The Novelty Effect (of learning a new pitch)
October 13, 2012
Learn a Hitter’s Weakness and Attack
October 22, 2012
Every young pitcher wants to learn as many pitches possible. I am here to pop your imaginary bubble; you don’t need to throw every pitch imaginable. What you NEED are few pitches that work consistently well for you day in and day out.
I can remember being twelve years old on the mound and wanting my catcher to call the knuckle-curve-slider-up. He never did, but I was convinced that I had invented a new pitch, one that would deceive even the best hitter. Didn’t matter.
The fastball or curveball for a strike 60% of the time would trump that invented pitch any day. Not because my fastball or curve was unique, it just worked efficiently most of the time. As I continued my career I noticed that many of the pitchers we played against had 3 pitches they could command in most counts. Those pitchers, who only had two pitches they could throw for strikes sporadically, often got hit hard by good hitters
.
So what made Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, and Mariano Rivera so effective as pitchers? They change speeds and create movement on every pitch. They had worked long and hard at mastering not only different pitches, but the speed of those pitches as well to get the most out of each one.
You don’t need a blistering fastball to compete as a pitcher. We see that every year in the playoffs and we’re seeing it again. You do, however, need to create the illusion of a blistering fastball by keeping hitters off balance. Learn two other pitches well (60% strike percentage) including a good change up; it will be one of the best investments of time you make as a pitcher.
Don’t waste any more valuable time. Get your own copy of the pitching grips DVD today and be a pitcher everyone wants on their team.
