There is a lot of hype as to what pitchers need to do to be successful.  Sadly, this nonsense can lead you in the completely wrong direction…..quite frankly, because it has nothing to do with standing on the mound, making pitches.  I am not going to waste your time on this toxic information.  So to eliminate all the crap that some pitching people will try to push upon you, here are 3 Very Simple Tips to Make You a Better Pitcher.
Video and Text…. Your Choice…

 

Tips to Make You a Better Pitcher
1. Locate Your Fastball Down & On the Corners

Everyone knows this, unfortunately not enough take it seriously.  The stubborn mind wants to do things their way….and when their way doesn’t work, they become very frustrated.  A Pitcher who can locate their fastball down and on the corners will have a great deal of success.   No questions asked.  Every manager and pitching coach in the world look for a pitcher that has the ability to throw strikes and consistently get ahead.  This done a majority of the time with the fastball. It doesn’t matter if you throw 98 or 68.  Locate the fastball, because everything else comes off of that.  

My brother and some of my other friends who played against the Big Time DI programs.  The Miami’s, Florida State’s, LSU’s, and so on during their spring break trips.  When a team from the northeast playing the likes of college baseball royalty, the royalty will not deal their aces in these lopsided contests.  They always saw the #4 or #5 Starter.  When ever I asked them how they pitcher was, the answer was usually a general consensus like,

Nothing special, just 88-91, kept the ball down and out of the middle of the plate, and he dealt against us.

Simple as that…at big time college programs.

Another example. A college teammate of mine who was signed by the Astros Organization out of the Independent leagues, told me that while he was in Short Season New York-Penn League, “

I can get hitters out here just by locating my fastball.

…And that he did, as he was picked up late in the season, 15 IP, 1 ER.  Needless to say, he eventually worked his way up to Triple A.

Tips to Make You a Better Pitcher
2. Throw Your Secondary Pitches to Each Side of the Plate  

Much like #1, keep these pitches down and out of the middle of the plate.  Say you throw Fastball, Slider, Change Up.  The fastball we just covered. For the the Slider, ideally you want to throw to your glove side of the plate, and have it break down and away from the zone.  Also, be able to backdoor the Slider for RHP vs LHH, or LHP vs RHH.  Remember, the hitter can only protect against 1 side of the plate.  That’s why at best, he will fail 70% of the time.  

For the Change Up, you want to throw it to the arm side of the plate to get the run on the pitch down and/or off the plate.  You don’t want to throw the Change up to your glove side, because you will risk the pitch flattening out.   Don’t make that mistake.

With the first 2 points here, look at the odds.  If you are a RHP facing a RHH, you are throwing 2 pitches to the outer half of the plate. 2 Velocities, 2 Different Movements, Both look the same coming out of the hand at release. Now to the inner part of the plate, 3 Pitches, 3 Different Velocities, 3 different movements.  Thats extremely hard for the hitter to protect against..   Thus, you will take those odds any day.

Tips to Make You a Better Pitcher
3. Be a COMPETITOR 

Some people will naturally gravitate towards the big spot, others will have to build up confidence.  Confidence always comes from within. It is cultivated through execution and experience…along with something else I am going to touch on in a moment.  

Pitching is a great provider of feedback.  You know when you make a good pitch, you know when you make a bad pitch, and you surely know when you get away with a pitch.  Because of this feedback, you quickly will know where you have to make adjustments.

The bottom line, You Pitch to Win.  

Winners don’t walk into the fire sheepishly,  Nope.  they run in head first, because the accept the challenge, and have a game plan to come out on top.  

Having the right mental approach as a competitor is the final 1% to be successful.  It is the intangible that you cannot teach…..it is a fire inside that has to be ignited.   Because many days on the mound, a pitcher will not have his best stuff.  So he has to find a way to get through it and be successful.  

TIPS TO MAKE YOU A BETTER PITCHER
RECAP

These are 3 very simple things to make you a better pitcher.  The first 2, you can physically work on.  Repetitions are everything in this game.  The third, requires some mental training, and intestinal fortitude.  You gotta want to be out there….good, bad, and ugly.  You gotta love the situations throw at you.

These 3 simple tips have helped many pitchers turn the corner and very quickly, climb that precious baseball ladder.

Most coaches judge their pitchers on this simple platform:

 – Can he locate his fastball?

 – Can he command his secondary pitches? 

 – …and Does he Want the Ball?

 

For every level of baseball, its the same procedure.  This does not change.  It’s what decides who gets the ball.

These 3 factors will increase your playing time because it gains trust from your coaches and teammates, help your team win, and move up the ladder, in the Greatest Game on Earth.  

 

KEEP DOMINATING!!!

 

 

 

3 very simple tips to make you a better pitcher