Where Have All the Pitchers Gone?

[Ken Krause]

Yes, I know, it sounds like a folk song but it’s a legitimate question. Especially now that we are hot and heavy into the softball tryout season. If you’re following softball-oriented Facebook groups or forums such as Discuss Fastpitch you’re probably seeing this plea a lot, particularly in the older age groups: Impossibly great team […]

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[angispeds]

Love your perspective. For my own story with my girls. Both pitched in 10u. Both were smaller kids physically behind their peers but great defensive players and solid hitters. Both play multiple sports. They both decided that there weren’t enough hours in the day to play all the sports they loved and continue to devote the time to become a high level pitcher. For the older it has worked out as she’s now a P5 verbal recruit coming into her sr yr. She still plays soccer and basketball for her school and at the end of her senior year will have earned 12 varsity letters. For the younger we will see. I also think that the number of travel ball teams continues to explode which further dilutes the pitching pool especially at the C level. Most C teams have 1 pitcher that would be a number 2 or 3 on a high B low A team and ride that kid with 90% of those innings you mentioned.


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[lostcreek1]

The team my DD is on first year 10u has 8 girls that are trying to pitch some in lessons some just learning at home. At least half of those will never pitch enough on this team to help their development. Most of them will not quit this team to go to a team that looses 80% of the time so they can get time in the circle. My guess is by the time they get to 12u 4-5 of them will no longer be pitching.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Spot on, @Ken Krause . The "don't play, won't play, done playing" trend applies to all players, but does seem to be finally coming around to pitching.

I will add another component that I didn't see you pick up on. Unless you are part of a large organization with an assigned pitching coach, you are on your own.

The vast majority of coaches (particularly male coaches) have acquired their pitching knowledge from watching their own daughter at lessons and then listening to buzzwords they can regurgitate to make it seem as if they are knowledgeable. They do NOT know how to teach or even properly coach pitching. They rely on parents spending more money to send their child to their own pitching coach. They do not work on pitching in practice. They do not develop their own pitchers.

Why do you see all the "ads" looking to pick up pitchers? Like certain professional sports teams, they take the short cut of simply buying other peoples' talent rather than putting in the work of developing their own.

I have seen too many players (and pitchers) run out of the game because they were frustrated by a coach who cannot develop their own talent.

 

[Rolling Hard]

A 14u or 16u pitcher in So Cal could literally play for a different team every weekend.
Conversation would go something like this.

Hey Coach, I saw your post about your team looking for a pitcher. My daughter is a pitcher. She plays 1st base and is a good hitter too.

Oh great, we have 3 games on Sunday. Have her wear black pants and I got an extra jersey for her. What size will she need? Oh and I will give her a game at 1st base and she will get plenty of at bats.

 

[FP26]

A 14u or 16u pitcher in So Cal could literally play for a different team every weekend.
Conversation would go something like this.

Hey Coach, I saw your post about your team looking for a pitcher. My daughter is a pitcher. She plays 1st base and is a good hitter too.

Oh great, we have 3 games on Sunday. Have her wear black pants and I got an extra jersey for her. What size will she need? Oh and I will give her a game at 1st base and she will get plenty of at bats.

Looking back on things, DD literally could have played her entire travel ball career this way. Just about every week a coach was calling looking for a pitcher. She generally took advantage of the offers any time her team didn't have a tournament (most of the time anyway). And, yes, "first base and plenty of at bats" were typically offered as well.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Perhaps the best way to play on a budget!

 

[WPACoach]

When my daughter debated whether to stop pitching or not, one quote from her hitting coach stood out. "Pitching is like playing a completely different sport." I found this to be true; my daughter played three sports at the time and was taking pitching and hitting lessons. Due to her size, she would never be a dominant pitcher. Her future is as a hitter and great fielder.

Basically, it came down to a choice between the other sports and pitching. Just not enough time to do all of them well. I think this is a common issue at that 14u/middle school age. Add in the growth in the number of teams and you see the level of pitching go down.

 

[jdint]

Looking back on things, DD literally could have played her entire travel ball career this way. Just about every week a coach was calling looking for a pitcher. She generally took advantage of the offers any time her team didn't have a tournament (most of the time anyway). And, yes, "first base and plenty of at bats" were typically offered as well.

We are living that reality now. Non-stop offers. Teams are so desperate for a pitcher they are helping pay for travel expenses. Crazy.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Based on @WPACoach 's comment ...

I agree with that observation. Pitching is like another sport ... and I wish pitching coaches would teach that it is not a solo sport.