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More Random Thoughts
by Dave
Friday, May 09, 2008
I have some more random thoughts which occurred over the past week while watching tournament, high school and college games and thought I'd share them with you.
1) Here's one to stuff into the back of your playbook and bring out in special, very rare circumstances. A few weeks ago, someone wrote an e-mail to me about an intentional walk he saw attempted in a junior college game. It went awry when the batter reached out and drove the pitch into right for a two rbi single. I was watching an intentional walk in the process of being issued in a Div. I college conference tournament game when that e-mail flashed into my mind.
There were runners on second and third with one out and a tied ball game in, I think, the fifth inning. The defense elected to walk the hitter who had already hit two basehits in her previous at-bats. The walk was executed flawlessly and the bases were loaded setting up a force all around. But what occured to me is that the pitcher A) threw the ball just about 12 - 18 inches off the plate and B) was throwing ordinary warm-up fastballs about 5 mph or more slower than her normal pitching speed. If the batter had inched up in the box, toward the plate, I believe she could have had no trouble putting the ball into play. Under the circumstances, a soft grounder to second would have brought home the go ahead run!
Why not teach your sluggers to attempt this? If I were going to try, I would wait until the pitcher threw one or two balls and got a little too comfortable. Then, on ball two or three, I would attempt a hack. What is the risk? Just keep in mind that your baserunners should be in on the joke.
2) I've grown weary of listening to the catcalls from the sidelines on ball and strike calls. I am now working very hard, when I am a spectator, to never even mumble anything unless I am absolutely sure the call was a bad one ... and I don't have a pony in the race. I would like us all to back off the sort of comments which ordinarily should only be made by the catcher or a coach like "where was it" or "was that one low?"
There are a couple of reasons I wish we could find a way to stop doing this from the sidelines. First of all, it has gotten to the point where a coach can barely breath hard on a bad call without being warned by the plate ump. Last year I was calling pitches and thought I had the batter set up pretty well. The pitch came in exactly where I wanted it, just outside the strike zone - not a hittable pitch. I watched the batter's hands and as she flinched, I exhaled. When she held up and didn't take the bait, I moaned. The plate ump turned to me and sternly said, "coach, it was clearly outside."
I was too stunned to tell her that I was not complaining about the call. I hadn't moaned because it was a ball. It was supposed to be a ball. I moaned because we almost got that batter on that "waste" pitch. But umps have become very defensive about their ball and strike calls because they are under a microscope on every pitch from both teams as well as fans who can often be allowed to sit very close to the plate. As an aside, if the fans do not stop getting into the umps' ears from these spots, sooner or later facilities are going to move the fans further and further away. That's not in your best interests. So bite or button your lips!
Another reason to not make comments about pitch calls from the peanut gallery is it usually has bad consequences for your team. People who complain about pitch calls often think they will embarrass the ump into "giving one back." Umps know this is what is in fans heads and hearts when they complain. On the odd occurrence when an ump makes a bad call and knows it was a bad call, he or she may indeed give a subsequent close call to your side. That's maybe in 5% of all cases. The rest of the time, 95%, the ump just gets irritated. That may or may not make him or her call the next close one the other way. It is not a high percentage bet for you and your team.
Lastly, umpires do talk to each other. The teams whose parents (and for that matter coaches and players) complain the most are easily identifiable. Its always the same teams. So when umpires "always call them tight" for your team, you maybe shouldn't wonder why.
3) I receive a lot of e-mail from parents and players who wonder if they have already missed the boat for becoming a pitcher. I've received such questions in a range including everyone from parents of 9 or 10 year olds to players as old as 15. They ask, "should I give pitching a try or is it too late?" My answer is always, "give it a try." My reasons for this are as varied as the age range of those asking the question.
I'm no expert of childhood development but from what I have read and heard, the age range of about 8-10 is the best time to start pitching. 9 seems to be the time when muscle memory development first starts really getting going for girls. 9 also seems to be the best time to begin learning anything like multiplication tables, dance, etc. Yet, there are plenty of girls out there who burn out of pitching by 14 when they started taking lessons at 8 or 9 years old. And there is no good reason to simply not do something because you feel you might be too old.
I suppose many folks feel that starting something relatively late will lead to fruitless effort. Still, we see octogenarians graduating from colleges across the fruited plain. We see some 40 year old one time high school dropouts going to medical or law school. If you do not try something because you believe you might be too old, what we have is an excuse not a reason.
I have observed and heard about many kids who got going late. Heck, I didn't really understand what pitching lessons were about until one of my kids was almost 11. A friend had suggested to me that all the decent pitchers in and around our area saw private coaches. I nodded but had no idea what he was talking about. Later, when I discovered what he meant, I suppose I could have decided it was too late for this. Now my kids have been pitching for years. The younger one seems to have a leg up on the older one. She's better when compared to the older one at the same age. But the older one is no slouch. And if she works hard, I have no doubt that she will continue to develop.
I know of one particular girl who didn't really get serious about pitching until she was 12. That's when she started goping for regular, weekly lessons. She's quite good today. If you listen to the top pitching stars (Team USA, NCAA), you will most likely hear several of them state that they never pitched before the age of 12. That may not be totally common but it certainly isn't unusual. Kids develop at different ages and interest in things rises and falls depending on the particular kid. You can't judge a kid's potential by making all the decisions about her life when she is 8-10!
I know of one girl who when she entered high school had apparently reached the zenith of her pitching career at 55 mph with just a few pitches and decent location. A prominent pitching coach had told the girl she had reached her full potential at 15. When she graduated, she was clocked at 67 by a college coach who offered her a full ride. She also had a killer rise ball, an excellent dropcurve, good change and numerous other pitches which were in the process of being developed. She reached her potential at 15? No, she hadn't even scratched the surface.
On the other hand, I can identify several pitchers who stepped into high school throwing near 60 with relative command over four pitches and left closer to 55 with command over none.
My purest advice is to give pitching a try whether you are 5 or 15. Are you late to dinner if you start at 15? Certainly. Chances are pretty good that you won't make it into the big time. But you will still enjoy learning a difficult skill and the experience will be invaluable.
If you start at 5, my guess is by 10, you won't be any or much more advanced than a kid who starts on her 9th birthday. The later you start, the harder you will have to work to get up to "speed." But that's true of any pursuit. Like I said, don't look for excuses. Just do it.
4) My final random thought involves injuries. I have seen more pitchers come down with injuries this year than ever before. The reasons for pitcher injuries usually involve A) improper mechanics, B) failure to adequately warm-up when playing in cold weather, or C) excessive practicing in the months just prior to and continuing with the season.
My best advice is proper mechanics are critical. Before anything else, work on mechanics. We had a little discussion here regarding open- and closed-hip styles of pitching several weeks ago. Since then I have done a little research on arm injuries in pitchers and everything I have seen seems to indicate that open hip pitching puts too much strain on the arm. I won't list out links or reference materials. I'm not an expert in bio-mechanics. I'm not telling anyone what they should or should not do with respect to the style of pitching. I'd rather you find your own resources in this regard.
A proper warm-up is imperative even if your mechanics are nearly perfect. You don't need me to tell you that windmill pitching is physically demanding. There are a lot of moving parts. The more warmed up you are, particularly in cold weather, the less likely you are to suffer an injury. I've yet to see the pitcher who can warm-up, stretch and warm some more in under 20 minutes. Many take much longer. It isn't about the coach or team's convenience. It is about not suffering an injury, potentially a career ending injury. Work out your own warm-up routine. Don't adjust it to suit anyone but yourself - your physical needs. And if your coach does not provide sufficient time for a good warm-up, have a long discussion with him or her about how you will not pitch without an adequate warming.
Lastly, there are several girls out there who do not pitch much in the fall and winter. When they get to about a month or two before the beginning of practice season, they work like demons. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about girls who pitch year round and then take one or two months off before beginning their annual cycle. I'm referring to those girls (you know who you are) who do not pitch much for about half the year and then get going in time to pitch by the beginning of the season.
Initially they don't throw very well. So, in order to get back to where they were last year, they throw every day and their sessions are long. This creates stress in their muscles and does not provide any time for the muscles to heal after intense exercise. That sets the stage for injuries.
As an additional point, there are girls who pitch year round who also can be at risk on injury. They also, pitch intensely and do not make time for sufficient rest to allow the body to heal. As the demands of game season begin to add to the overall burden, this also sets the stage for injuries.
Rather than pitching 365 days per year of for 180 straight days, a more sensible approach is necessary. Everyone's body is different. You, the pitcher, need to decide when you have overdoen things or need some period to rest before going on. Listen to what your body is telling you and tell those who take care of you when you feel new, inexplicable pains or old ones which may have indicated injury in the past.
Lastly, lest I be told I focus on pitching to the exclusion of everything else, these same injury concerns are true of every player on the field. They are true of baseball as well as softball. I had a conversation with the father of the CF of our high school's varsity baseball team. He didn't pick up a ball during the winter. Then during the pre-season and after games began, he was doing a lot of long distance throwing. He felt a twinge in his elbow. That twinge continued to progress until recently. Now he is the first baseman of our high school varsity baseball team. I also know of one very good softball catcher who suffered from a dead arm recently. I don't know what her out of season regimen is but I suspect it does not involve much throwing. It may not be easy to find a place to do some winter throwing but it is certainly not impossible.
Well, that about does it. I have many more random thoughts but I've about maxed out your attention span for today. Have a good weekend and may the weather be good enough to get a few games in.Labels: lessons, Offense, parenting, players, pre-season preparation
 
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