Pitching Question

lefty v. righty.....

....in softball is a great thread!!!!! In softball, yes, there are differences in how the ball comes to the plate. At the high levels of talent games it won't matter left or right. The ball will either move around fast, slow, in, out, up, down, etc. so that the batter and hitter battle will be based on that movement period. At maybe, say 10U ish, then probably LH v. RH is an issue, but not one that will dictate taking out your stud pitcher regardless of LH/RH. Also, the game of fastpitch to me, I've always said is, "its the same as baseball, but the games only last 1 hr and 1/2." Well, pitching rotations are different too.

 

Except Maybe (2) !!!

Randy Johnson can move the ball up some with that whacky sidearm mess,and one pitcher I use to hate see pitch because the batters would eventually catch up with him was Gene Garber ( Atlanta Braves ) back in the 70's, but yes you are right as far as a riseball only the fastpitch pitchers can do it correctly !!!

GURU '08

 

let me sum it up this way.. there exists no such pitch in FP that causes a hitter to bail that will be a called strike... unlike a baseball curve. A top quality baseball curve will seem to "hang" at a point on the way to the plate. It is at this point that the hitter must make his final decision if it is a curve and is going to break down and away or is it a fastball and am I gonna get a shave with it?! The difference being the initial look the hitter gets at the ball based on the release point. Of course hitters bale in FP but not on balls that are strikes... only those up and in. Jenny Finch strikes out baseball players because of the rise ball and they have never seen such a pitch. And just as an FYI it is impossible for a baseball pitcher to make the ball rise from the release point because of the distance and the spin which must be imparted to make it happen.. check out the Physics Of Baseball by Robert K Adair ( Yale professor)

There just exists no advantage lefty vs righty or vice versa in FP. Its why you hardly ever see a switch hitter (and when you do its only to slap)... full time lefty hitters are envariably speed merchants and never power hitters. I am sure I have missed some but I cannot honestly recall in the many years of TB seeing a true lefty power hitter.

ps: there is a reason that you hear about guys dropping out of baseball because they "couldn't hit the curve" ;-)

 

Power hitter

Amy Sturch Belmont Abbey 2006 Leah Groh Lenior Rhyne 2007 both hit the ball pretty well. If you get a ball down and slighty in on several left handers we have faced, U will watch it leave the park! Will say there are not a high number of left handers playing the game, not sure of percentage, I have one out of 15.

 

Lefty Power Hitter

1 name that comes to mind is Allison Presnell. Central Cabarrus/ NC State
I believe she holds a few records, or near the top in home runs in NC HS softball. Think Coach Navas would back this up, she has POP !!!!!!!!!!

 

I think a R/R or L/L match-up gives the pitcher (either baseball or softball) the ability to create more angle on pitches that break away from the batter. This results in an advantage to the pitcher in both sports.

The reason softball doesn't make strategic pitching changes to take advantage of these match-ups is that softball (high school, college, or travel) don't have the luxury of having a bunch of relief pitchers on staff like professional baseball does. Even baseball teams at lower levels always have more pitchers available due to pitching restriction rules.

To make pitching changes like this, a team would first have to have the athletes available. If a team is lucky enough to have them, they would be crazy not to incorporate this kind of strategy, especially in close games or playoff situations.

 

Yep

Great one, how could I forget this great young lady!

 

Guru, not all parents complain about pitching time.I'm the dad of a pitcher.My DD is entering her 2nd year of 14u and is becoming a very good pitcher.Her head coach is someone I've grown to trust completely and our pitching coach is one of the best pitchers to ever play ball in NC.We hope she can make it to the college level but that won't be possible if she has thrown her arm out before she's 16.Parents have to remember it's a marathon not a sprint.I have seen alot of girls whose arm is shot at 16or17 because of TOO MUCH pitching time.For what?A little trophy that will have very little meaning to her a year from now.I think I'll sit back,have a hotdog,cheer for ALL the girls,and trust my coaches to make sure my DD gets to where she wants to be.Ya'll should try it,I think you'll find it makes tournaments alot more fun.

 

JMO on throwing your arm out....

.....sounds to me that the pitcher has a serious flaw in her mechanics that can be corrected and allow them to enjoy being the go to ace on the mound. Most, if not all, colleges rely on ONE pitcher with ONE in the background who can come in, or start a game here and there, e. g. double headers, and then there are 5 or 6 awesome pitchers on the roster who might never see the light on the mound. ChaChaCha wrote a thread concerning this very subject of "whats best for a kid, college choicewise". He recognizes the fact that starting pitchers in college play 90% of the time. I wish your DD the very best in her steps toward her goal, but you as a dad need to try your best to get her on a team that will showcase her as a pitcher if in fact that is where you expect her to play in college. Pitching time IS important. Mechanics are most important. And this is coming to TBR from 'ol Marlin, the proud dad whos DD doesn't pitch.