Calling Pitches

I used to ALWAYS call pitches from the dugout or had the pitching coach do it. I felt I could do it better. Jeff May now calls his own game and does as good if not better than we could from the dugout. We let him do it because it helps the team. I never thought I'd relinquish this to a player, but Jeff is a special player. I think when he graduates I'll go back to calling pitches, but with the goal of grooming a young catcher to be able to do it as soon as he's ready. That would start with letting him call in a mop-up situation or non-conference game, discussing afterward what were good calls and why he called a particular pitch. On the job training is necessary but not to the detriment of the team.

 

To me, that is the best way to handle it.

 

Ditto Braves!

I have admitted many times over a BAD pitch I called BUT never a bad game for I know knew what I was doing scouted the players knew their weaknesses at the plate discusssed these with the pitcher and catchers this was OUR plan and I made the decisions! IN hs the KIDS are in class most of the time there is no time to and for team meetings for hours on end to talk the strategy......

 

ok. there are a lot of valid arguments here for both sides of the issue. i, like someone said, have called pitches and also allowed my catcher to do so. but i would like to throw something else out there for everyone to think about.

what about the pitcher? i have been lucky enough over the last 2 years to have very good, very knowledgable pitchers to work with. as a pitcher in high school and college i always liked when i had the ability to take what i was feeling, and put it to use.

the pitcher really does know what is working for him better than anybody. luckily i have had a very good catcher that knew what was going on as well. the 2 of them together more times than not make the right decisions. i also like to let my pitcher stay in his groove. if i'm slow getting a pitch call in, he's standing there on the mound waiting for what to do next. i teach my kids to get the ball back and work quickly. i don't want to hinder him from doing that.

now with all that being said, if i have a young pitcher, catcher, both i will definitely call pitches just to place all of the pressure on my shoulders.

i guess, again, i've just been blessed

 

bats and balls is right

Even when I call pitches, if I have a veteran pitcher, he can shake. I have a signal for situations where I might insist on a pitch, but as a rule I don't want a knowledgeable pitcher throwing a pitch he has doubts about.

 

ditto...

F3!