3 Pitching Strategies From Tom Seaver

1. Get the first out of an inning. The successful pitcher will be the one who gets the first out of an inning most of the time. Getting the first out usually eliminates the surprise bunt. And it shows your opponent that you're in command right from the start.

2. Don't let the batter make contact with the meat of the bat. A pitcher can take solace that although baseball bats are 37-42 inches long in the big leagues, only about 8 inches (the sweet spot) can really do any damage. The essence of good pitching is to move the ball around the plate so that the batter rarely makes contact with those 8 inches.

3. Don't let the batter claim both sides of the plate. If you feel the batter is leaning out over the plate and trying to claim it, you need to jam him from time to time by throwing hard stuff inside. By "inside," I mean from the inside edge of the plate to the hitter's midsection. We call this the "batter's kitchen," and a good pitcher wants to get into the hitter's kitchen and break some plates!