Re: Food For Thought - Pitching Strategies
Loving this thread.
The key to my pitching game recently has been taking a second in between pitches to really think about not just what I want to throw, but why I want to throw it.
In my Mariners Franchise the staff is built around hard throwing righties (Larry Bernandez, Pineda, & Phil Hughes) and my general approach goes as follows:
Pitch 1: 95-97 MPH 4FB - I'll put it anywhere, basically daring anyone other than a #3 or #4 hitter to catch up with it and hit it well on the first pitch. If they do, I tip my cap.
Pitch 2: 92-94 MPH 2FB - Love to put this up and in so it just drops either into the top of the zone or just inside of it. Generally results in a foul back, a swing-and-miss or just being taken. Dependant on the umpire for a strike call but it really doesn't matter. It's the visual of that pitch that I care about.
Pitch 3: 94-97 MPH 4FB - If I get a strike on pitch two I'll put this a little further inside or a little further up to see if I can get the hitter thinking it's going to be another 2-seamer and thus be a split second late. This gets taken a lot because I rarely throw it for a strike, but what I've done is establish that the hitter is going to have to be looking for the fastball for the rest of the at-bat or be left behind in the smoke. Some weak hitters will retire themselves on 3 pitches in this situation just so they can get it over with and not have to look foolish.
Pitch 4: If I have a 1-2 or an 0-2 count and it's not a power hitter I'll go back to the 2FB on the hands. The guy is usually in panic mode and very rarely lays off it because, frankly, he can't afford to leave it. If the hitter laid off the last two and somehow has a 2-1 count, I like to bust out either the 2-seamer low and inside or a slider/cutter tailing over the outer half for strikes. That slider can be pounded if I hang it too much, but such is the life of a pitcher.
I know that's almost completely ignoring off-speed stuff but I really like power pitchers and keeping the hitter on his heels. Powering your way through the lineup is a great way to help your off-speed stuff really come alive later in the game as well. Once you've established that the fastball is going to be the order of the day, you'll be surprised how often guys will sit there and stare at a change-up right down the pipe for strike 3. (Eg: I had one where I threw 7 change-ups all gave with Hughes. All of them for strikes, including 3 swinging chased punch outs)
I can't say enough about the previous post referring to starting things in the same place. Gregg Zaun had a nice piece the other day about throwing Cutters / 2-Seamers properly. He used Halladay as the example, showing that you establish your 4-Seamer in a location to give a hitter a look at it and then throw your Cutter / 2-seamers to the same location. Leads to a lot of at bats where the hitter thinks he 'just missed it' and ends up with a weak dribbler or a lazy fly ball.
Things I generally avoid:
- Throwing sliders for strikes to opposite handed hitters. Something about the way it looks makes me nervous. Screaming "HEY! HIT ME FAR!". That said, I love a slider that starts over the inside corner and breaks under the hands to an opposite handed hitter.
- Throwing change-ups to same-handed hitters. (Danks theory! http://www.draysbay.com/2010/6/11/15...e-danks-theory)
- Curveballs for strikes against opposite-handed hitters in hitters counts. Maybe this is just me, but I usually say "Crap!" out loud before the ball has even reached the plate when I thing "This is the time it will be different" right before I throw one.
Loving this thread.
The key to my pitching game recently has been taking a second in between pitches to really think about not just what I want to throw, but why I want to throw it.
In my Mariners Franchise the staff is built around hard throwing righties (Larry Bernandez, Pineda, & Phil Hughes) and my general approach goes as follows:
Pitch 1: 95-97 MPH 4FB - I'll put it anywhere, basically daring anyone other than a #3 or #4 hitter to catch up with it and hit it well on the first pitch. If they do, I tip my cap.
Pitch 2: 92-94 MPH 2FB - Love to put this up and in so it just drops either into the top of the zone or just inside of it. Generally results in a foul back, a swing-and-miss or just being taken. Dependant on the umpire for a strike call but it really doesn't matter. It's the visual of that pitch that I care about.
Pitch 3: 94-97 MPH 4FB - If I get a strike on pitch two I'll put this a little further inside or a little further up to see if I can get the hitter thinking it's going to be another 2-seamer and thus be a split second late. This gets taken a lot because I rarely throw it for a strike, but what I've done is establish that the hitter is going to have to be looking for the fastball for the rest of the at-bat or be left behind in the smoke. Some weak hitters will retire themselves on 3 pitches in this situation just so they can get it over with and not have to look foolish.
Pitch 4: If I have a 1-2 or an 0-2 count and it's not a power hitter I'll go back to the 2FB on the hands. The guy is usually in panic mode and very rarely lays off it because, frankly, he can't afford to leave it. If the hitter laid off the last two and somehow has a 2-1 count, I like to bust out either the 2-seamer low and inside or a slider/cutter tailing over the outer half for strikes. That slider can be pounded if I hang it too much, but such is the life of a pitcher.
I know that's almost completely ignoring off-speed stuff but I really like power pitchers and keeping the hitter on his heels. Powering your way through the lineup is a great way to help your off-speed stuff really come alive later in the game as well. Once you've established that the fastball is going to be the order of the day, you'll be surprised how often guys will sit there and stare at a change-up right down the pipe for strike 3. (Eg: I had one where I threw 7 change-ups all gave with Hughes. All of them for strikes, including 3 swinging chased punch outs)
I can't say enough about the previous post referring to starting things in the same place. Gregg Zaun had a nice piece the other day about throwing Cutters / 2-Seamers properly. He used Halladay as the example, showing that you establish your 4-Seamer in a location to give a hitter a look at it and then throw your Cutter / 2-seamers to the same location. Leads to a lot of at bats where the hitter thinks he 'just missed it' and ends up with a weak dribbler or a lazy fly ball.
Things I generally avoid:
- Throwing sliders for strikes to opposite handed hitters. Something about the way it looks makes me nervous. Screaming "HEY! HIT ME FAR!". That said, I love a slider that starts over the inside corner and breaks under the hands to an opposite handed hitter.
- Throwing change-ups to same-handed hitters. (Danks theory! http://www.draysbay.com/2010/6/11/15...e-danks-theory)
- Curveballs for strikes against opposite-handed hitters in hitters counts. Maybe this is just me, but I usually say "Crap!" out loud before the ball has even reached the plate when I thing "This is the time it will be different" right before I throw one.
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