Baseball Talk: Hitting, Pitching, Catching Strategy

If it's a weak hitter and he hasn't shown any signs of a decent swing, CHARGE!!! right at him. A good hitter, you still want a strike, but it needs to be a pitch with a purpose .... a ball that says: Hit Me.....Badly Strikeouts are great but it's the out thats important.

A pitchers strike:

1. An extra 1-2 " off the plate: Nibbler
2. Down at or below the knees: East-West
3. In on the hands: North-South
4. Moving through the zone (preferably at an angle) : Junkballer
5. Singing the song, Blue Bayou: Power Guy
6. At a different speed-eye height than the prev pitch: Shifter
A good 0-2 pitch is must be something you can throw for a strike.

What you throw kinda depends on the style of pitcher you are:

North-South
East-West
Power Pitcher
Gear Shifter (Changing Speeds)
Nibbler
Junk Ball

You want to work to your strength and to the batters weakness (and some don't have very many). If you haven't detected his weakness - work to your strength.

 

0-2 count...

I agree with Braves,,,,, "THAT" always kills me when I see a pitcher throw 2 straight fastballs "completely by" a batter, but then a "genius" pitching coach calls for an offspeed pitch and the batter gets a hit. Just because some pitching coach wants to show everything,,, oftentimes they actually help the hitters.

KISS---"Keep it simple stupid". If a pitcher is "blowing" folks away, stay with it!!! Sometimes pitchers "must pitch" when facing great hitters, but usually in high school or below, a great pitcher can simply overpower hitters...

 

Wuf -- I'd agree with you ... if your pitcher is a power pitcher or a North-South Guy that can spot the ball above the hands, making it difficult to catch up with.

But a lot of very sucessful pitchers in H.S. aren't power guys and just flirt with 80 mph (the average college pitcher is at 85 so that's no disgrace). Most everyone in the line-up can hit an 80 mph pitch, so he either has to nibble, change speeds or something.

If you look at a Maddox, he may only have 4 K's in a complete game, but on the 0-2 counts, he let the batter hit the ball - badly. And he can pitch a 9 inning game on 80 pitches.

Hmmmm?????

 

0-2 count...

NCBBALLFAN, I agree. In high school, a kid must know "how" to pitch. I was only talking about those unique situations where a pitcher is clearly smoking a batter. In that case,,,,,, finish him off!!!

 

Left handed Catchers

I can't recall any LH catchers at the next level. Heck, I've only seen 1 at the HS level. Are LH catchers at a disadvantage? Do you think that they can succeed at the college or pro level? Opinions guys, lets hear'um.

 

Never seen a left handed catcher at any level. Sorry

 

This is a good question rc and I'm sure there is a logical reason, but it escapes me.

My thought is it has more to do with tradition than anything else.
Tradition forces a LH to be a pitcher, 1st baseman or OF, so he doesn't get the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to learn the position.

Since a talented LH doesn't see a future as a catcher, why spend the time it takes to develop the skills?

 

Left-handed catchers...

I agree with Braves about tradition, but I also believe that a left-handed catcher has a disadvantage throwing around the head of so many right-handed batters at earlier ages. With a right-handed batter in the box, a left-handed catcher stands up to throw down to 2B and he must adjust his throw around the head of the batter who is probably ducking or simply standing in direct line from the catchers hand to his target (2B). Also, with a left-handed catcher, his balls will occasionally "tail" towards LF when going down to 2B, and you would rather have the throw on the RF side of 2B for an easier tag.

These things can be argued and everyone's got an opinion,,,, but yes there are reasons why left-handers don't usually catch. A big strong left-handed kid would be wise to learn 1B or outfield, if he's not a pitcher.

 

I've seen it quite a bit ...

a LH Catcher has one advantage and several disadvantages... that is picking the runner off of 1st, particularly with 2 on. He can get so much more on the throw without having to twist his body and the extra velocity with a more deceptive movement catches runners off guard.

He is at a disadvantage on the throw to 2nd and at a big disadvantage on the throw to third. They have a tendency to sail out into left field because the leads off 2nd are so large, the guys get such a good jump and he has to make such a radical move.

Stealing is definately easier of a LH, particularly 3rd.

The last disadvantage a LH catcher has is the tailing action on the throw to 2B ... it's difficult for infielders to adjust to the change in ball movement. If you are bouncing catchers in & out, don't include a LH in the rotation. If you only have one AND he has a strong arm, it will work fine at a HS level, but not beyond.

They need to get that kid out of there for his own sake. No future. And it may be that no one else can block a ball so they have no choice.

 

I do agree with the logic you presented NC, but they used to have the same arguments about a LH quarterback