Throwing Balls

[Hillhouse]

I don't like pitchers calling their own pitches. I have seen it and it doesn't work. A catcher that has been on a good pitch calling team can easily call pitches. Again it's not rocket science. Watch the batters swing in on deck circle. Is she crowding the plate? Open stance? Does she cast the barrel? Keep her off balance.

It doesn't work? Interesting. My immediate question is, who was teaching them? Were they doing it strictly by trial and error? At what age level are you talking about that it "doesn't work?" I think "it's not rocket science" is about the only thing I agree with from this.

I can tell you from a lot of experience, there is nothing worse than getting beat on a pitch I knew I shouldn't throw. By not trusting my instincts and shaking off a pitch that I wasn't confident in, then it gets hit. I think that frustration would be tripled if I was being forced to throw a pitch I knew wasn't right out of fear of being benched. If I throw the wrong pitch that gets smoked, then I got beat and I can live with that and I will probably have learned something. If a pitch I thought was wrong from the start, that I didn't wanna throw or felt was wrong, if that pitch gets crushed I'd be lost in frustration. It's kind of like bloop hits. I'd rather someone hit a ball 350' off me instead of a Texas leaguer. At least then I know I was beat instead of the other person getting lucky.

To make sure I'm not being misunderstood, I'm saying that the pitcher and catcher should be taught what to throw and when from the age when new pitches are being thrown. Nobody is born with knowing exactly how to call a game or what to throw and when, it has to be taught.

 

[newnin]

I had our pitchers start calling their own pitches starting in first year 16u. I thought it went very well, and the pitchers liked it. The catchers and their parents did not.

 

[bsbs]

I'm a novice but if we're up in the count I often give my pitcher 2 signals to choose from. She calls what she wants, that has worked well. Again I'm working with a 13 year old not a high school pitcher.

 

[BucketDud]

I don't like pitchers calling their own pitches. I have seen it and it doesn't work. A catcher that has been on a good pitch calling team can easily call pitches. Again it's not rocket science. Watch the batters swing in on deck circle. Is she crowding the plate? Open stance? Does she cast the barrel? Keep her off balance.

Yeah I would be curious what constitutes "it doesn't work". Was that just in the case you witnessed? Because certainly many P5 pitchers have started calling their own the past few years and seems to work just fine. Some MLB pitchers have started doing it with pitchcom as well.

If the pitcher doesn't believe in the pitch they are throwing would be a huge issue. The catcher or coach may not like the pitch selection, but how much does that matter really. If pitcher isn't effective they won't be in the game long.

Also we don't stop the game and dictate where an infielder goes with the play, but rather train them for the situation and trust their instincts. Why can't the same be applied to the pitcher?

 

[RADcatcher]

1. Learning process~ has to start somewhere.
2. Controlling the ball~ has to start somewhere.
3. Controlling the ball while applying the learning process to see a true outcome ~has to start somewhere.


Coaches, parents, many will have an expectation of what should happen on the field without any ability to provide guidance for the development of it.
Developmental guidance~ has to start somewhere!

 

[Rolling Hard]

I have no problem with a pitcher or catcher shaking me off occasionally. I suppose a pitcher could learn to call her own pitches but it would be very demanding.
I want the pitcher to be locked in focused on the task given to her. Like a robot. In the zone. Adding the decision making of what pitch to throw would sort of be a distraction to staying in the zone.
Like I said, I suppose some pitchers could call their own game but think the majority of pitchers would be better off receiving the command and focusing on the task given to them. I could imagine a pitcher getting mad at herself for throwing the wrong pitch and now you have emotions involved.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Yeah I would be curious what constitutes "it doesn't work". Was that just in the case you witnessed? Because certainly many P5 pitchers have started calling their own the past few years and seems to work just fine. Some MLB pitchers have started doing it with pitchcom as well.

If the pitcher doesn't believe in the pitch they are throwing would be a huge issue. The catcher or coach may not like the pitch selection, but how much does that matter really. If pitcher isn't effective they won't be in the game long.

Also we don't stop the game and dictate where an infielder goes with the play, but rather train them for the situation and trust their instincts. Why can't the same be applied to the pitcher?

I agree here. My daughter called her own games in HS in 21 and 22. Basically, the coach didn't care, so he let her call the game. We got a new coach in 23, and a new catcher, so the coach had the catcher call the games. She was awful. 0-2 or 1-2 count? Change up. She wouldn't call movement pitches in certain counts, and she was afraid to call the drop because she hated to block. Was it any surprise the pitching performance suffered? No.

My daughter studies the game. She watches hitters and sees where they stand in the box. Why not let her call the game?

 

[RADcatcher]

When talking about Pitch calling and Location *important to take a look at the talent disparity on the field.

Particularly because pitchers go from trying to find the strike zone, to finding the strike zone and being able to be sort of consistent with it. To the time when they need to learn to utilize all sorts of locations, there is definitely a developmental path involved.

Talent disparity creates these situations.

Will there be some games being played at a certain Talent level where the pitcher can just try to pipe strikes the whole game and win, absolutely.
( no requirement to utilize non-strikes in a game like that)

Will there be some games being played where the pitcher pipes strikes and the other team rips and crushes their at bats smashing the other team, absolutely!
( Definitely need a requirement to utilize non-strikes in a game like that)

Non-strikes /or on the edge of being a strike, make batters have to work harder with their decision to swing.

Varying pitch locations makes batters work harder at their decision to swing while creating the necessity for the batter making larger adjustments.

 

[ArmWhip]

HS pitching coach called a time out (after my DD struck a girl out) and told my DD she was throwing too many strikes.

Their armbands don't have any indication of where to throw the pitch. Basically just FB, C, CU, R, etc. Her travel team uses code to allow for purposeful misses inside or outside. Basically on her travel team location is part of the pitch calling, and it can be corners or off the plate.

Thoughts?

What if your daughter told the coach that she has trouble hitting spots without the catcher's glove as a target? So the catcher needs to get location from the coach so that she knows where to position the glove. Although this might make it worse if the coach is clueless when it comes to choosing locations.

 

[RADcatcher]

What if your daughter told the coach that she has trouble hitting spots without the catcher's glove as a target?

Teach the pitcher to use other visual cues like the shoulders or knees of the catcher.