Baseball Pitching: It's A Numbers Game

As baseball pitchers, statistics are an important part of our work. Statistics can provide a base for which a lot of assumptions can be made. In the Chicago Cubs organization where I played, managers, catchers and pitchers used statistics of batters against opposing teams to develop our pitching strategies and set defensive positioning on the field. However, I should point out that a group of numbers are not stand-alone, gospel truth, set in stone of and by themselves. Statistics can however, with a lot of intuition and reasoning, support a series of decisions that aid and assist both the pitcher and his coach(s).

Here's a terrific article on the Let's Talk Pitching baseball forum by Coach John Baker on using, interpreting and understanding baseball pitching statistics to your advantage on the mound.