Pitchers Hitting?

There is a good thread over on the Ultimate College Softball site about pitchers hitting. So I thought I would stir things up here with the same question. In college, a few pitchers hit, most do not. In high school, most pitchers seem to hit, but in travel ball I have seen it both ways.

In high school and younger travel ball age groups, many times a pitcher is one of the better all around players on the team, and they should hit. However on most of the higher level 18U and 16U teams, I am seeing fewer and fewer pitchers hitting.

I guess my questions are when do the rewards of a pitcher hitting outweigh the risk of getting hurt by hitting- being hit by a pitch, running bases or sliding into bases? Also, what are the factors that go into making that decision of when a pitcher should no longer be a hitter? Does a pitcher have to have a certain batting average in 16U or 18U ball? What are college coaches looking for if they recruit a pitcher to hit? When, if ever, should a pitcher start taking the time they spend on working on hitting and spend it on becoming a better pitcher?

It would be interesting to get responses from all the college and high school coaches on this board as well as from pitchers and their Moms and Dads. (Many times it seems in HS and older TB, pitcher's mom's and dad's are the last ones to realize that their dd is an excellent pitcher and that the hitting thing isn't working out.

 

From what I've seen, high school pitchers always hit if doing so helps the team. Many pitchers are all-round athletes that can hit very well. Others are very good pitchers, but not so good at hitting. If there are nine players who hit better, then the pitcher should be the flex and not hit. Risk of injury in the batters box should not be a factor. Pitchers should, however, be replaced by a courtesy runner whenever possible. Injury risk is higher on the base paths, especially with runners who don't slide properly. Once on base, pitchers should be removed so their focus can return to their main job, ...pitching.

With the travel ball focus being on showcasing for possible college scholarships, one would think that pitchers who are also good hitters would want to showcase that as well. It seems a disservice to the athlete for a TB coach to not allow a good hitter to hit because she is a pitcher.

College programs recruit pitchers for their pitching ability first. If they can recruit nine other players who are better hitters, then the pitcher will not hit. Some TB programs are very highly focused on winning tournaments. They search high and low to recruit the best players they can find just as colleges do. In these programs, you will probably see fewer pitchers hitting. Other TB programs are more oriented toward improving the skill level of players from local areas. In these you'll see more pitchers hitting.

 

Easy way to understand it

Pitchers don't hit.....
Hitter's do....

If you happen to have a hitter that also pitches,

Say thank you.....

 

College coaches recruit athletes.

If a pitcher can hit in HS or TB and then gets to college and sees that she's about 20th on the team in hitting, she'll sit down or go to the bullpen.

However, a cool gig, true story, is of Daniel Spaulding from UNC who was recruited as a hitter and although she could hit....and I mean hit, she ended up pitching bigtime for the Heels. oh, and she continued to rock at the plate!

Never say never kids, just be the best you can be!


Fishman

 

sig stuff/sh*t there!!

 

I have a daughter who is pitching at the college level. Last year she started out hitting in the beginning of the season. She led the team with a 500 batting average. After that, she did not hit again until the end of the season. Because of her schedule, she was unable to practice batting, and she did not hit well after her break from .

This year she is expected to hit for the whole season. In addition, the coach has decided that there are not enough left-handed batters, and now my daughter is batting left handed for the team. We thought this was a little unusual as her pitching arm is now facing out and she runs well but is definitely not one of those fast runners you typically see batting left handed.

I am not sure how this will work for the team. She has a lot of practice left handed, but she has very little game experience left handed.

I don't really have an opinion one way or another. I really believe that if the pitcher is a strong batter and is not taking the place of a better batter that she should bat. An exception might be if you do not have a big or solid pitching staff, you may want to rest your ace pitcher for the extra innings she may need to pitch.

 

Well, from my experience, if you can hit they find a spot in the line up for you even if at DH (if defense is weak). I am all for let the pitcher hit if she is top 9 hitter on the team them pinch run for her if you have the means to do so. Can't win a game without a run on the board.