On the Art of Pitching in Baseball

On the art of pitching in baseballÂ
ÂIt is not easy to hit a ball thrown very fast.Â
It is amazing that anyone can hit a baseball.ÂEven a very good hitter has difficulty hitting
It is small and is thrown into a prescribed targetsuccessfully one of every three or four times he or
area. Everyone can see it being thrown andshe comes to the plate. So, if the batter
even know when it is being thrown. Yet, itthinks the thrown ball is outside the strike zone, it is
can be so difficult for the batter to hit it.Âto the batter's advantage not to swing. Why
The stick, or bat, swung by the batter is rather largego to the effort to hit a ball that is already thrown
by comparison to the size of the baseball.Âvery fast and is outside the target area?Â
Moreover, the batter knows exactly where theÂ
pitcher has to stand, and where to expect the pitch,The essence of the duel between the pitcher and
and the batter sees the pitcher who is throwing thethe catch is a decision made each throw of the
ball.Âball. On each attempt to throw the ball to
Âthe catcher, the pitcher should try to get it in the
So why is it so difficult for the batter to hit thestrike zone. Knowing this, the batter gauges
ball? It is difficult. Each time thevery early approximately where and when it will
batter comes to the plate, the odds of hitting safely,arrive and adjusts swing calculus accordingly.Â
i.e., reaching first base is only about one in four orÂ
one in three or so. That is in the majorObviously then, the pitcher should not be predictable
leagues. In the little leagues, the odds areon the speed of the pitch or the spin given it
different but the game is a lot different too.Âalthough constrained on approximately where it must
In that contrast and comparison, there is probably abe delivered. If I were to give advice to a
clue to good pitching practice that young playersyoung pitcher, I would suggest to aim directly at the
should observe.Âimaginary center of the strike zone every time the
Âball is thrown. That much should be
If you have seen a little league game recently, youpredictable. Â It forces the batter to swing at
have probably noted the large number of walks givenevery pitch or it will be called a strike
up, presumably because of the lack of ability of theanyway. I would suggest the unpredictability
youth pitchers to deliver the ball accurately into thebe in the speed. Moreover, perhaps on how
strike zone over the plate. The ballthe ball is held. Let us examine these issues
sometimes bounces in front of the plate, or ismore carefully.Â
occasionally thrown over everyone's head. IÂ
have even seen that in professional games.ÂOn the matter of holding the ball, there are four
That is not unusual with youth players especiallyfundamental ways to hold the ball in your hand as
when the pitcher loses control while trying to throwyou prepare to pitch it. Look at a
very hard as his coach has told him to do.Âbaseball. It has strings. These strings
Âweight a little differently on the ball's configuration
Even weak batters, who close their eyes as theand change its flight characteristics ever so slightly,
pitch reaches them, stand a decent chance to reachbut enough that with scientific instruments you can
first base, but not by hitting the ball. Theydetect slightly different flight characteristics as the
collect umpire called "balls" until they have sufficientball travels from the pitcher's hand and travels the
number to take a "walk" to first base. Thensixty and one-half feet to home plate. The
they probably "steal" second because the catcherpitcher can hold the ball with the first and second
cannot throw accurately that far, but that is anotherfingers right on top along the strings at the
story for another day. Let it be said thatnarrowest point where the decoration draws the
both beginning and seasoned pitchers stand to gain ifstrings closest together. The pitcher could
they can control accurately the number of pitchesalso hold the ball along those strings but with the
that fall within the strike zone. Outside thesecond and third fingers. Because the
strike zone means walks, stealing second, andpitcher's fingers are not all of the same length, there
everything that goes with that. Therefore,will be a slight variation in the way the ball spins on
the pitcher should throw strikes.Âthe way to the catcher based on release order as
Âthe ball leaves the hand. The pitcher could
In my sixty years of watching pitchers pitch somealso turn the ball ninety degrees so the first and
terrific games, I have never ceased to be amazed atsecond fingers cross the strings, and alternatively so
the lack of interest in the fundamentals of whatthe second and third fingers hold across the
makes for a good pitching duel. Allow me tostrings. So, there are four basic ways to
make these observations. To begin, thehold the ball. These positions are easily
purpose of the pitcher is to throw the ball past theadjusted secretly by the way the glove covers the
batter into the catcher's glove. He really haspitching hand before the throw. We have a
to do nothing else. Everyone else on thefirst way for the pitcher to introduce intentional
team is supposed to field the ball if it comes nearunpredictable variability at least as far as the batter is
him, and throw the batter out before reaching base,concerned.Â
if the pitcher fails in the attempt to do the pitchingÂ
job.ÂThere are alternatives ways to throw the ball
Âincluding overhand, overhand with a wrist spin,
To the beginner in baseball, as a fan, it must seemsidearm or even underhanded. All of these
strange with all the standing around. Thenvariations seem unnecessary and confuse the pitcher
suddenly about once or twice a minute the pitcheras much as anyone else and make the pitcher
throws the ball to the catcher or at least tries to doerratic. I would recommend that the pitcher
so. The job of the pitcher on both teams isthrow one basic way, and that be overhand.
to do the same. No mystery to it at all.Â
ÂThere is the matter of target center to
However, if we look closely at the activity of pitchingaddress. I mentioned earlier that the pitcher
we see there is the simple repetitive activity.Âshould aim at the hypothetical center of the batter's
The pitcher receives the ball from someone, perhapsstrike zone. Since most pitchers are not very
the umpire, the catcher, or one of the other fieldaccurate, it is unlikely that even one in one hundred
players. The pitcher stands on the mound,throws will hit it exactly anyway, so there is a natural
with foot on rubber marker, and then after finishedunpredictability just based on the inconsistent
communicating intention to the catcher on what sortaccuracy of the thrower.Â
of pitch to expect, he or she prepares to deliver, andÂ
then takes a hand position on the ball, raises theWe have a second way for the pitcher to introduce
hand away from the shielding glove, and raises theunpredictable variability at least as far as the batter is
pitching arm back and to the side, and then deliversconcerned. Here the variability is not
the pitch overhand, sidearm, or even underhanded inintentional, the pitcher would prefer to be dead
the direction of the home plate, a target about 60.5accurate right in the center of the strike zone so it
feet away, where the batter is standing in a markedwill be called a strike if the batter does not
batter's box. The catcher is directly behindswing. The pitcher should be willing to accept
the home plate, and the umpire stands crouchedthis measure of variability, even though it is due to
behind the catcher, and perhaps slightly to onesystematic control inaccuracy, as another way to
side. This may seem a pedantic descriptionchallenge and confuse the batter.Â
of what happens but it is necessary to defineÂ
exactly the operations involved in the diagnosisI will add a third intentional variation that the pitcher
before we issue a prognosis for the cure.Âcan put in performance to confuse the
Âbatter. This one is probably the most
There is the opportunity of the batter to hit the ballimportant variation, that is to control the variability of
before it reaches the catcher. That is whatthe pitcher's speed of delivery. You might
he or she is supposed to do. If the ball is hitwonder why I suggest it is the most important
out in front of the home plate and between the linesvariable. Let us look at the effect of
that demark the field of play, then it is inspeed.Â
play. If it goes far enough on a fly it may beÂ
over the fence and a home run. If it fallsThese numbers are approximate so you can detect
short and is caught on a fly, it is an out, whetherquickly the affect of pitch speed variability.Â
within the field of play or not. If it is in theA ball thrown at 50 miles per hour (mph) travels at
stands out of the field of play where the fans sit,approximately 75 feet per second (fps). At
and is not caught by a player, it is just a foul ball anda faster speed such as a ball thrown at 100 mph
counts as a strike. If it hits the groundtravels at approximately 150 fps. The
before a player can catch it, it is up to the opposingdistance to the plate is only sixty and one-half
team, the one on the pitcher's side, to make a playfeet. The math says it gets there in about .8
at the first base and see if it will reach there beforeof a second at 50 mph and about .4 at 100
the batter can get there running as fast asmph. If the pitcher then throws at 70 mph
possible. These races are among the mostthe ball travels at 105 fps and thus reaches the 60.5
exciting in the game. That is why the mostfoot distance at .57 of a second.Â
desirable seats are at ground level near firstÂ
base. If the batter beats the ball, he or sheIf you vary the pitch speed over the full range of
is safe. If the ball is there before the batter,your ability, say you feel comfortable at pitching
out. It is really a simple, deliberate game, andtypically between 70 (105 fps) and 90 mph (135
many of us find it enjoyable it watch. Somefsps), the ball will take from .57 to .44 of a
complain of boredom, but they are not realsecond. If the batter has gauged the first
fans.Âpitch at 70 mph and adjusts his swing according, but
Âthe next pitch is 10 mph faster or slower even
Each time a new player comes to the plate andthrown in exactly the same place, in one case the
faces the pitcher, it is a duel. It is a pitcherbatter will have finished the swing before the ball
against a batter. Moreover, they have aeven gets there, in the other it will be in the
limited number of encounters. If within a turncatcher's glove before the batter swings. In
at the plate, the pitcher can get three pitches pasteither case, the batter loses the duel. As
the batter and in the strike zone, an imaginary boxlong as the pitcher never holds the ball the same way
roughly prescribed to be between the batter'stwice in a row, and never throws the ball at the
armpits and knees, while within the dimensions of thesame speed twice in a row, say he or she varies it
home plate, then the batter is called "out" whetherby at least 10 mph or 15 fps, then even if the pitcher
he or she swings or not. If four pitches arehits the imaginary exact dead center of the strike
delivered outside the strike zone and the batter doeszone with every pitch, which is unlikely, it is going to
not attempt to hit at them, then the umpire will callbe very hard to hit that ball. If the batter
them "balls" and after the fourth, the batter maydoes not hit the ball, and every pitch is a strike, then
leave the batter's box, walk down, and possess firstthe batter will be unlikely to make it to first base
base. While not counting as a "hit" it doessafely because there will be fewer walks and a lot of
count for the batter's on-base average, which is anstrikeouts.Â
important measure of effectiveness that manyÂ
statisticians watch. There are weak hittersAs I said , I love the game, and I love to see the
that have a higher on-base average thanpitching duels. Even if each pitcher follows
sluggers. They walk a lot and occasionallymy advice, the game will be enjoyable as ever, but I
are hit by a pitch. The point is they are onmust say more challenging for the hitters, and a
first base, thus are in a position to make amuch different game in the little leagues. Let
contribution to the team.Âthe games begin.