Switching pitchers to mess up the other team

[dogpatch]

I have been a parent in two teams now (I’ve volunteered to assist with this second team) where I have had the coaches and a couple of parents that swear by the idea of changing pitchers just to “mess up” the other batters. I don’t get it. Unless you’re changing mid-at bat, it can’t seem to matter much from trip through the lineup 1 with pitcher A and trip through the lineup 2 with pitcher B or am I completely missing something here? I have seen coaches pull pitchers, that are killing it, solely based on this idea. For reference I’m talking about 12U B level ball. My question is, am I missing something or are the coaches that believe in this wrong/overestimating what this does to batters?

This is certainly a strategy that can have merit depending on the age group, pitchers' abilities, length of game, opponent's capabilities, etc. However, it is certainly not a magic strategy that automatically works all the time. A good coach will have this stategy in his bag of tricks, but not use it blindly. Teams are like puzzles. Not only must you put the pieces together correctly, you must also formlate the strategy that best suites the puzzle that presents itself.

 

[Lreeve]

In our Little League districts we played a very good hitting team. We had good pitchers. Our team held them in both games to the third inning without runs and then they really started hitting and we were destroyed by the end. I really feel had they pitched each of our 3 main pitchers 2 innings each game we could have maybe held them off longer, based on the change on location etc. But once they knew our pitcher's spots they were swinging.

 

[BillyB]

If you have two different speed type or specialty pitchers, go for it!