Throwing at hitters

What is the feeling about intentionally throwing at and behind high school hitters, not talking about pitching inside but hitting them. I played and pitched in thru college and never was I told or saw a batter intentionally hit but it seems to happen a lot on high school now. I never see any reason to hit a high school player and think it is totally uncalled for.

 

This is a touchy subject to alot of people. I pitched through high school and college and yes there were times when we threw at hitters on purpose. But in high school baseball I would never do it. For one, most pitchers in high school do not have the control to throw at a batter and not hit them above the waist. Two we have too many coaches saying that "we will hit him the next time he comes up" for the dumbest reasons. Three when you do this in high school it starts more than you want. Instead of hitting a batter and it being done, it esclates the situation.

 

It is a touchy subject but as a former pitcher at all levels, pitching inside is a big part of the game for a pitcher. I was taught at a young age that the plate was mine and not to let anyone take it. Like every thing in baseball, pitching inside can be taught and is a part of the game that is not being taught in High School. Sometimes a pitcher has to protect his teammates, just part of the game. I believe every coach understands this as long as it happens from the waist down. Do i believe in throwing at a batter( NO). Does it happens(Yes). Some unwritten rules will always be part of the game, but even those has to be taught the right way.

 

I was a catcher in high school and college, there were times we did throw at batters for showing people up, and sometimes the pitcher would just have a grudge against someone. As long as there is no head hunting I dont see a problem. Most highschool pitchers lack the velocity to do any major damage anyways. As a player I was intentially thrown at a time for trash talking the pitcher while he was hitting. However I considered it a ploy to ensure I would get on base. I always viewed throwing as an advantage to the hitter. He is going to get on base. And as we all know, you cant score from the dugout.

 

Pitching inside is ok and pitchers have to do it, but to throw at a hitter in high school I think should never happen. It could ruin a players career before it even gets started. As far as teaching the way to do it, exactly when do you start teaching this to a kid in little league or 13 or 14 years old. Like I said I have played and been hit in these situations but at a higher level than high school,, I just think it is way too early to tell kids to do this.

 

You start teaching a kid who pitches early the importance of location. I have seen kids at an early who pitches simply because he throws hard. You can start teaching correct form with an emphasis on throwing strikes at a very early age.As the natural maturity happens the velocity will happen and now you have the makings of a pitcher instead of a hard thrower. With this comes the confidence of throwing inside. I will never agree with throwing at someone upper body because no matter the age, injuries will happen. I do and will always believe that intentionally throwing at a batter is part of the policing of the game, but their is a correct way to do it.

 

I think that one of the reasons that you may see more "intentionally" hit batters in high school games is the lack of teaching the cardinal rules of the game to players at a young age. My little brother plays in a local rec league that has some coaches who are oblivious to these rules. Throwing off speed pitches to kids who will easily be struck out by a loopy fastball right down the pipe and having the pitchers smirk on the mound when the kid looks bad, running up the score, stealing when up by more than 12-15 runs(b4 the mercy rule can take its toll) and other situations. When these kids are thrown into high school and still are not aware of the no-no's in the game, another team may be well aware of the other team abusing the game. As a catcher in high school I have seen some runners on second relay signs to the batter in obvious ways, now as a catcher it is my responsibility to change my signs and mix it up. Stealing signs is part of the game, but when the dugout or a coach will yell out what pitch is coming verbally that is a different story. I would call time and tell my pitcher to trust his stuff and strike em out, or put one inside to move him back and tell the batter to tell his dugout to be quiet.

I think it comes down to more and more players not learning to respect the game the way it was suppose to be played, don't Cadillac a solo shot in a 7 run ball game or steal a bag in a 10+ ball game, play small ball in a blow out, just to name a few. I will never tell a team to roll over when up, but respect the game and respect the opponent.

 

It happens, but this goes out to Coach Pope at West Forsyth. My son did not intentionally hit Dusty 3 times......
























Only because Dusty didn't bat 4 times Seriously, Dusty was too big to hit intentionally.

Personally, I have no problem with it, as long as it's well placed. If not, then there is a problem.

 

If it wasn't part of the game there wouldn't be a signal for it.....

 

N-E-V-E-R on purpose at this level. Period.
If for no other reason than this is HS and a follow-up walk, an error, a dump hit and UH-OH! Not enough room for mistakes at this level.

On a related note, it really gripes me when fans start yelling that kind of stuff when a kid is hit - maybe even for the second time - and it's a one or two run game. I just don't know many coaches who like extra baserunners or putting guys on so that they can see some of the opponents #1-#4 hitters once more in the seventh.