The skill of Pitching By Andrew Richards

Pitching – The Wind-Up Many different pitchers have many different wind-ups. The key to choosing one is simple. Are you comfortable, balanced, and mobile? Comfortable: There is no point trying to copycat some big leaguer just because their wind-up looks cool. If you are not comfortable doing it, then you will probably not have any success. Balanced: - One of the most important aspects of pitching is balance. You need to have balance to achieve success. Choose a wind-up that allows you to have balance from start to finish. Keep your glove hand tight to your body, and break down the hill. Mobile: - Are you mobile? Can you catch a hot shot liner coming back to you? Can you bust off to grab a ball that has been bunted? Are you able to break towards first to cover the bag on a close play.

Pitching – Your Repertoire. First things first. You do not need 15 pitches to be a successful chucker. You do however need variety. Do not try and learn every pitch, what you need to do is master a few. Here are a few tips about your pitches. 1.Learn how to spot that fastball. It is going to be your go-to pitch 80% of the time or more. You may not always have 100% to give, so make darn sure you start hitting your spots. 2.Don’t assume that a curveball is better then a change-up. The fact is, the change-up is the #1 strikeout pitch in baseball. If I had a choice of learning one or the other, I would take the change up. 3.Learn how to throw properly. Just because you are making your ball move, or curve, does not mean you are doing it right. Double check with someone with more experience to ensure you are not damaging your arm by throwing incorrectly.

Pitching – The Sequence Pitching can be very tough, especially when you are not mixing things up. Below are a few things I have picked up about the sequence: 1. Do not always start out with a fastball. (Even though they do not swing 75% of the time) Make them aware that you will be mixing in some off speed stuff from time to time. This will keep them from sitting on it and driving it out of the park. 2. Don’t be afraid to throw all off-speed to someone if they are having trouble with it. Don’t throw a fastball just for fun, keep hammering them with the off speed. 3. Do not go to your off-speed everytime you get up 0-2 on a batter. Eventually they will know it is coming and adjust. Thanks for checking out my website, and be sure to stay tuned for more tips on Pitching next week.