3 Challenges Every Starting Pitcher Must ALWAYS Overcome To Win

A starting pitcher has three critical confrontations in every game.

No matter what type of game a starter is throwing, you are going to face these critical situations. If you get out of all three, you're going to win. Two of the three, probably. Less than that, you're probably not going to win.

1. The first inning    

2. The fourth inning    

3. When your team scores/takes the lead I talk to all starters about the first inning being the "tempo setter."

Nothing deflates a team faster than falling behind right away. I talk about the fourth inning being when you see the heart of the line-up again -- and because they've already seen your stuff once, that's a crucial inning. You make your adjustments. You stay ahead of opposing hitters. And anytime your team scores, you have to go back out and put up big zero on the scoreboard. It builds momentum.

Now, into that general mix, add two more things:

A. You have to really bear down to get the lead-off guy.

B. When you have two outs, you have to "close the door" -- allowing an enemy run in when you have two outs is a huge demoralizer.

I've always pushed these issues as being fundamental to good starting pitching. It just gives a starter something more to focus on. Or, for guys having trouble keeping their concentration at a high level, this enables you to do that.

When I'm concentrating on all those points, I'm just focused on the batters I'm facing. I'm not really thinking about being up or down. A pitcher just continues to "do his work." Later on, you'll look up out of your little "bubble" of concentration and find you're in the seventh inning.

For some pitchers, anxiety can be a detrimental factor in performance. If you are concentrating on these things, it lessens the anxiety. You're helping yourself be positive. High attention to immediate detail lessens wasted energy spent on larger, but less immediate, concerns.

For instance, if you've got runners on second and third, you're not thinking, "Oh my Lord, I can't make a mistake here." What you're thinking about are these issues. That's how to be successful.