How To Get Hitters Out In 4 Pitches Or Less

Every pitcher should make it a personal goal to get a hitter out in four pitches or less. To do this, every pitch you throw has got to have a purpose. Use the high fastball to set up a low breaking pitch. Use an outside changeup to set up an inside fastball.

One of the main points of pitching is to disrupt the batter's timing. Changing speeds and pitch location can cause enough disruption to get a batter out in front of pitch and induce a weak ground ball.

Greg Maddux is the king of disrupting timing. Every pitch he throws is at a different speed than the previous one. Every pitch has a purpose, either to setup a future pitch or to take advantage of hitters' weaknesses. Advanced pitchers such as Curt Schilling will pitch hitters a certain way early in a game to set them up for different pitches later in the game. While this may not be possible at younger ages, it's certainly something to keep in mind.

One thing that might be helpful to you as you work on control is to have someone chart your pitches for you. Break down your pitches by hitters. On the second turn through the order, look at the chart and see what was thrown to the hitter last time. What did the hitter do with it? Between innings, review the three hitters you'll face when you return to the mound. Get an idea of what you want to throw to them during their at bat. I used to sit close to my catcher, so I could talk to him about my plan before I took the mound again. That way, we were always on the same page. And I could continue to work fast.

Granted, this could change based on them getting on base, but at least you have a game plan when you go out to the mound.