What pitch when?

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What's your best advice on calling pitches? Definate do's and don'ts.....

 

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

Hope this helps !

 

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What's your best advice on calling pitches? Definate do's and don'ts.....

Whatever the father of the pitcher wants....lol...Just Kidding

 

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it depends on what pitch is working the best on that day and the situation as well as the age group you are inquiring about.

 

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643
That is the greatest

 

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This is some good general advice from a favorite site re: pitching --- www.pitchsoftball.com Hope it helps.

by Gerald Warner, Softball Pitching Instructor​

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Knowing which pitch to throw and at what location?then being able to do it? is an important element of every pitcher?s effectiveness. However, there are nearly as many ideas and answers regarding pitch selection as there are pitchers, catchers, and coaches. Everybody has their own idea on what pitch to throw in what kind of situation, and where the pitch should be placed. And THAT is the key?pitch selection and pitch placement should be situational?NOT a flat rule for every batter.
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We need to know:
(1) our pitcher?s capabilities with pitch type and placement
(2) the batter?s history?what did she do in her previous at-bats
(3) what we might expect her to do in this situation
(4) whether or not there are runners on base
(5) what her coach might want her to do
(6) how many outs there are and what the current count is
(7) what WE want the batter to do this time



PITCH PLACEMENT ?

As mentioned previously, the selection of the pitch and the intended placement should be based on the situation and what you would like to have as the outcome. However, there are some recommendations based on the conventional wisdom of experienced pitchers and coaches?what usually works in typical circumstances:



BUNTING situation ? likely runners are on base. You want her to pop it up and perhaps even get the runner doubled-off. Keep it high in the zone, on the batter?s hands.

HITTING AWAY with runners in scoring position ? Go for the ground ball. Throw a good drop ball or off-speed up and in.

LEFT SIDE SLAPPER ? Up and in again. She?s trying to put it on the ground or through a hole left or right of the pitcher. Be care to not let it go over the middle or outside corner chest high?that?s the easiest place for her to hit it.
Optional pitch ? If the batter is standing far back from the plate, or is has the habit of starting down the line early, throw a curve away from her (screw ball from a right handed pitcher) that stays low and just outside the zone?a ?chase? pitch

ANXIOUS / JITTERY BATTER ? Throw her an occasional off-speed pitch

DEEP IN THE BOX ? Up and inside, or an off-speed low and away

CROWDING THE PLATE ? Screw ball up and in on her hands

WIDE STANCE (a ?no-stride? batter) ? Off-speed or drop ball placed low

Again, this is a topic where everyone is the expert. These guidelines are based on our experiences, and those of veteran coaches, pitchers, and hitters.

_____________________________________________________________________​

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This article above can be downloaded and printed from Microsoft Word
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Do you want to reprint this article or use it on your website or in your newsletter?
As long as it is not for profit, our only requirement is that you first notify us, then include the following sentence:
Article by Gerald Warner of PitchSoftball.com
and include a reference to this website: www.pitchsoftball.com​

If you have questions or need more information
E-mail us, or call Pitching Instructor Gerald Warner in Colorado at (720) 200-4575
PitchSoftball Home Page | About Us | Beginning Pitchers | 1st & 2nd Year Pitchers | Advanced Pitchers | Coaches and Parents
Recent Questions and Recommendations | Site Map |Search by Keywords​

 

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#1 never throw a off speed after the hitter is late with her swing.
#2 there is no reason to throw up and out and give the hitter a chance to flair one into right field (thanks chip for that one)
#3throw first pitch change ups to very aggressive hitters followed by 2 more (thats a lot of fun)
#4 with 2 strikes dont throw a change throw a high fast ball that looks like a mellon just above the hands, and when they don't swing at the first they will swing at the second one.
thats all for now
I will wait for the frenzy on the first 4

 

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#3throw first pitch change ups to very aggressive hitters followed by 2 more (thats a lot of fun)
#4 with 2 strikes dont throw a change throw a high fast ball that looks like a mellon just above the hands, and when they don't swing at the first they will swing at the second one.
thats all for now

I agree with these two. The change on 0-2 and 1-2 counts is just WAY too predictable.

 

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so you dont agree with never throwing a change to a hitter who fouled a pitch late?

 

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so you dont agree with never throwing a change to a hitter who fouled a pitch late?

I should clarify. I especially agree with those two. I wasn't disagreeing with the others.

 

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#1 throw to the batters weakness
#2 never throw to the same spot back to back with the same pitch
#3 keep changing speeds, locations and pitches

Thats it in a nutshell, now question is can your pitchers do it.

 

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Why not throw a change up to a batter that is late? If it's a good change up, the batter's timing should really be irrelevant. The pitcher's goal is to keep the batter off balance. If she can't throw a change up to a batter that is swinging late (and fool her), then she's not that great of a pitcher IMO.

And why wouldn't you want to throw the same pitch twice? You never throw 2 curve balls back to back? Hmmm.

Very interesting. Maybe I'm just playing devil advocate, but if you're calling pitches, you need to know how to read a batter and know your pitcher's strengths. Just my two cents worth.

 

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Why not throw a change up to a batter that is late? If it's a good change up, the batter's timing should really be irrelevant. The pitcher's goal is to keep the batter off balance. If she can't throw a change up to a batter that is swinging late (and fool her), then she's not that great of a pitcher IMO.

And why wouldn't you want to throw the same pitch twice? You never throw 2 curve balls back to back? Hmmm.

Very interesting. Maybe I'm just playing devil advocate, but if you're calling pitches, you need to know how to read a batter and know your pitcher's strengths. Just my two cents worth.

The reason I dont throw a change after a late swing is this.
If you foul it off late why would i speed your bat up for you?

 

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Just two that I follow.
1. Never throw a drop ball with a runner on third.
2. Never throw the change with a fast runner on First or second.

 

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If a pitcher has a 15-20mph difference in her change up from her other pitches, it's not going to matter if the batter was late on her swing. She's going to swing early or no swing at all because she's fooled...IMO. This depends on the pitcher also, how good is she.
Is a batter way of the plate or on top the plate, overly erect, leaning over, hands high or hands low? All these need considered when calling pitches.

 

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If a pitcher has a 15-20mph difference in her change up from her other pitches, it's not going to matter if the batter was late on her swing. She's going to swing early or no swing at all because she's fooled...IMO. This depends on the pitcher also, how good is she.
Is a batter way of the plate or on top the plate, overly erect, leaning over, hands high or hands low? All these need considered when calling pitches.

If you are taking off 15-20 mph the batter may have time to adjust instead of being fooled, the rule of thumb is 15-20%.

 

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If a pitcher has a 15-20mph difference in her change up from her other pitches, it's not going to matter if the batter was late on her swing. She's going to swing early or no swing at all because she's fooled...IMO. This depends on the pitcher also, how good is she.
Is a batter way of the plate or on top the plate, overly erect, leaning over, hands high or hands low? All these need considered when calling pitches.

I do believe that the difference between 20mph is only about 1/10th of a second, if the batter is late on the fast ball, and you throw a change up to her, you just timed her pitch for her

 

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You may want to try this, have your pitcher pitch to her own strengths instead of guessing the batters weaknesses’. After you get some data on the batter you can formulate a plan on the batter.
Was she a first pitch hitter?
Did she chase?
Did she take a lot of pitches?
Is she dead pull?
Does she drop her hands?
There are plenty more and hopefully people will add to the list
If she hit the ball hard….do not throw that same pitch to her again
If you got her out on a particular pitch….throw it to her again
Remember that good hitters make adjustments so pitchers need to keep mixing pitches.


Keep track of what pitches your pitcher is throwing, it makes it so much easier to make a plan during the game.

 

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Just two that I follow.
1. Never throw a drop ball with a runner on third.
2. Never throw the change with a fast runner on First or second.

I totally get the drop with a runner at 3rd, what a killer, geez.
As far as the change with the fast runners, unless the team has picked your change or they were stealing anyway I don't think it would hurt. Let me know what you are thinking there and we can kick it around, I love this stuff, thanks.
Chip

 

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There are some very good and easy charts to track what your pitchers is throwing and what the batter did. Just a suggestion I give this to a parent , normally a pitcher parent or my back up pitcher if they are on the bench to plot > As Chip stated if you are not doing this you are missing some good info.