The Importance of the Baseball Pitch
“Wow! He has a great arm!” Pitchers have an important task in the game of baseball. Their assignment is to deliver the ball to the batter, within a certain area, without either hitting the batter or going outside the prescribed area. Since the pitcher is stationed, in professional games, 60 feet and 6 inches from the back of the home plate, this task is not, perhaps, as easy as it might sound.
What Do Some Baseball Players and the Fans say About Pitching?
The most valuable part of baseball wisdom is the importance of pitching for winning games. You may have heard from the experts who have thrown comments about the relevance between pitching and winning (or losing) games. The legendary baseball figure Connie Mack was reported to have uttered: “Pitching is 75% of baseball.” In an old article by John Schwartz, he remarked, “Pitching, as the old cliché goes, is somewhere between 75% and 90% of baseball.” Even with all the changes in baseball equipment, rules and style of play, pitching is still very important.
You may also have heard baseball fans who have shared comments such as “pitching is the key,” “good pitching will always stop good hitting,” “the key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers,” “pitching is 80% of the game and the other half is hitting and fielding,” “pitching will always win out in a short series,” and so on and so forth. These quotes are just part of the decades-old oral tradition of America’s national sport. Ever since baseball came into this world, this tradition has been passed down from generation to generation.
You may want to understand the sentiments of these people regarding the connection between pitching and the game’s outcome. Even in the 21st century, many still believe that pitching is the key to winning, although a few others refute that notion.
Pitching mechanics
When the mechanics are incorrect, injuries occur. When a pitcher’s arm (especially the elbow) develops problems, it is most often due to the way the pitcher throws the ball. This is often based upon how pitching was taught to them. Too much emphasis placed on velocity, for instance, can be detrimental to the shoulder and elbow of the pitcher.
At the same time, each pitcher is different, and there is no cookie-cutter method that will serve everyone exactly the same. The important part is to be certain the ball will consistently reach the plate where the pitcher desires it to go, and without injury.
Generally, the mechanics of pitching a baseball include standing up straight, using non-dominant leg for balance, stepping toward the catcher with toes pointed in that direction, and keeping fingers on top of the ball. Different coaches will have additional, more detailed recommendations (or requirements) for pitchers, but these are the basic steps.
When there are players on base, it is important to keep an eye out for them, and to pitch quickly to make it possible to potentially get base runners out.
To evaluate the pitching mechanics of any given pitcher, it is necessary to videotape using a high-speed camera, in order to be able to slow down the action and view it frame by frame. Since a pitch is a high-speed activity, this is the only way to see properly whether the pitching mechanics are being properly applied and how to adjust.
Some things to which attention should be paid when evaluating a pitcher’s mechanics include movement speed and natural movement (as opposed to slow, robotic movement), leg movement, angle of the front foot, sideways movement, stride length, head position, support foot’s contact with the ground, landing foot placement, finger placement on the ball, when the hands break, and posture throughout.
Base Ball Clothing for The Pitch
To get the pitch right, you need to ensure you have the right baseball clothing. Otherwise, you’ll end up with equipment that can be constraining and affect the impact of your pitch. You need loose clothes, like proper baseball jerseys and sleeves. Remember, the baseball clothing also needs to feel good against your skin so you need to ensure that it has the right feel and quality otherwise you could end up feel uncomfortable and it might put you off your game.
What makes up an effective pitch?
Predictability can be a detriment to effective pitching. If the batter is off-guard, it is less likely that a good hit will be achieved. The best way to do this is to change up the speed and placement of each pitch, but not in a predictable way.
Understanding the pitch count. It is important to make a note of whether the batter is left-handed or right-handed. The pitches should be different based on this factor, along with which hand is the pitcher’s dominant hand. If a pitcher throws the same pitch every time, it is certain that the batter will hit it. If one pitch is faster and another is slower, one is inside and the other is outside, then the batter is more likely to misjudge the timing and/or location of the ball and miss, or at least hit ineffectively.
The pitch count refers to how many pitches a pitcher makes. There is a limit on how many pitches each pitcher is allowed before being required to relinquish the post to another pitcher. This is to protect the pitcher from injury, as well as to keep the pitching fresh and in the best possible condition.
Different levels of the game use different limits. Little League, for instance, has a much lower pitch count limit than that set for Major League pitchers. Now that you understand the baseball pitch better you’re ready to get San Diego Padres tickets and enjoy the game live.
Until the 1980s, when the pitch count became more prevalent, a pitcher would stay in the game until he was no longer effective or until the game ended. Since the pitch count became popular, it is common for a pitcher to be removed from the game even if their pitches are still effective. This has caused some opposition, as some critics insist that using a pitch count is babying the pitcher and that is causing injuries rather than preventing them.
While a pitcher’s count may exceed 100 (the most common limit), it is becoming more and more rare for the count to exceed 125. The highest pitch count since 2005 in a Major League Baseball game was 149, by Edwin Jackson (pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks) on June 25, 2010.
The Strike
The goal for a pitcher is to strike out the batter. Getting a strike on the first pitch to an opponent at-bat is a confidence-booster for the pitcher. It also serves to lessen the confidence of the batter, at the same time. This puts the advantage squarely on the pitcher.
Of course, the opposite is also true. If the first pitch is a hit or a ball, then the confidence boost applies to the hitter, instead, and the pitcher is affected negatively.
Studies have shown that the batting average aspired to is .300 (that is, three of every 10 pitches are hit). The record high of all time is Ted Williams, who played for the Boston Red Sox in the 1930s and 1940s; his record is .406, set in 1941. It is extremely rare for modern baseball players to achieve a batting average that high. The record since then is held by Ty Cobb at .366. The record low is .179 from 1991, by a player named Rob Deer.
A study of the first pitch strike situation discovered that – compared to a 2003 average across all teams of .268 – those who had a strike first went on to hit an average of .239. A number that may mean more to some people is 7.3% – the percentage of hitters who went on to hit a base hit after their first pitch resulted in a strike. That means that 92.7% of those who had a strike first did not get on base. That is a pretty significant number!
Strikes are important, also, because a goal for many pitchers is to pitch a no-hitter. This naturally means that every pitch that ends as a strike is one more toward that goal.