How many pitchers

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As another coach I know often says, you need two horses and a pony. That seems to be the right mix. IMHO you can't keep three horses happy.

 

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lived that very scenario this summer and you are correct...not easy even with the most flexible parents/players

 

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loncor is dead on - the two horses and one pony is the ticket, especially if the pony is your horse with the glove and bat. I know, easier said then done to get this mix. But is there anything crazier than a pitcher's parent!!!! Trust me, I know, I used to be one!!!!

 

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Thanks bunches for the responses.
Seems 3 is the magic number. Thankfully most pitchers can play different positions. Considering High School Softball is around the corner, then College. But then again Im not sure if College pitchers play any other position?

My DD can now throw 5 or 6 pitches & she played catcher last 2 years mostly(Shes pretty good there also. ), pitching mostly in REC but will play wherever needed most on her team. I think its going to be a fun season. We are set & ready to play! I just cant wait for the first practice! Let alone Fall ball & the High School.
:yahoo:

 

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Tell me about it I had it tough with only 1. Lost one half way through the summer.

 

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My DD can now throw 5 or 6 pitches & she played catcher last 2 years mostly(Shes pretty good there also. ), pitching mostly in REC but will play wherever needed most on her team.:yahoo:

Wow! Your DD throws 5 to 6 pitches? The kids on our team have two pitches and are working on a third pitch. What pitches does your DD throw?

Len

 

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3 worked for our 16U team at the end of the season gave the girls plenty rest and innings pitched, seemed to work numbers on the other teams too if we would throw all three in one game by rotating them after two three innings

 

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Saw one girl this past weekend that was suppose to have a drop ball, a rise ball, a screw ball, a cruve ball, a change up, a fast ball, and a knuckle ball "man did it look good on paper". This was going to be a 14u dream.


On the diamond it looked like she had a rising drop ball, dropping rise ball, a curving screwball, a screwy curveball, a fast changeup, and a slow fastball, and a spinning knuckleball.

I was in "aaa" a 14u with one pitch called by 7 different names and it was 37 miles per hour, and I got to see it 5 times each pitch, I didn't know how to contain my joy.

 

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i can honestly say that just made me laugh out loud

 

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4thegame:
I may have to read that reply once a day just to keep my spirits up!!! Absolutely the best I've seen in a while. :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

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bunch of dads think their kids throw 5-6-7 pitches when in reality they have a fastball, change, and either a curve or screw . MD

 

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I would like to say that in my opinion "CONTROL" is the utmost valuable weapon a pitcher can have.

 

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Wow! Your DD throws 5 to 6 pitches? The kids on our team have two pitches and are working on a third pitch. What pitches does your DD throw?

Len

Fast ball, change-up, screw, working on perfecting drop, drop curve and rise. Needs more pitching time! Just turned 14 this year. I stand corrected, I should of said can throw 3 and working on perfecting 3. Sorry! But I KNOW she will have them perfected soon. Seeing as she has the best pitching coach around.

 

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Saw one girl this past weekend that was suppose to have a drop ball, a rise ball, a screw ball, a cruve ball, a change up, a fast ball, and a knuckle ball "man did it look good on paper". This was going to be a 14u dream.


On the diamond it looked like she had a rising drop ball, dropping rise ball, a curving screwball, a screwy curveball, a fast changeup, and a slow fastball, and a spinning knuckleball.

I was in "aaa" a 14u with one pitch called by 7 different names and it was 37 miles per hour, and I got to see it 5 times each pitch, I didn't know how to contain my joy.

:lmao::lmao: Made me laugh also!

 

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I'm not here to rip on any pitching coaches by any means, but I do get weary when I hear how many pitches some young pitchers have. I've seen too many people say their dd has a riseball. A true riseball curves upward and in order to make that happen your dd needs to be throwing around 60mph so the pitch can defy gravity. When I hear that a kid throws a screwball all I can think of is how painful it must be on their still growing elbow. Now this is my opinion....take it for what it's worth. A pitcher who cannot throw their fastball at least 58mph should work on having three solid pitches: fastball, change up, and drop or drop curve. If they can throw 58 or higher, learn a riseball. I believe throwing a screwball could potentially damage the elbow. You are asking the elbow (and wrist) to violently twist in a direction it is not meant to twist when performing a screwball. If your pitching coach is not teaching your dd to twist their arm violently, then they are throwing nothing more than an inside cut fastball. Like I said earlier in my post, this is just my opinion.

Len

 

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Len
Totally agree. 10U Fastball for strikes move on to changeup. 2nd year 10U or 12U drop ball. Master those then you can think about moving on. Why have 5-6 pitches when you cant throw any for strikes??

 

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Saw one girl this past weekend that was suppose to have a drop ball, a rise ball, a screw ball, a cruve ball, a change up, a fast ball, and a knuckle ball "man did it look good on paper". This was going to be a 14u dream.


On the diamond it looked like she had a rising drop ball, dropping rise ball, a curving screwball, a screwy curveball, a fast changeup, and a slow fastball, and a spinning knuckleball.

I was in "aaa" a 14u with one pitch called by 7 different names and it was 37 miles per hour, and I got to see it 5 times each pitch, I didn't know how to contain my joy.

EASILY the funniest thing I've read today, and I'm not easy to impress. HAHA! I usually laugh when I hear someone brag about how many pitches their DD throws. 4thegame laid it out perfectly, tho. My soon-to-be 14-y.o. DD has been pitching for 3 years, only throws 2 + pitches and one average pitch that she continues to work on. Somehow she is not very hittable with 2.5-3 pitches. Weird, and I thought having 13 pitches was the key to pitching success. haha.

Have a good fastball pitcher grip the fastball 4 different ways... using a different grip each pitch... then throw in a good change-up, and she'll have success if she has good control. Just my 2cents.

 

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There you go!I agree,Westpark.

 

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We can all agree that its a good thing for younger players to practice throwing multiple pitches. There is nothing wrong with that. The problem is when a younger pitcher (say 12U and below) is allowed to try and work these out during a game when they are not ready to do so. There is nothing worse then having a player struggle because they are not ready to throw a given pitch in a game and then it ends up costing the team the game. That is a bad situation for everyone.

I have always told our pitchers that when they can prove to me that they can throw a pitch correctly in practice 75% of the time then we can consider throwing it in a game. They need to have the confidence to throw the pitch when called and the best way for them to gain that confidence is on their own time not at the teams expense.

 

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DD goes to same pitching coach as Beck, but is first year 14-U. Has control and good placement of fastball, and great change-up. Has been working, and I say working on Rise, she's not strong enough yet for the true rise, so we work on perfecting the spin and speed, I know what she throws is an upshoot and nothing more, and so does her coach. He says it takes a longgggg time to perfect this one, so starts on the spin. She is learning currently working on drop, and has been working on screw. If asked, she has 2 solid pitches and a pretty good upshoot. I know her coach would agree with that, and is not the type to claim they throw pitches they can't.