Coaching Pitching: 3 Tips For Coaching Youth Baseball Pitchers

Tom House has said that the most important role of a baseball coach at any level is to simply make each player want to play baseball next season. Let's build on this idea. Here are three pitching coaching tips for parents and coaches of youth baseball pitchers:

1. Make sure your pitchers are having fun. Seriously. It needs to be enjoyable.

2. Make sure your pitchers are prepared. If they are fatigued they are at-risk of getting injured. If they lack experience they may resist the mound for the rest of their careers because of one miserable outing. Plenty of rest and adequate practice can make all the difference in a young pitcher.

3. Make sure your pitchers are given the freedom to fail. Every pitcher, even the very best of pitchers, will fail. It is part of the game and the reality of it needs to be recognized. Having unrealistic expectations for a perfect inning, outing or season puts unnecessary pressure on a pitcher and can take the enjoyment out of competing.

For A Good Cause

My buddy Chris McCoy, author of The Pitching Manual, is looking for volunteers who love baseball. Check out his non-profit organization, I Love Baseball.

Pitching Mechanics: Pitching Out Of The Stretch With Runners On Base

In yesterday's post, I talked about the timing differences between the full wind-up and the stretch. You may want to read that first before reading today's pitching article. Today I want to address one of my favorite topics as a former closing pitcher: pitching with runners on base.

When using the stretch, you usually have men on base. You're holding a runner. And a runner usually brings a few more obstacles into the situation.

Remember, the whole point of "the stretch," entering the delivery at "3-and-a-half," is to limit the amount of time that base runner we assume is on base has to decide if he committed to moving. In the stretch, you are acknowledging that you have a runner there. You probably even look at the runner, make eye contact. You let him know you see him. You hold the ball longer. And, by throwing from the stretch, you try to interrupt his notion of stealing second base.

Pitching With Runners On Second Base

Now, when the runner is on second, there's a little bit of a different game going on there. Good players love to try to pick up pitch signals between the pitcher and catcher. That runner at second base will try to relay what kind of pitch might becoming to the hitter.

The runner on second might also try to look into the pitcher's glove, to see how the pitcher's throwing hand is holding the seams on the baseball (because the seams are an important factor in how a pitch is thrown). Knowing the guy on second is looking in, I'll sometimes used to split my fingers like I'm throwing a forkball, but then I'll change them over to across the seams for a fastball right before kicking my leg up with an abbreviated leg kick and delivering the ball to the plate -- busting the batter inside with a four-seam fastball.

Doing that once or twice usually calls off the jam. The batter goes into the dugout and says, "All bets are off." That's what you have to do, especially with good hitters.

And the runner on second doesn't just relay pitches, he can also pass along advance warning about pitch location. The runner can catch where the catcher sets up. But that's where your smart catcher comes in, playing with the head of that base runner.

Teaching Pitching: Timing The Full Wind Up And The Stretch

Today, you see relievers come in and throw from the stretch all the time, even with no runners on base. Perhaps you do that. I did in pro ball when I went from being a starter to a closer.

I can't tell you the name of the first guy to do that, to throw from the stretch without runners on base, but my guess is the guy who made it catch on probably played in the late 1970s. It was in that era that relief pitchers started to become more and more essential to big league play and started developing their own "sub-species of reliever" called a "closer." These pitchers grew comfortable pitching from the stretch because they had normally inherited runners on base and just did it that way. They never had the luxury of the full wind-up.

But, really, the difference between taking your drop step and making your turn from the wind-up is just all timing. It's a timing mechanism.

Remember, there are six stages of pitching mechanics. Your "1-2-3" stages are all your opening timing mechanism. You get into the slot, you make a good turn, you keep your shoulder closed... and your "4-5-6" stages are your explosion. That's where you fire the ball to the plate. That's basically how a pitcher counts it. The first "1-2-3" is calmly counted, the "4-5-6" just explodes out.

When you go to the stretch, however, the timing of the delivery is different. It's now not "1-2-3-4-5-6." It's "3-and-a-half," if you will. You start at 3-and-a-half. Your leg comes up, the ball comes out, and then you explode to the plate.

Submarine Pitching Mechanics: How To Throw Submarine Pitches

A good submarine pitcher can be a hitter's worst nightmare. With a deceptive delivery and deceiving movement, a submariner can have an advantage over a typical over-the-top pitcher. However, there are several things to keep in mind when learning how to throw submarine, as well as some pointers that current submarine pitchers can learn from.

First off, you may want to find a pitching coach who specializes in submarine pitching. The mechanics for throwing submarine are unique, and it takes a certain coach to understand these mechanics. A good submarine coach can be hard to find, but very valuable for a submarine pitcher in training.

If you look at many of the submariners, there really isn’t a lot of difference in their mechanics from a regular pitcher other than the extreme shoulder tilt. The arm still operates a similar fashion as the same mechanics still apply to the shoulder and elbow. The arm circle should still be applied and you will see a similar layback of the forearm into maximum external rotation.

The main key to avoid arm problems as a submarine pitcher is to finish with a pronated  hand position and follow through to your opposite hip like you normally would so that the stress on the elbow is relieved. At the same time, remember to keep your fingers on top of the ball, otherwise you will be throwing uphill and hitters love that.

You may ask yourself, "Is throwing submarine a joke or gimmick"? The answer to that is "no". Many scouts love a good submarine pitcher who has good command and movement. There have been multiple professional submarine pitchers who found success, usually as a closer. Of course, if a scout is looking for a starter who throws heat, you may be out of luck. But if you are a good submariner with great command and off speed, scouts will notice and will consider you a prospect.

When deciding whether to throw submarine or overhand, consider these pros and cons:

Submarine Pros: Easier to get movement, deceptive to hitters, easy to keep the ball low.
Overhand Pros: Greater velocity, easier to find instruction, better potential to be a starter.

Submarine Cons: Slower velocity, harder to find instruction, can limit off speed options.
Overhand Cons: Batters are used to it, more competition in the "next level".

The main thing when deciding to throw submarine is if you are comfortable with it, and it is effective for you. If you are looking for a good submariner to watch, check out Chad Bradford.

This baseball pitching article by Jeff Moree for StevenEllis.com.

12 Things A Pitcher Can Do To Win More Games

1. Have good control. Get the first pitch over for a strike.

2. Know how to field your position.

3. Analyze hitters' strengths and weaknesses, but always throw your best pitch when in trouble.

4. Have confidence. Pitching with confidence can be learned, but you must work at it like any other pitching skill.

5. Stay in pitching shape. In other words, dedicate yourself to following a year-round strength and conditioning program that emphasizes power and flexibility.

6. Form good pitching practice habits. Practice how you want to perform in games. Take practices seriously and ALWAYS look to learn something new or do something better. You need to be your own coach and push yourself.

7. When throwing pitches, you need to pick out a spot and throw to it. In other words, throw with a purpose out there! Every pitch should be thrown with a purpose.

8. Communicate with your catcher. Understand him, and help him understand you so that you can be on the same page and work more efficiently.

9. Pitch a ball game. Don't  just be a thrower. Again, like mentioned in #7, throw every pitch with a purpose.

10. Back up all bases. Know where you're going before the pitch is delivered for various defensive situations.

11. Be sure to cover first base on infield hits to the right side of the infield. In other words, cover first base on balls his to the first base side of the infield that may pull your first baseman off the bag to make the play.

12. THINK! Be a thinking pitcher.

Why Command Is A Pitcher's Most Important Asset

My baseball pitching coach in college once told me that the greatest asset a pitcher can have is command: command of himself, and command of his pitches.

Command of yourself means controlling your emotions, your attitude, your work ethic, etc. Pitching command means being able to locate any pitch within a certain section of the strike zone instead of just trying to throw the ball over the plate with no purpose.

In order to pitch at the highest levels of the game, you much command yourself and your pitches.

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!

Where To Position Yourself On The Pitcher's Rubber Against Different Hitters

Before positioning yourself on the pitcher's rubber, think about dividing it in half right down the middle. Right-handed pitchers should generally pitch from the right half of the pitcher's rubber. Left-hand pitchers from the left half of the rubber. This is done to allow the pitcher to deliver the baseball from behind the hitter when throwing to the same side hitter. In other words, a right-hand pitcher facing a right-hand hitter.

When a right-hand pitcher faces a left-hand batter, he may want to move a little more toward the center of the pitcher's rubber, but not directly in the center as this will cut down on angle.

A left-handed pitcher should try doing the same thing when throwing to a right-hand hitter.

How Left-Handed Pitchers Can Prevent Base Runners From Taking Big Leads And Stealing Bases

One of the easiest ways for base runners at first base to get a big jump and steal on left-handed pitchers is to watch the pitcher's lead leg (right leg). If the pitcher swings his lead leg past the line of the rubber (the knee), he must go home with the pitch. As soon as a good base runner sees this, he's usually off to second base.

A simple fix for lefties is this: when lifting the lead leg, keep it near the plane of the pitching rubber. In other words, lift it up more vertically as opposed to lifting it up and back.  The closer it is to the plane of the rubber, the tougher it is to steal on you. All the very best left-hand pitchers do this, like Andy Pettitte. Do you?