by Nick Vandell

Created on: June 02, 2008

I've been a baseball fan for most of my life, but the act of pitching has always fascinated me. For me, there is no better baseball game than a well-pitched 1-0 complete game shut-out. Such a well-pitched game could not have been achieved without some high-level thought process taking into account many factors.

Although very rare these days, a complete game shutout or 27 outs takes a high degree of mental toughness and stamina in order to get through a great line-up three or four times. This is just one of the many reasons why I wound up becoming a pitching coach. I am a pitching coach in my son's baseball league and when it comes to the art of pitching, I always emphasize on the following key factors;

1-Change in speed
2-Location
3-The types of pitches they can throw

Let's focus on factor number 1, the Change in Speed. Whether your pitcher throws 90 MPH or 30 MPH, a change in speed is essential in a baseball game. Let's say we are not fortunate enough to have a pitcher that can throw 90 and we must settle for one that can throw just 40. Okay, our pitcher has a 40 MPH fastball, but if he has a change-up that can reduce that speed to 20, it can have the same result as if you had someone who can throw 90 with a change-up reduction to 70. The results should still be the same, so long as the pitcher utilizes another important factor along with the Change-up, which brings us to factor number 2...Location.

Paint the Corners. It's a cliche but nevertheless, very effective. It's nothing new, however you must get the call from the umpire. Once your pitcher gets the call, he must make note of those locations and continue to utilize them to his advantage throughout the game. He must know his spots, so longs as he has a good umpire who calls a good consistent game. Even when the pitcher up at bat, he must note the locations where the umpires are calling strikes. So location is a key factor, so long as your pitcher is correctly changing his speeds trying to get the hitters off-balance. He'll have to throw inside every now and then as well in order to be successful. If your pitcher is struggling to find the strike-zone, he may need a couple of out-pitches; which finally brings me to key factor number three...the types of pitches your pitcher throws.

You must know what your pitcher throws. How much stuff does he have? Does he have the classic three; a Fastball, Curve-ball and a Change-up? Or does he have just one; a fastball? Well if your pitcher is fortunate enough to have the classic three, just mix up those pitches using location and change of speed, but try not to use the fastball until he really needs it. When he is struggling and needs his fastball, try to avoid throwing it over the plate unless its a 3-0 count, otherwise the batter will just sit on his fastball. Chances are they won't sit on it if its 3-0 as they're willing to take the walk nine times out of ten. At least you have a chance to get to 3-1 and maybe on the next pitch he'll swing 3-1 at your boy's curve and foul it off or pop it up.

If your boy throws just one pitch, the fastball, just encourage him to develop a change-up. Tell him to throw slower and use location and before you know it, he'll have two pitches. In the meantime, you can have him learn and develop a curve.

In general, you want to have your pitchers have possess the classic three pitches, use location and change speeds and hopefully he'll be on his way to getting his 27 outs.

Also, try to teach them to love pitching. Teach them to think instead of throw. Its like playing chess, planning 2 or 3 moves ahead. They must always be a step or two ahead of the batter, planning their next pitch.

As I said earlier, there's nothing like a well-pitched game.

Play Ball!

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