problem for me.
As far a slappers go, keep in mind their goal is to get on top of the ball, put it in play in the 5/6 hole, then and beat you with speed. So with that in mind, I throw high and inside with a lot of speed changes. This way if contact is made, it's usually a weak hit off the handle towards the 3/4 hole. (Assuming the pitcher did in fact hit her spot!)

 

[Rocketech1]

One thing DD and I have done at the end of every pitching practice is to do pitch "sequences". We pretend there is a batter at home plate and she has to strikeout 5 batters. She uses all of her pitches and we keep track of the pitch count. For example, first pitch is called for a high and inside pitch, if she hits her spot it's a strike. Now the count is 0-1, she might work outside with her curve ball, etc. If she "walks" a batter we start the count over. Sometimes I call the pitches and other times I ask her what she wants to throw.

Additionally, we have been working with her PC about pitch strategy to complement her strengths. The goal is for her to be a "pitcher" and think about strategy and then execute the pitch instead of just being a robot throwing whatever pitch the coach calls. If her coach calls her pitches, she needs to speak up about pitching strategy so they can work as a team. I'm fairly convinced that DDs head coach calls the same pitch strategy for all the pitchers on her team and doesn't do a great job of using the strengths of each individual pitcher. For example, DDs best pitch is her drop ball but her rarely calls it in the game. He likes to work east/west but DDs strongest pitches are north/south and change up. When I called her pitches, it wasn't a problem but now that I'm retired from coaching I have been encouraging DD to have frequent discussions with her coach and catchers about how best to use her pitches so she is more effective in the circle.

 

[Doug Romrell]

I'm fairly convinced that DDs head coach calls the same pitch strategy for all the pitchers on her team and doesn't do a great job of using the strengths of each individual pitcher. For example, DDs best pitch is her drop ball but he rarely calls it in the game.

This is quite common. And, what baffles me is how many of them (coaches) don't seem to give a rat's arse, as if the pitcher has no clue what she can or cannot do.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

You are lucky to have a coach calling anything, even change ups. But, I am with your DD. If the girl is crowding the plate I go inside.

 

[sluggers]

DFP pitching coaches and bucket dads/moms, what do you tell your pitcher about strategy?

There is no "grand mystic" strategy to getting hitters out.

Getting good hitters out is very, very simple.

1) Pitch at the edges of the strike zone. Throw pitches both slightly in the strike zone and slightly out of the strike zone. The pitcher *MUST* learn the umpire's strike zone. If your DD rolls her eyes when the ump calls a ball, pine should be liberally applied to her backside.
2) Change speeds.
3) Be able to throw any of your pitches at any time in the count, no matter what the situation.

If your DD can do that, she'll pitch great. If she has that kind of control, she pitches along the edges of the strike zone. Whenever she thinks the batters are looking for an outside pitch, she either (a) pitches slightly farther outside or (b) comes inside.

The trouble is that few kids ever develop the ability to pitch at the edge of the strike zone. They never develop the control it takes to get the good hitters out.

 

[JAD]

DD (10U) is on her own when it comes to pitch location and pitch calls. Recently she faced a batter who was really crowding the plate. She went up and in on her and wound up hitting her in the upper arm. I asked her what happened to see if the ball got away from her and she told me that she wanted to jam her and move the batter off the plate.

This got me to thinking...there's lots of stickys and good information on this forum about the physical aspects of pitching but not too much about pitching strategy. For example, as DD moves up to 12U next year and she starts to see slappers, how does this impact what pitch she should throw and where? I think it's important to be a smart pitcher and want to start her thinking about batter line up, where batters stand in the box, etc.

DFP pitching coaches and bucket dads/moms, what do you tell your pitcher about strategy?

We like to jam slappers inside with fastballs, riseballs, curves (RHP), drop balls, and drop curves. Most slappers like to extend their hands and hit the ball to the left side of the infield. Since most of them are FAST, we like to make them hit it to the right side of the infield as our 2B has a much better chance of making a play. An occasional screwball on the outside river can help prevent a slapper from stepping towards 1B too early. Also remind the umpire to watch for the batters foot being outside the batters box on change ups.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

There is no "grand mystic" strategy to getting hitters out.

Getting good hitters out is very, very simple.

Agreed. You could have a monkey calling pitches and locations. You would be fine as long as the pitcher is making quality pitches around the edges of the strike zone.

Unless you have that top 1% pitcher that throws that much harder than the other pitchers in your age group. 99 out of 100 teams do not have this pitcher.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Agreed. You could have a monkey calling pitches and locations. You would be fine as long as the pitcher is making quality pitches around the edges of the strike zone.

IMO, if a pitcher doesn't have the control to live on the edges, then you might as well have a monkey calling pitches.