Are You a Really Good Pitcher?
October 25, 2012
The Truth About Strikeouts
October 28, 2012
Have you ever heard a commonly spoken phrase by many coaches, “just throw strikes and get us out of this inning?” Many coaches out there make the mistake of telling pitchers to “just throw strikes”. Of course your pitchers are trying to throw strikes to end the inning; what they really can’t do is control their emotions or they lack correct pitching mechanics. When a coach tells pitchers to “just throw strikes” what the coach is really implying is they don’t know what else to tell the struggling pitcher. They lack the education behind what is really going on in the pitchers mind in different game scenarios; or they lack the knowledge about pitching mechanics.
Many youth pitchers hear “just throw strikes” and they do just that. Many pitchers start aiming the ball and they forget about their basic pitching mechanics. They may slow their motion down; not exploding to foot strike. Many pitchers often open up too soon taking more of a step instead of a strike to home plate; guiding the ball over the plate instead of simply throwing it. The pitcher begins to throw batting practice and the batters begin to tee off. Yes, your pitchers are throwing strikes, but they are often right down the heart of the plate with no velocity behind the ball. See ya! Game over! You Lose!
If you are a coach, you will do more harm than good throwing out little comments like “just throw strikes”, “rare back and fire”, “throw hard now”, “get er done”. Every pitcher is going to have a different interpretation of what these things mean unless the coach explains to the pitchers what the terminology means. Otherwise these words are just filler words for lack of better education.
To get better results out of your pitchers in games, it is imperative that you understand proper pitching mechanics. You also need to know your pitcher and how they react to different game situations. Do they get nervous and buckle under stressful game situations? If so, you need to figure out why they get nervous.
It’s time to get educated on proper throwing mechanics.
