Who's calling?

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Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
This is one of my BIG pet peeves about the game these days. Every single pitch is called by the coaches and it is really annoying to see these wristbands and then switching out wristbands as you swap pitches (saw that on TV this weekend). Is it really that hard for the pitcher and catcher to study charts before going into a series then get with pitching coach for the weekend and understand tendencies then take what the umpire is giving you mix in what is working that game for the pitcher an you now have an evolving game plan.

If you have zero information on the batters at a random 14U weekend tourney, exactly what the heck are you doing as a coach? You are just making stuff up....not gonna get on that soapbox today... my favorites are the 12U bucket dad coaches and father of the #1 pitcher calling pitches for DD who can't locate a pitch within two feet.
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
DD pitches in 12U and has played up in a number of 14U games this spring. Between middle school, rec ball, and travel, she will almost never see the same hitters in more than one game, nor will she face another individual pitcher more than twice. A full staff of scouts could hardly get reliable data on how to pitch any given hitter at this age level.

I still call pitches for her rec team, but I'm trying to let the catcher do more of it. Mostly, I'm just concerned about DD getting lazy and throwing everything over the middle. She's gotten to the point where she can hit spots reliably, so I feel like my role is mostly to mix it up, try not to get into too predictable a pattern, and recognize when the hitter is showing a flaw that she can exploit.

Her primary catcher is a bright kid, and in broaching the subject of having her take over pitch-calling duty I asked her if her catching coach had ever spoken to her about effective velocity. Blank stare. When I explained it to her she got it right away, and I've had her call a few innings since.
 
Mar 13, 2010
1,758
48
Your daughter if she gets lazy will learn very quickly what happens to lazy pitchers. They get belted.

Let her fail. Let her be lazy and learn her lesson.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
DD pitches in 12U and has played up in a number of 14U games this spring. Between middle school, rec ball, and travel, she will almost never see the same hitters in more than one game, nor will she face another individual pitcher more than twice. A full staff of scouts could hardly get reliable data on how to pitch any given hitter at this age level.

I still call pitches for her rec team, but I'm trying to let the catcher do more of it. Mostly, I'm just concerned about DD getting lazy and throwing everything over the middle. She's gotten to the point where she can hit spots reliably, so I feel like my role is mostly to mix it up, try not to get into too predictable a pattern, and recognize when the hitter is showing a flaw that she can exploit.

Her primary catcher is a bright kid, and in broaching the subject of having her take over pitch-calling duty I asked her if her catching coach had ever spoken to her about effective velocity. Blank stare. When I explained it to her she got it right away, and I've had her call a few innings since.

Exactly this.

I call the pitches.

If I don't, I find that the catcher sets up right down the middle, and the target is right down the middle. So then the pitcher when doing exactly what they're told pitches batting practice in games. Right down the middle.

The girls on my team can pitch inside and outside fairly reliably. And I want them working on that, focusing on that. So by calling pitches it doesn't get forgotten or ignored.

And I'm teaching them. With a power hitter who swings agressively, we'll use more change-ups.

With a slap hitter/bunter we'll work high in the strike zone. Someone I see hugging the plate, we'll work her inside. I then talk to the battery about what we did that inning, so hopefully they slowly start learning pitch calling strategy.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
If you have zero information on the batters at a random 14U weekend tourney, exactly what the heck are you doing as a coach? You are just making stuff up....not gonna get on that soapbox today... my favorites are the 12U bucket dad coaches and father of the #1 pitcher calling pitches for DD who can't locate a pitch within two feet.

Wont disagree with pitchers who can't locate/etc..... And yeah, a lot of coaches have no idea what or why they are calling.

However in our case we (and I mean we as in the coaches, pitchers and catchers) absolutely have plans for batters we have never seen before. We have pitch sequences we like to throw, we have plans for slappers and likely power hitters. We have plans for where they stand. We have plans based on assuming the better batters are at the top of the lineup and will likely get less dangerous as we go down the line up. We have sequences when a pitch is 'on' or 'off' that day. And even sometimes how they practice swing. And we also understand what works best for our particular pitchers.

So yeah, if you have a PITCHER, then there are pitches to be called. We don't just make it up blindly... well at least not all the time....
 
Jan 27, 2010
1,871
83
NJ
This is one of my BIG pet peeves about the game these days. Every single pitch is called by the coaches and it is really annoying to see these wristbands and then switching out wristbands as you swap pitches (saw that on TV this weekend). Is it really that hard for the pitcher and catcher to study charts before going into a series then get with pitching coach for the weekend and understand tendencies then take what the umpire is giving you mix in what is working that game for the pitcher an you now have an evolving game plan.

If you have zero information on the batters at a random 14U weekend tourney, exactly what the heck are you doing as a coach? You are just making stuff up....not gonna get on that soapbox today... my favorites are the 12U bucket dad coaches and father of the #1 pitcher calling pitches for DD who can't locate a pitch within two feet.
DD's 14U coach used to gather the pitchers and catchers on the bench and call pitches together. He'd let them call the pitch but then justify why it was called. DD called every pitch on the HS Varsity team, 4 years. She called many club games as well. It's not rocket science or that hard to learn. In fact I think there is a paper on the site that gives all kinds of scenarios and suggested pitches to throw. DD studied that and used it to her advantage.

With the information possessed by college coaches it makes more sense for them to call games. At the random 14-18U club game, not so much.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
This is great!


This is nothing more than advocating a game of self indulgent "let's pretend". Let's pretend that if they get to college they will actually call the game. Let's pretend that when they get to college they may have a pitcher that has at least one legitimate pitch. Truth is most college pitchers are throwers not pitchers and do not have a single pitch they can throw consistently to a spot. Paraphrasing previous comments by @sluggers; Control is the ability to throw a given pitch to any quadrant in the zone and make adjustments in 2 inch increments. That said before any discussion of pitch calling is relevant you must have a pitcher that has at least one pitch that can be called and thrown to a specific spot.

Try this at the next practice - set a water bottle on bucket at the bottom inside of the zone. If your "pitcher" can pick the water bottle clean 70% of the time she has a legitimate pitch that can be called in a game. If not, then any discussion of pitch calling either by the pitcher, catcher, dugout, or magic 8 ball is just a game of make believe.
 
Apr 28, 2019
1,423
83
This is one of my BIG pet peeves about the game these days. Every single pitch is called by the coaches and it is really annoying to see these wristbands and then switching out wristbands as you swap pitches (saw that on TV this weekend). Is it really that hard for the pitcher and catcher to study charts before going into a series then get with pitching coach for the weekend and understand tendencies then take what the umpire is giving you mix in what is working that game for the pitcher an you now have an evolving game plan.

If you have zero information on the batters at a random 14U weekend tourney, exactly what the heck are you doing as a coach? You are just making stuff up....not gonna get on that soapbox today... my favorites are the 12U bucket dad coaches and father of the #1 pitcher calling pitches for DD who can't locate a pitch within two feet.
It sucks to be micro managed!!! I think the girls should call their own games with some input from coaches on possible game changing at bats. The girls know what’s working and she’s invested in every pitch when she’s calling them. If coach calls pitches girls aren’t comfortable with their not fully invested and you may not get their best effort/desired outcome.
 

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