Youth pitching strategies: What to throw and when to throw it

Longtime youth baseball coach Bill Chapones has put together an excellent manual for young ball players in which he addresses how to get hitters out. He's given it to the players he's coached over the years, which is a terrific idea because it gets everyone on the same page – from players to parents.

With his permission, here's his chapter on "Pitching Tips." Members of my free Let's Talk Pitching Baseball Forum can request a copy of the manual (it's about 36 pages and includes hitting, fielding, and mental strategies, too) from Bill using the "Private Message" email feature.

PITCH INSIDE TO A BATTER WHO:

• Has his front foot in closer  to the plate than his back foot (called Closed Stance)
• Crowds the plate
• Holds his bat on end (straight up in the air)
• Swings a slow bat

PITCH OUTSIDE TO A BATTER WHO:

• Has his front foot farther away from the plate than his back foot (Called Open Stance)
• Pulls his head out (pulls his eyes and head off the ball on the swing)
• Pulls his stride  foot away from the plate toward the baseline on the swing (Called Stepping in the Bucket)

PITCH INSIDE HIGH TO A BATTER WHO:

• Is not agressive with the bat, or is nervous.
• Has his front foot in,and uppercuts the ball.
• Drops the end of the bat over his shoulder or "loops" the bat.
• Takes a extra long stride (strides too far) when swinging the bat.
• Does not rotate the hips or pivot the back foot.
• INTENDS TO BUNT  (This is VERY IMPORTANT to remember)

PITCH OUTSIDE LOW TO A BATTER WHO:

• Swings down on the ball (Chops down on the ball)
• Pulls his/her head  and eyes out  when swinging.
• Steps away from the plate (Steps in the bucket)
• Uses an open stance,and does not stride, just swings with the arms.

When your pitching, you should always mix your pitching spots. Mixing your spots is sometimes called "climbing the ladder." If the catcher doesn't move the glove you should pitch to the catchers  knees, armpits, and shoulders. By doing this you can set the hitter up for your favorite pitch in his weak spot and be more likely to get a strike out or a weak ground ball or fly ball.

We found in a two year survey watching college and professional play that the letter high inside corner  pitch  is a effective strike out pitch  as it hand cuffs the hitters and they’re thinking "low and away."

Remember: if you try to strike everyone out, it will take four or five pitches to do it. This can strain your arm more (you have to throw more pitches).

If you pitch to a batter's weak spot, chances are, he/she will ground out or fly out on two pitches, this accomplishes the same thing as a strike out and saves on your arm.

If you should get wild, don't ease up and start aiming the ball. Keep pitching natural, talk to yourself on the  mound, tell yourself that you know you can hit the glove -- and just believe it and do it. Relax be confident!

Practice is the key to pitching, keep the same grip on the ball, the same motion , stride, and follow through. Practice doing the basics (the fundimentals) the right way and they will become ingrained in what's called "Muscle Memory" and, in the end, be automatic to you.

Visualization Drills: Visualize yourself throwing and hitting your target, talk to yourself and tell yourself you can do it with ease.

Keep your thoughts positive. You just throw to the strike zone and your end is done. Your  teammates take care of ground balls and fly balls.

If the ump misses a call, so what! Relax, we all know the umpire ain't using his good eye, ha ha! We know it was a strike! So remember, don't get frustrated out there, have fun. You'll pitch better and your ball will be faster when your relaxed, your breaking balls will break better when your relaxed too!

Try to watch the other team's hitting practice. Try to remember the opposing players "power zone" (the pitch he hits the best). Notice the pitch he has the most trouble hitting too; high in or out, low in or out, etc. Studying the hitters will give you a edge too.

[Thanks, Bill!]