Pitching and Pitchers Discussion drop versus rise/ pitch location

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In a perfect world, and the if the pitcher can throw both the rise and the drop, do you have a preference betweeen the rise and the drop? ?I prefer low pitches, looking for ground balls, but my pitcher prefers the rise thinking she will get more strikeouts. ?She does mix them up high and low, and the change in location helps, but I was wondering if there is any rule of thumb for pitch preference. ?
In addition, just high versus low in general, what is the preference? ?I realize that some hitters prefer one location versus the other.

Thanks

 

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Witz,

I dont have the time to respond to this right now but I will when I have some time. This is very scenario dependent in my opinion. It will take a while to respond.

Elliott.

 

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http://www.windpitch.com/PitcherCatcherChart.html

I hope this helps. As stated above this is not an yes or no answer. It depends on many things and this
chart , which we use to call pitches should help.

 

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Here is a webpage I just found...

http://www.pitchsoftball.com/Page4.html

Let me know what you think.

 

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I have that one and use both. ?Why I call pitches instead of my catcher. Keep in mind with a runner on third, the drop ball is a very risky call. But ?I agree about the low pitch comments on that site.
I was just at a high school game that many of the drop balls got away from the catcher. ?

WITZ: Did you get your excel spread sheet for pitching? I have one that includes pitching if you still need one.

 

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You pitch it and we try to hit it...by keeping the hands inside the path of the ball with our hands above the plane of the pitch staying in the big zone. Given a certain situation we will even move in the box as the pitcher starts her motion looking for you to throw a particular pitch or at a certain location as to in or out.

Now calling pitches?I look for tendencies of the hitter i.e. stepping in or out from home plate, stepping open or closed, swinging level or down on the ball, using a power V at contact versus extending after contact, finishing against the front shoulder versus over the shoulder and high (I can not believe people pay good money to be taught how to hit down on the ball), finishing over the front leg versus against the front leg at contact.

A person that understands hitting that is calling pitches can make an average or below average pitcher look good if they can hit their spots.

Then there are the coaches who move the hitters up in the box so they can catch it before it breaks down or up?they are the pitchers best friend and you will usually see 12 to 14 strike outs in a game where a coach does that.

 

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The last comment by hitter of moving hitters up in the batters box is very common and confuses me. . Almost every high school team we face , moves the batter up in the box. Our high school pitcher in 12 games has over 100K's. I still can't figure out why they are doing it. She is very fast and has a good rise and drop.

I set back , and as Howard stated, as our hitting coach, I help call pitches based on what I see. 90% are so late with the swing, you shake your head > They might as well let our pitcher be throwing from 35 feet.

 

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As a hitter, I only moved up in the box if I intended to bunt. It helps your odds of putting it in fair territory. Otherwise, you could be taking pitches out of the strike zone and then getting called out because they break into it once they get to the plate. I don't think the extra foot or so to look at the ball from the back of the box makes a big difference to a good hitter, but to a marginal one it certainly could. As for the rise vs the drop. You should have both, but the rise is more of a strike out pitch. It's like a changeup-- something you throw after the hitter is set up for it. The drop is a great constant. If you've got a good one, don't even throw a fastball. Rule of thumb: low is good. High is bad. Low is a grounder. High is a homer.

 

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The drop ball is a wonderful pitch when thrown correctly. That is one of the first 3 pitches taught to my daughter. It does make for a great out-pitch! Only draw back would be if you are not throwing it right on any given day it is almost like throwing a meatball up to the plate.