How To Make The Hitter Change His Bat Speed

As you follow postseason baseball on TV this week, I want you to watch how MLB pitchers attack the strike zone with their fastball and change speeds to effectively keep hitters off-balance. Most of them have done an excellent job of that. They go right after hitters and speed up their bat speed with fastballs inside, and then slow it down with change ups outside. They raise the hitters' eye level with fastballs up, and then bury curve balls down in the zone to bring the eyes back down again. Left right, up down; right down, left up; etc, etc...

Remember this, as a pitcher, it's important to know how the hitter is reacting to your fastball. Is he late on it? Early? If he's late, double up on the pitch. If he's early, throw a change up. Does he chase high pitches? Elevate your fastball some more, or throw a breaking ball in the dirt.

The point is, as pitchers, we control the hitter's bat speed -- and every pitcher should aim to do just that! Be a pitcher, not a thrower.