How To Be A Better Baseball Relief Pitcher

Pitching in relief requires a different approach that starting. You need to be comfortable with uncertainty, as your daily routine won't be as fixed as a starting pitchers. You will need to be able to warm up and establish command of your pitches quickly when called. For more advanced pitchers, that means throwing your breaking balls and off-speed pitches for strikes in the bullpen.

As a reliever, you can get away with being more emotional on the mound because you're only out there for a few innings at a time. That's why you see a lot of baseball closers with a bit of flair and personality. They're only out there for an inning. Yet I always preferred and tried to emulate the reserved demeanor of a closer like Mariano Rivera -- always stoic, always in control of his emotions and the pitching game.

But the most important part of being a successful baseball reliever is that you will need to shake off a bad outing almost immediately and be prepared to go to work the next day. I like to refer to this as having a "short memory." Whether you perform well and help your team win or do poorly, you must put it behind you and prepare for tomorrow. Because you never know if you're going to pitch, And you want to be ready if you do.

Pitching Tips From Jamie Moyer

Here's a great clip in which Philadelphia Phillies starter Jamie Moyer talks about the importance of doing well in school, being a team player, and what it takes to be successful as a pitcher...

3 Building Blocks Of Successful Pitching That You Should Master This Season

The tools of a successful baseball pitcher include location, movement, change of speeds, velocity, and mental toughness. In 2009, you should try to improve in each of the above mentioned areas. But let's drill down a little ... Here are 3 that you can and should start working on in the early parts of the season. I like to view these as building blocks that will allow you to be successful on the pitcher's mound.

1. Throw Strikes

I expect pitchers to spot the ball and force batters to hit the ball to certain parts of the field. Consider the example of an opposing team that has a runner on second-base and a right-handed batter at the plate intending to hit "behind" the runner into right field. In this situation, pitchers should be able to jam the batter low and inside so he'll ground out to the left side and prohibit the runner from advancing.

2. Command Of A Change-up

A good change-up will disrupt a hitter's timing and make him more tentative about taking a strong cut at any pitch. A pitcher with a decent fastball can excel if he has a straight change that is 8-12 mph slower than his fastball - but it must be thrown for strikes.    

3. Strong Pick-Off Moves

I encourage players who run fast and aggressively try to steal bases. Of all the defenders, the pitcher has the primary responsibility for shutting down the running game. Conversely, the pitcher should be able to shorten the leads of base runners and stop walking leads with an effective pick-off move to all three bases.

8 Factors In Becoming A Consistent, Winning Pitcher

1. Become your own pitcher.

2. Develop the right approach mentally and physically.

3. Work on proper and consistent mechanics - always throw with a purpose in practice and in games.

4. Command your fastball.

5. Command your off-speed pitch.

6. Work toward having command of a third pitch (curve ball, slider, splitter, cutter, etc.)

7. Field your position - be an aggressive defensive pitcher. 

8. Control the running game - hold runners, vary your holds and throw-overs, be quick to the plate.

The 6 C's Of Successful Baseball Pitching

To me, the 6 C's of successful baseball pitching are:

1. Conditioning       
2. Control       
3. Confidence       
4. Concentration       
5. Courage       
6. Commitment

The Art Of Pitching: Hiding The Baseball From Opponents

It's important to hide the baseball from the batter and opposing team when you're pitching, especially at the higher levels of the game. Good hitters can pick up even the most subtle variations in your stance and delivery. Work on developing consistency in your delivery, no matter what pitch you're throwing, so your opponents don't know what's coming before the pitch is actually delivered.

Here are some tips to help you hide the baseball from opponents...

If you stay "closed" in your delivery to the plate, the batter literally cannot see the ball until the last moment.

The way to achieve that is to keep your shoulder and hip "closed" -- hiding the ball in your pitching hand -- until the last possible moment. That's when hitters will say the don't see the ball very well.

When your shoulder "flies open," you tend to bring the ball by your leg more, making it easier for the hitter to pick up how you are holding the seams of the baseball sooner.

Of course, please realize that we are talking about hundredths of a second, here. But, in the major leagues, that can be enough. These guys can get an advantage from even that.

So, hiding your grip on the ball is important. Even hiding your glove is important -- when you first grip the ball, that can be very important if you have a runner on base.

But, even if there's no runner on, the way a pitcher takes a grip on the ball when getting ready to throw is important. For instance, get your glove ready like you are about to throw to the plate -- then grip for a fastball. Now try gripping for a curveball. An experienced hitters will pick up on which one is coming by what you hold -- unless you are careful to disguise it.

By the way -- This is especially true with pitchers who use smaller gloves. Believe it or not, smart hitters zoom right in on that. They look to see if "more palm" or "less palm" is showing in the glove -- because that might tell them what is coming. And that can give them a edge. Any little advantage the veterans can get, they will jump on it. (Maybe that's why they are veterans.)

Let me take that further. It isn't just the batter at the plate try to catch a glimpse of that, vets do it from the dugout. They aren't in there "chewing the fat," they're studying every move the opposing pitcher makes.

Seasoned veterans pass this information along to younger teammates -- which makes a team all the better. And, if a younger player thinks he can maintain his ability to just hit a pitch, he can then make use of that info. (By the way, some guys like knowing what type of pitch is coming, and some do not. The latter just like "reacting" to what comes.)

The 3 Components Of Pitching A Baseball

There are three components to any pitch. They are:

1. Pitching Location (most important) Your fastball may not be 100 MPH, but if it's on the corner at the knee, it's hard for any batter to hit it.    

2. Pitching Movement (second most important) It doesn't matter how hard you throw it, if your pitch is as straight as a string, good hitter will hit it. It's the late movement on pitches that makes hitters miss    

3. Pitching Velocity (least important, but nice to have!) OK, I'll admit it's nice to be able to throw hard enough to throw the ball by hitters, but velocity is the least important of the three components to any pitch.

4 Baseball Pitching Goals You Should Aim To Accomplish Every Time You Pitch

As a baseball pitcher, you should work on at least one of these "pitching goals" every time you throw a baseball.

1. Sound delivery/mechanics - you cannot throw strikes consistently if you do not have sound mechanics. You also risk arm injury if you throw with bad mechanics.

2. Location - To be a successful pitcher you have to be able to locate the ball. Inside/outside, up and down.

3. Change speeds - You don't throw every pitch the same speed. You put a little more on, you take a little off. It keeps the batter off stride. There is an old adage about hitting that says: Hitting is all about timing. Pitching is all about disrupting the hitters timing. You disrupt a hitters timing by changing speeds.

4. Field your position - You can win yourself a lot of ball games if you can field your position.

Fundamentals Of Baseball Pitching: The Four Key Components To Success At The Youth Level

Not every youth can become a Roger Clemens or a Tim Lincecum, but everyone can become a more complete pitcher - more consistent, more successful. Here are the four fundamentals of pitching that I stress to the younger pitchers I work with. But of course, they also apply to every level of play.

1. First and most important, you should learn how to throw the baseball with your natural and proper motion. This includes both your arm motion and your pitching delivery (stance, leg kick, follow-through, and so forth). Your pitching motion is the foundation of everything else. It is what leads you to your best fastball, sharpest curve, and finest control. No matter how much you sweat and strain, you will never develop your best fastball unless you first develop a proper motion.

2. Second, younger pitchers should try to develop strength in your core, rotator cuff and lower body so that you can throw your best and most natural fastball. Strength training will help you reach the limits of your natural talent quicker. But it's got to be the right kind of pitching training (more info here). Additionally, the secret of pitching is to develop a good fastball first, and only later, for the times when the fastball will be insufficient, to develop other, less natural pitches, like the curveball or slider. I strongly recommend that you throw only fastballs until your teenage years. At that point, you can begin work on other pitches starting with a changeup, and then breaking stuff.

3. The third fundamental of pitching is control. While you are developing your motion and speed, you should simultaneously be developing your control -i.e., your ability to throw the ball over any part of the plate, at will. The first three pitching fundamentals are intertwined: the development of any one fundamental leads to the advancement of the others. The more naturally you throw the ball, the faster your pitch will be and the easier your ability to control it.

4. The fourth pitching fundamental is so intangible that it cannot really be taught. With time and pitching experience, you should develop what I call "pitchability," which is really your ability to pitch with a bit of savvy in all situations. Some say it is instinct. Others claim that pitchability can be learned, that all it requires is a modestly intelligent, willing, and attentive mind. The best you can do is to remain mentally alert and receptive to experience whenever you are on the mound. For example, when a batter takes such a hard swing at your pitch that he pulls your best fastball into foul territory, your intelligence should tell you that he will miss a slower pitch - so throw one.