Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Where are all of the pitchers at?

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Just looking at all of the teams still looking for pitchers. This was one of the worst years I have seen for pitchers not showing up at tryouts.

 

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Just looking at all of the teams still looking for pitchers. This was one of the worst years I have seen for pitchers not showing up at tryouts.

I'm not sure I agree with that. What I feel you are seeing are teams looking for that superstud pitcher throwing 17 different pitches and 600 miles an hour.
There are a ton of pitchers out there. It's just a matter as to where they fall in the quality category. Most fall in the average category while there are a few that are above average and even fewer in the exceptional category.
Teams that are looking for that #1 pitcher are looking for that exceptional pitcher.

 

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I'm not sure I agree with that. What I feel you are seeing are teams looking for that superstud pitcher throwing 17 different pitches and 600 miles an hour.

I agree, jd. Every coach wants his #1 to be Cat Osterman, so dominant as to be unhittable even by good hitting teams.

Which IMO is ridiculous -- especially at 43'. How many girls are there like that in each age group in the state? I would say fewer than ten probably. Maybe as few as five.

In my experience there are other sneaky good pitchers who aren't always noticed or respected -- who can pitch to a specific stitch on the catcher's glove, who can keep batters off balance by changing speeds and locations, who can throw with enough bend on it that it will stay out of the way of most bats, and whose strike zone isn't shaped like a circle, but rather like a doughnut.

Pitchers like that aren't noticed because the hitters are able to put it in play. Those pitchers are only notching three or five K's per game, instead of ten or twelve.

But the hitters are off balance and can't ever seem to get a good swing on the ball. Every inning you think the hitters are going to start hammering this pitcher, but at the end of the game they're only able to score a couple runs.

Anyway, those pitchers often don't seem to get the respect they deserve because they're not recording no-hitters every other game.

The really good fastpitch coaches are people with imagination. Anybody can win with Cat pitching for them. But the measure of a great coach is, what can you do with a team full of re-treads, also-rans and castoffs? With a pitcher who's good but not dominant?

Takes brains to be a great softball coach -- and hoping for the next Cat to show up to your tryouts doesn't qualify as anything but wishful thinking...


#1 DOMINANT SUPERSTUD PITCHER NEEDED

So-so team with coach of limited vision and abilities looking for next NCAA World Series phenom pitcher to materialize out of nowhere. Her fastball must have enough zip to part the Red Sea, since this pitcher will deliver our team from the slavery of mediocrity to the Promised Land of showcase tournament championships. Pitcher must be able to make my dull, lackluster life bearable, if only for a few months.

 

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You nailed it, baby!!!

 

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we didn't have any issues with pitchers. Some of our other teams did.

 

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Had 10 pitchers show up in which 6 of them were quality pitchers. Had to turn some away since we are carrying only 3 pitchers. One did leave us (long story) so needless to say I wished I would of secured one of the other girls.

But they are out there.

 

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I agree, jd. Every coach wants his #1 to be Cat Osterman, so dominant as to be unhittable even by good hitting teams.

Which IMO is ridiculous -- especially at 43'. How many girls are there like that in each age group in the state? I would say fewer than ten probably. Maybe as few as five.

In my experience there are other sneaky good pitchers who aren't always noticed or respected -- who can pitch to a specific stitch on the catcher's glove, who can keep batters off balance by changing speeds and locations, who can throw with enough bend on it that it will stay out of the way of most bats, and whose strike zone isn't shaped like a circle, but rather like a doughnut.

Pitchers like that aren't noticed because the hitters are able to put it in play. Those pitchers are only notching three or five K's per game, instead of ten or twelve.

But the hitters are off balance and can't ever seem to get a good swing on the ball. Every inning you think the hitters are going to start hammering this pitcher, but at the end of the game they're only able to score a couple runs.

Anyway, those pitchers often don't seem to get the respect they deserve because they're not recording no-hitters every other game.

The really good fastpitch coaches are people with imagination. Anybody can win with Cat pitching for them. But the measure of a great coach is, what can you do with a team full of re-treads, also-rans and castoffs? With a pitcher who's good but not dominant?

Takes brains to be a great softball coach -- and hoping for the next Cat to show up to your tryouts doesn't qualify as anything but wishful thinking...


#1 DOMINANT SUPERSTUD PITCHER NEEDED

So-so team with coach of limited vision and abilities looking for next NCAA World Series phenom pitcher to materialize out of nowhere. Her fastball must have enough zip to part the Red Sea, since this pitcher will deliver our team from the slavery of mediocrity to the Promised Land of showcase tournament championships. Pitcher must be able to make my dull, lackluster life bearable, if only for a few months.

Maybe you could kick Southernpride in the ribs a few times as well? You know, just for good measure.

 

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Everyone needs to read this

 

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Hit the strike zone with that one brineyman! My dd is one of those overlooked by the coaches searching for a "#1 speed pitcher". Fortunately she has found a team to appreciate her composure on the mound and her junk balls that hit their spots and keep batters from hitting the fences.

 

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We had 6 or so playing/trying out for dd's team. Thankfully, that all worked itself out. They are out there. Dominant pitchers, I think, will generally end up with a dominant team. So the average or less than average team really isn't going to pick up one of the few true "studs".

Of course, I could be wrong. Which is a strong possibility.... But it's my opinion.

 

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The really good fastpitch coaches are people with imagination. Anybody can win with Cat pitching for them. But the measure of a great coach is, what can you do with a team full of re-treads, also-rans and castoffs? With a pitcher who's good but not dominant?

I love this!!

 

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Dominant pitchers, I think, will generally end up with a dominant team.

At the older age levels (16u-18u), this statement is very accurate.

 

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In my experience there are other sneaky good pitchers who aren't always noticed or respected -- who can pitch to a specific stitch on the catcher's glove, who can keep batters off balance by changing speeds and locations, who can throw with enough bend on it that it will stay out of the way of most bats, and whose strike zone isn't shaped like a circle, but rather like a doughnut.



Wow! You just described my DD to a "T", who btw, never gets recognized at tryouts, but is always appreciated by her coaches. They have to see her in action for a while before they appreciate her.

 

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In the same respect, there aren't a ton of girls with lightning speed (running) but there are a ton of girls who are average speed and you may find the average girls have a much higher on base percentage than the faster girls. It's all in how the game is played. Yet, another reason why softball is such an awesome game. Chess is live form.

 

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It's all in how the game is played. Yet, another reason why softball is such an awesome game.

Standing 'O' for that sentiment, jd!

I totally agree!

It's what makes softball different from -- and better than -- any other game, IMO.

Athleticism helps, but it's only the beginning of the story, not the end.

It takes years to become proficient at softball -- even for the most athletic girls.

 

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In my experience there are other sneaky good pitchers who aren't always noticed or respected -- who can pitch to a specific stitch on the catcher's glove, who can keep batters off balance by changing speeds and locations, who can throw with enough bend on it that it will stay out of the way of most bats, and whose strike zone isn't shaped like a circle, but rather like a doughnut.


Wow! You just described my DD to a "T", who btw, never gets recognized at tryouts, but is always appreciated by her coaches.

I know we've been through this on another thread recently, but it's frustrating that a lot of coaches run tryouts as if they were picking a track team or a gymnastics team.

 

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brineyman,
You had the best statement about pitching I have seen on the OFC. I wish all the people on OFC would read your statement and learn from it!!!

 

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brineyman,
You had the best statement about pitching I have seen on the OFC. I wish all the people on OFC would read your statement and learn from it!!!

Thanks so much, softball!

BTW, just for the record, my dd is a pretty good hitter. She loves the challenge of facing the studs and has usually done fairly well off of them (at least relative to the other hitters on her teams).

In fact for the past four years I would say she hasn't faced a single pitcher who's been able to shut her down with superior speed. (We practice on a machine that I set 5 mph faster than the fastest pitcher in her age group.) She's always able to get good swings on the ball against fireballers.

But the girls who tie her into knots are the really talented junkballers like what I described. Change speeds, hit the corners, tantalize her with pitches right out of the zone, and she struggles.

But as you say, those aren't the pitchers most coaches go for.

 

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I know we've been through this on another thread recently, but it's frustrating that a lot of coaches run tryouts as if they were picking a track team or a gymnastics team.

At the same time, you have to realize that you can pick up a lot from a 2 hour tryout. Am I saying that every girl has equal opportunity, absolutely not. But I would rather have the girls suffer thru a 2 hour tryout and invite them back then take them on for a fall team with 16 other girls only to cut them after fall ball, which is all fine as long as their is honesty up front. I might not notice your daughter today, but that doesn't mean I won't notice her next time. I also will pay a little bit more attention to a girl if I've had the chance to talk to the parents beforehand. (Some will shoot me for saying that). I like to know where the parent's commitment lies. Are they willing to take their DD out in the yard and work on skills? Are they only here out of obligation to their dd and have no interest in the sport themselves? I'm a true people watcher. I notice everything right down to body language.
I pay particular attention to how the girls are warming up, how they interact with other girls (are they shy or arrogant), how they handle instruction (do they listen and try to understand), and overall attitude. Overall attitude is huge to me. I could go on and on, but I feel I'm off topic already.

My two cents.

 

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I guess one might ask the question, Why are there so many teams...mabey because alot (not all) of folks spend tons of money on pitching lessons with some instructors texting and clapping their hands on every pitch telling the kid she is one of the best and ill cya next week at the same time and those parents buy in to it and think there is no way my dd is a number two, we will find a team or mabey start a team of our own.Hey it is just a thought ...anyone on that page ??