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.

How Pitchers Can Use Batting Practice To Develop A Pitching Strategy On Game Day

Batting practice can be an invaluable pitching tool and used to evaluate opposing hitters and formulate a pitching strategy. I used to use pitching charts because it made it easier to record the information. I also recommend that the starting pitcher, as well as some of the relief pitchers should do the observing along with the aid of the pitching coach. This will help get some good discussion around how you may want to pitch to certain hitters in the lineup.

By observing where opposing hitters tend to hit the ball, what their baseball swing is like, and what pitches they have trouble with, you can start to classify them and possible methods of pitching to them.

How Pitchers Can Easily Improve Control

I want to address the physical side of a pitcher's ability to improve control and throw strikes more consistently. And it starts with form. As a pitcher, you must strive to be as consistent as possible in throwing each pitch the same way. If you are consistent about this, it makes it much easier to make adjustments when you're wild because you can "zero in" on the target.

A pitching coach once explained it to me this way: It's like a sharpshooter. If he is consistently missing his mark high, he simply lowers his sights. If he's consistently missing right or left, he adjusts to the other side. But if the sharpshooter is not holding his rifle the same way -- in other words, he holds it at his shoulder one time, and at his waist another time -- he will not be able to zero in on the target. So his actions must be consistent to adjust his sights and line of target.

The same is true of a wild baseball pitcher. If your pitching motion is the same on each pitch, it's a lot easier to make small adjustments and find that strike zone again. Consistency of your pitching mechanics is the key to consistency in throwing strikes and improving control.

Proper Pitching Mechanics And Techniques

To aid baseball pitching coaches or pitching instructors in organizing their pitching instruction more effectively, here is a checklist of important techniques to stress when teaching proper pitching mechanics, form and delivery.

1. The pitcher should throw all of his pitches from the same angle.

2. The pitcher should not be forced into a delivery that is unnatural to him.

3. The pitcher must avoid idiosyncrasies that will "tip" his pitches. The ball should be held well up in the web of the pitchers glove, or if necessary, the pitcher should windup with the ball in the glove.

4. The pitcher must vary his time to the plate (the amount of time he holds the ball once he comes set) with runners on base.

5. It's generally a good idea to keep the eyes fixed on the pitching target throughout the entire delivery. This simple pitching technique can improve control.

6. The pitching arm should thrust down with the back of the hand up, as the pitcher drives down to pitch.

7. Hip action is one of the most important aspects to be stressed in the delivery. The timing mechanism is hips open first, then the shoulders which deliver the arm to fire the baseball.

8. The back should be bent and loose in the delivery.

9. The leg kick and stride should not be exaggerated.

10. The follow-through should be a natural culmination of total form and delivery.

11. The hand and wrist action should be loose and flexible.

12. The stride leg should land on the ball of the foot, on or across the center line.

13. The pitcher must practice to find his proper release point and keep it consistently.

14. The ball should be gripped loosely but firmly in the fingers. The ball should not be choked back in the palm of the hand, which inhibits wrist action and pop on the fastball (i.e., pitching velocity).

15. The grip should be selected bearing in mind the pitcher's best pitch and pitching style.

How To Throw A Change Up

When throwing a change up, you are thinking fastball all the way. You want your arm action to look exactly like you are throwing a high-powered fastball, because that's what fools the hitter. He sees your arm whipping through, there, and the ball has that same backward spin of a fastball.

If done right, the batter's first reflex reaction will be: "Fastball! Swing hard and fast!"

There are many kinds of change-ups. The type I used in college and pro ball is called the "circle change."

The circle change up involves laying your middle finger, ring finger and pinkie on the top part of the ball. And you bring your index finger over on the side of the ball, and bend it like a fish-hook shape, touching your thumb -- making a little circle, which is where the pitch gets its name. Those three fingers on top, basically, stabilize the baseball. And you "throw the circle."

The spin is backwards, just like a fastball, with a counterclockwise slant. That can make it break in on a righthanded hitters, away from lefthanded hitters (and the opposite if you are a lefthanded pitcher).

Obviously, with that many fingers, not to mention half your palm, touching the ball, it comes out at maybe 10-14 miles per hour off your fastball speed. So, you end up with the ball speed not matching the arm speed. Hopefully, that mixed effect will mean the hitter will swing too soon, ending up way out "in front of" the pitch, for a strike or weak groundball.

Like I mentioned above, there are other variations of change-ups, like the palm ball. But I don't feature any of them. They involve releasing the ball from a different grip. The change up grips have the same effect, though, which is to slow the ball down, despite "full fastball" arm motion.

Have A Mirror? Here's A Simple Baseball Pitching Drill

If you're a youth baseball parent or coach, the following drill can be a useful tool in helping your young pitcher(s) develop a "feel" for his mechanics.

Pitchers can get in front of a full length mirror and practice their perfect delivery 100 times a day. Take 10 seconds from start to finish for each repetition, and really think about each phase of your motion.

Watching yourself in slow motion, thinking and executing as you relay information to every muscle you are using is a great way to learn the fundamental skills of pitching.

The self-discipline and concentration in this muscle memory exercise can help youth pitchers establish a strong feeling of purpose and strength of mind, both of which are key in his development.