Category Archives: Pitching
Success requires patience
I’ve talked before how we live in an “instant results” type of world. If we want popcorn we toss a bag in the microwave and three minutes later there it is. If we want to see our favorite TV show or movie we just hit the On Demand button and there it is. And so forth.
Yet it never fails to surprise me when a player or student lacks the patience to learn something new. Last night I was working with a pitcher, second lesson for her with me. Her mom brought her to me because she felt she was stalled where she was. After we worked basic mechanics and locations, I asked what other pitches she threw. She told me a changeup, so I said let’s see it.
After watching a couple I asked what type of change she was throwing. (I always ask in case what I see isn’t what they’re supposed to be doing.) She told me a handshake change. Not my favorite, personally, because to make it work I find most pitchers slow down as they go to release. So I asked if she was willing to try something different. (Normally I don’t ask, but with HS tryouts around the corner I figured I should check.) She said sure — what else was she going to say — so I showed her the backhand change.
After trying it two or three times, and having it work better each time (although not great) she said she was getting frustrated. I was shocked. I mean, how good do you think it will be throwing it three times ever? But apparently she just figured it was like instant cocoa — add a little water and you’re all set.
We continued to work at it and she got better. But I wonder how much she’s going to continue to work on it. Work being the operative word.
Learning to do anything well — pitch, hit, play an instrument, ride a bike, perform brain surgery — takes time. If you’re not willing to put in the time, you’re going to have a tough time competing. Accept getting a little better each day, as Bobby Simpson likes to say, and you’ll find yourself happier and better in the long run.
Curve ball drill: The student becomes the teacher
Last night I was doing lessons as usual, and it came time for my first student (Megan) to start working on the curve ball. She threw a couple, then told me she wanted to ask me about a drill she’d learned at a college pitching clinic the previous week.
For the drill, the pitcher stands with her back to the catcher, starts her arm circle (which will be going out toward third and then first base for a right handed pitcher), then twists her upper body and delivers the ball to the plate. She was told she should hug herself when she was done.
I looked at her doing the drill, imitated the movements, and gave her the thumbs up. In fact, I thanked her for showing it to me because I plan to use it with other students. See? I’m not completely set in my ways!
I was happy with this whole encounter for a couple of reasons. First, Megan asked me what I thought of the drill before really incorporating it into her routine. She’s a HS pitcher and we’ve only been working together for a short time, so it was good to see that the rapport is there and she trusts my judgement. That’s always important in the coach-player relationship. She wanted to be sure, I think, that it didn’t teach something that I didn’t want her doing. Since her pitching has been improving she’s generally bought in to the idea that I know what I’m doing. 
The other is this is the first time I’ve seen anyone teaching the same mechanics I do for the curve ball. The normal curve I’ve seen has the pitcher start the wrist snap behind the back hip and then come around it. (That’s a poor description but you get the general idea.) I’ve always found the movement to be fairly minimal with that method, so I teach pitcher to actually cut the circle off at the top, drive the elbow down toward the bellybutton, and when the elbow is “pinned” snap around it. You get more dynamic movement that way, and once pitchers learn to cut the circle off instead of bringing it all the way back it eliminates a lot of the problems of the pitch going wildly inside.
The drill Megan showed me encourages the same arm path and pivot point I teach, and makes it pretty easy to feel. The only thing that’s really different is I like the front shoulder to stay in, angled toward the back of the batter’s box on the throwing side (RH batter’s box for a RHP), so you end up throwing around it. I call it throwing around the corner. But that’s a trifle, and I am not worried about that part of it crossing over into the actual pitch.
It’s not necessarily a drill I would do every time, but then again I don’t really do particular drills every time anyway. I prefer to keep drills for specific teaching moments or to correct specific problems. For the pitcher who’s having trouble getting the feeling, though, I think this one is a keeper. I will definitely add it to my arsenal, and can thank Megan for bringing it to me. I love it when the student becomes the teacher!
Product review: Jennie Finch Softball Powerline Pitching Mat
When you live North of the Mason-Dixon line, you tend to spend a good part of your fastpitch softball off-season training time indoors. While that certainly beats freezing your butt off in sub-zero temperatures, it also presents some interesting challenges — especially for pitchers.
For several years I have used a couple of different pitching mats rather than having students pitch off the floor. The mats have built-in pitching rubbers, which is good, and the one from Club K also had the powerline built into it. (The other one, a turf-type, did not, but I solved that with some line marking paint.) The trouble, though, was that they tended to slide on the turf surfaces used in batting cage facilities due to their rubber backing. I constantly had to adjust the mats to keep them lined up with the plate. I’m sure they work fine on a wood gym floor, but how many of us have access to those?
It’s not a problem anymore, though. I recently purchase two of the Jennie Finch Softball Powerline Pitching Mats with foam backs, and I have to say they’ve been acting as-advertised. The web listing claimed that the foam back would stick like Velcro to a turf surface, and by golly that’s exactly what has happened. After a week’s worth of using them in two different locations I can safely say that they have not moved an inch, even when used by some strong pitchers.
That alone made them worth the price ($215 plus $30 for shipping). But they are also good mats in other ways.
The turf surface itself is high-quality, and appears as though it will be very durable even under regular use. The bright green turf is split by a bright white powerline that makes it easy for students to see and keep themselves going straight. The mat is also thick, providing a little cushioning when landing versus the usual thin turf over concrete floors. My students have definitely appreciated that.
The transaction with On Deck Sports was smooth, and the mats were delivered within a few days. Incidentally, they come with a vinyl carrier that makes them easy to cart to and from a facility. The carrier was tucked into the center of the rolled-up mat, so you’ll want to grab it before you bring it somewhere.
Time will tell as far as durability goes. But if you’ve been struggling with keeping a pitching mat in place, I can definitely recommend this one. Just be sure you specify the foam backing.
One final word. If you watch the video demo, you’ll see Jennie Finch is illegal on every pitch she throws from it. That’s unfortunate, and I wish someone would notice and correct that. But don’t let that discourage you. It’s still a good product.
Wherein Stephanie gets her kitty
A few months ago I blogged about one of my students, Stephanie, who had been promised a kitten by her father if she hit 57 mph. (I tried to find the original post but couldn’t and so gave up. But it’s out there somewhere.)
Last Friday night, Steph earned her kitten. In fact, she blew past the goal and actually nailed a 58 as well as a couple of 57s on the Jugs gun. I always require a second reading at a speed before I’ll trust it, as there are all kinds of factors that can create a false reading on a one-time try.
I think her dad Rick had mixed emotions on it — happy she got there but dreading the addition of a kitten to the family — but I can tell you Steph was high-energy for the rest of the lesson.
One thing that was interesting was how Steph got to her best speeds. On her first couple of attempts, she scored a 56. I knew this was something she really wanted, and guessed she was over-amping herself. So I told her to take a deep breath, relax and give it another try. Sure enough, she hit 58.
It was the same with each of her attempts. When I would remind her to take a deep breath she’d hit her target. When I let her go on her own, she’d fall just short. She told me afterwards she’s going to add the deep breath to her pre-pitch routine. Something for all pitchers to think about as they try to get that little bit extra on the ball. Instead of getting all tightened up, breath deeply and relax.
So for those of you rooting for Stephanie to earn her kitten, you can be delighted for her. She’s there. Can’t wait to see the photos. And by the way, she told me if it’s male kitten she’ll name it Ken, and if it’s a girl it will be Kendra. Guess we’ll see about that.
The rules on hit batsmen
Ok, this is for all the parents who are new to travel ball, having just moved up from rec ball. It’s also for those umpires who are allowing themselves to be bullied into make the wrong call.
In ASA and as far as I know every other sanctioning body, there is no limit to the number of batters a pitcher can hit, whether in an inning or a game. I repeat, there is no limit, other than how many baserunners the defensive team’s coach will allow to be on base.
I understand you hate to see your daughter be hit by the ball, especially by a pitcher who is throwing hard. You also don’t want your daughter to have to face that pitcher in case she might strike out. Better to get that pitcher out of there any way you can.
Again I say to you, there is no limit to the number of batters the pitcher can hit. So quit complaining and demanding that the pitcher be taken out. And you young umpires out there, quit letting those parents talk you into it. Read your rulebook, both for what’s there and what’s not. It’s your responsibility to know.
There. I feel better now.
Technology doesn’t replace the human factor
Technology is a wonderful thing for tryouts. It certainly helps to be able to put numbers against certain things in performance, because it reduces the guesswork — especially when you’re trying to remember back after the fact.
Yet over-reliance on technology can work against you, too. As with many things in life, you have temper that technology with some common sense.
I saw this today when I was working at our program’s tryouts. When it became time to view the pitchers, out came the technology. In addition to my Jugs radar gun, another coach brought out the Rev-Fire, a device that measures ball spin in revolutions per second. The higher the number, the faster the spin and presumably the more the ball will move.
So there we were, standing behind (and a bit to the side) of the catcher as the pitchers were doing their thing. The coach with the Rev-Fire was dutifully calling out the numbers. It seemed like no one but me was really watching the pitches critically. At one point, a pitcher threw a screwball and the guy with the Rev-Fire whistled and said, “Wow, 21.3” or something in that range. I looked at him and said, “Doesn’t matter. The ball was spinning in the wrong direction.” Instead of a screwball spin, it was more of a curveball spin.
And that’s the issue. If all you do is run the technology and take down the numbers, you might think the pitch was impressive. Yet not only did it not move a bit, it wasn’t even spinning properly. It wasn’t physically possible for the ball to act like a screwball.
The Rev-Fire is probably a good device. But it doesn’t replace a coach using his/her eyes. No matter how fast the device says the ball is spinning, it doesn’t matter unless the pitch does what it’s supposed to do. Because the hitter could care less how fast the ball is spinning, or in what direction, if it comes in flat. She’s going to hit it a long way.
The same works in reverse, too. No matter how fast the bat measures on a device, if it doesn’t contact the ball it’ll just be a more impressive strikeout.
Illegal pitches at the World Cup
I haven’t had much chance to watch the World Cup of Softball on TV this weekend, but I know some folks who have. It’s been interesting to see and hear the discussion about illegal pitches, though. And to see a bit of it myself.
It started Thursday night when I received a text message from my friend Rich, who commented about Monica Abbott. He said she was stepping off the pitching rubber with her drive foot before pitching. That’s something I’ve certainly seen before, and that she has been called for. But apparently the umpires were told not to bother her about it. Then later today I got an email from another coach commenting on the same phenomenon.
Today I was watching Team USA versus the USA Futures and saw something else interesting. Jordan Taylor was pitching, and after a big windup, she was literally hopping all over the place. I saw her her hop up off the pitching rubber before she started moving forward, and hop again as she delivered the ball. Again, not a single call against her.
This is interesting, because earlier in the year an article on AnnArbor.com talked about how she had been called for illegal pitches during a collegiate tournament and had to relearn how to pitch. Guess it was only temporary.
I don’t know. It seems like the people who make the rules need to decide what’s allowable and what’s not, and stick to it. It’s hard to get young pitchers to focus on following the pitching rules when they see pitchers at a showcase tournament like this obviously not doing it.
I don’t really care which way they go, but they need to decide one way or the other. As I’ve said before, either change the pitching rules if you don’t want to enforce them, or start enforcing them — even on the game’s stars. Make that ESPECIALLY on the game’s stars. It really does matter.
The 43 ft. HS distance appears to be having the desired effect
Back when the National Federation announced it was moving the high school pitching distance to 43 ft., the main reason cited by most pundits was they wanted to get more offense in the game. At 40 ft. the pitchers were dominating, and it was believed that moving the pitching rubber back three feet might change that. While the change doesn’t go into effect officially until the 2011 season, many states adopted it immediately, including Illinois, where I live.
Now that we’re a couple of weeks into the season it looks like the move is having the desired effect. Where normally pitchers are ahead of the hitters in the early part of the season, I’ve been seeing a lot of double-digit scores in games in the Chicago suburbs. Certainly a lot more than in the past.
What’s really been interesting is it seems to have had the most profound effect on the “power” pitchers — the girls who relied primarily on their speed to get them by. It doesn’t seem to have affected the ones who can top 60 mph regularly, but they are few and far between. For those in the mid-to-upper 50s, however, it’s made a big difference.
I can think of one in particular. She has been a stud on varsity since she was a freshman. She was highly touted in the newspapers, and always racked up great numbers for strikeouts and ERA. I never quite understood how, since I saw little movement on her ball and while she threw hard she didn’t throw that hard. Apparently, though, she threw hard enough to dominate at 40 ft.
Now, maybe she has something else going on too and this is just a coincidence. But as I look in the box scores and summaries in the local paper, her numbers have inflated considerably. She is giving up 10-12 runs per game, and maybe striking out one or two hitters most of the time. It’s not all errors either. I see double-digit hits and maybe a couple of errors in the box score. She just doesn’t seem to be as effective now that she’s a senior.
That seems odd to me. If anything, you’d think she’d be better now than her freshman year. Again, maybe there’s an injury or something going on. But my guess is it’s the distance. She just can’t blow it by the hitters as easily as she used to.
What’s really unfortunate for the team is they have one of those coaches who never bothered to develop anyone else. If her team played 250 innings, she pitched 250 innings. Now, when she could use a little help, there’s no one there to help her. If the other team catches on to her, she has to stand there and take the beating. You would figure a change of pace of any sort ought to at least slow things down for a bit. But they don’t have that option, so there have been a lot of lopsided scores.
This seems pretty consistent throughout our area. Scores are rising, ERAs are rising, and strikeout numbers are falling. The fans are definitely seeing more offense (except from the really poor hitting teams), and more players are involved throughout the game. Time will tell if this is a good thing. In the meantime, pitchers start working more on your movement. You’re going to need it.
In bunt situations, pitch high
I have ranted and raved on more than one occassion about the slavish devotion so many coaches seem to have to automatically sacrifice bunting anytime they get a runner on first. Besides making them very predictable, it’s also not really a high percentage play.
One thing pitchers can do to help make it an even worse idea is throw high to try and get the hitter to pop up. It works a couple of ways.
If you know the opposition’s coach is slavishly devoted to bunting the runner over, you should automatically make the first pitch either a riseball (if you have one) or an “upwardly mobile” fastball. Most hitters tend to set up too low to bunt to begin with, maybe due to practicing on low pitches off front toss or a machine. They also tend to try to bunt no matter where the pitch is, so instead of pulling back they will try to follow the pitch up. Either way, the result is often a pop-up to the catcher. If it’s a short pop-up, the catcher may be able to get the out there and fire to first to double off that runner. Easy if there is a bunt and steal on, still possible if the runner breaks but then tries to get back.
The other way it can work is for the pitcher to be aware the team may bunt, and adjust her pitch as she goes into it. In this case the pitcher starts to throw her pitch, and if she sees the batter square around she changes it to a high pitch.
My daughter Kimmie was very good at this. She could recognize even a late bunt, and would release a little late to get the ball to go high. I was watching a couple of pitchers last night in a game, one of whom is a student of mine, and they were doing the same. The other pitcher actually got one girl to pop up twice in two consecutive at bats. They didn’t get the DP, but it was close. Which meant all the coach got for her efforts was the runner still on first, and one out instead of none.
So pitchers, learn to think through the game. And if you see that bunt, or know it’s coming, go high. It just may pay off big time for you.
To gain control, you must first give up control
Ok, I know it sounds like something out of the movie Mystery Men. That’s no accident. But it really is true.
All too often, pitchers (especially beginners) will try gain control over their pitches by consciously trying to guide the ball to its intended location. The problem when they do that is they end up tensing up, and essentially guessing how to position their bodies, when to release the ball, where their hand should be pointing, etc. At that point instead of improving their control, their bodies are actually working against them and control gets worse.
To learn control, pitchers need to let their bodies relax, work on their mechanics, and let the ball go where it may for a while. In other words, instead of trying to guide the ball to a specific spot they should work on acquiring the proper mechanics to throw a ball to that location — whether they actually get it there or not. For example, when working on throwing to the glove side or throwing hand side, the focus should be on stepping slightly left or right (if that’s the method you use) and following the body with the arm circle rather than trying to “aim” the ball at the end.
Remember that control is not a goal. It is the result of doing things right. So if you really want to gain control, first give up the desire to consciously control the ball. Let go your conscious mind and let it happen organically. You’ll get where you want to go a lot faster.
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 