Becoming a pitcher only?

[lostcreek1]

So it seems the most common age for this to happen is 1st yer 14u. Which is about what I expected.

 

[Jeffrey]

From my DD: “of course I want to hit, but if 9/10 other people on the team are better, then ok, I’ll just pitch.”

She bats in HS. She bats in pool play. In the bracket she pitches. She’s off to college in the fall and I quote her again: “if 9 other girls hit better then I do, then we’re going to win a lot of games.”

I would say this attitude came about 16U. It was solidified last spring when she took a 60+ pitch to the shin and struggled to pitch for a few days.

 

[earlg3]

I'm biased but this is the Pitching sub-forum... I think even pitching-only is way more fun than batting+fielding. Maybe it's my lack of attention span that prefers the constant action..

 

[BrianTx01]

Great question, and it's always on our minds as parents of a pitcher.

For most everyone, hitting is the more fun part of the game. Most all pitchers I know want to hit. And yes, it comes down to being one of the best 9 hitters on the team, and if you are, you almost always get to hit.

My DD's team has some of the best pitchers in our area. And they all get to hit. I think if anyone other than the girl decided they would be PO that family would leave the team and easily find one that would let them do both.

 

[BrianTx01]

Softball pitchers are often some of the bigger players so you should definitely let them hit if they can hit....but a good pitcher should not run if they don't have to....particularly on high school teams.

 

[uncdrew]

When the player's pitching skills far outweigh their hitting skills it happens naturally. Most top level pitchers move to 18U teams at 15-16. They can compete as a pitcher but are now facing very highly skilled pitchers. That creates a mismatch. They can still hit in HS but usually travel is where their skills at the plate are not as strong as others who do not pitch. I've seen talented pitchers demand to hit on real gold level teams and the results are not usually great.

Yup. If you are one of the top 9 hitters on your team, you'll most likely hit. But it gets hard to stay elite in pitching and hitting.

 

[uncdrew]

Softball pitchers are often some of the bigger players so you should definitely let them hit if they can hit....but a good pitcher should not run if they don't have to....particularly on high school teams.

Fine point.

And it describes my DD well. She has the brain to run, but not the body. Oh, she'd love to be a 5-tool player but that's just not meant to be.

 

[BrianTx01]

My DD's HS team lost their catcher for a few weeks and that was no fun...so I might add catchers to the list that should not run. NFHS rules are pretty generous on courtesy runners so I say let those bench girls run.