Baseball Early Training for Pitchers

Early-Season Baseball Pitching Training

As is true in the case of every ball player, the baseball pitcher should begin his early-season training by getting his whole body into good condition. It is a grave mistake to think that all a baseball pitcher has to do is to get his arm into shape to throw nine innings twice a week. Many a baseball pitcher has weakened in the last part of the game, not because his arm was not powerful enough, but because the rest of his physique was exhausted; he had neglected the rest of his body while training the arm alone. Road-work, dumb-bells, handball, any- thing to bring all the muscles into play, regularly, and out-of-doors if possible, will give a man the right start in his training. And during the early-season work, the pitchers, when not in the box, should work hard to get their legs in good condition. To get good wind and endurance chase fly balls in the outfield. Practise fielding bunts off the side lines; this will help wonderfully in games—and the work will help to put you in sound condition. Another excellent exercise is that of batting fly balls to the outfield; swinging the bat will strengthen the arms and the back muscles. In order to pitch a long, hard game, your whole body will be called upon to reinforce your arm, and you will be called upon to hit and run bases like any other player; so prepare yourself by careful training.

Pitching Drills Part 1

THE PITCHER

Little need be said of the relative value of a pitcher to his team. To any one who knows baseball at all, this value is quite apparent. Other things being equal, the team with the best pitcher usually wins. And yet how few people know just what constitutes good pitching! To the average spectator, a man seems to be a good pitcher if he has lots of speed and good curves. But to a close student of the game it becomes at once apparent that a first-class pitcher must have a fast ball (and generally a curve), a slow ball, and control. The last-named qualification is the vitally important one.

Control

And yet how few pitchers to-day can define the word control! The significance of the word pitcher to them is that he is one of nine men occupying a definite position in the game of baseball. He works by prearranged signals with the catcher, who may—for illustration—use one finger for a fast ball and two fingers for a curve ball. We will grant that the pitcher has an abundance of speed and good curves; if the catcher signals for the fast ball, it is thrown, high or low, over the centre of the plate or wide—it does not seem to matter much to the pitcher—he has pitched a fast ball since it was called for. The same thing is often true of the curve ball. And the majority of pitchers to-day are satisfied to let it go at that! How often one hears the remark, "He has everything in the box to-day; yet the opposing batters are hitting the ball all over the field," and again, "He has a thousand-dollar arm and a five-cent head."

These pitchers think that control means placing every ball that they throw right over the heart of the base, waist-high. That is exactly what it does not mean. Strictly speaking, control means that ability in a pitcher which enables him (after studying the batter) to throw that ball which the batter cannot hit safely—always placing it either high or low (at the shoulders or knees) and either on the inside or outside corner of the base, avoiding the waist-high ball over the centre of the base.

Study the batsman as he takes his position to hit. In delivering the fast ball, try to place it at what is the batter's weakest point. And in pitching the curve, try to break it low; that is the only safe and successful place to break it.

How often the remark is heard that " He hasn't a thing but a glove!" and yet this same pitcher may be a consistent winner. But study him well, and it will be found that he has two of the greatest assets—namely, brains and control: brains to note and remember a batter's weakness, and the control to pitch to it.

The pitcher, on those days when he is not pitching, should study the batters from the bench. This will enable him to pick out the various batters' weaknesses, and he can use the knowledge thus gained when he is in the box. While in the game, remember the balls which the various batters hit successfully—and try something else on them the next time they are at bat. If you find that during the game you are being hit freely, stop and try to "think out" what the trouble is; and the chances are you will find that you have been putting the ball over the middle of the base, breaking your curves high, or giving the batters just what they like. Stop and think! Do not become enraged and try to drive the ball past the batter's club, because "the faster they come, the farther they will go" (unless you mix a little brains with your speed). In these days when everybody has the art of curving the ball the successful pitcher depends to a great extent upon a change of pace; that is, the alternating of fast balls with curves and slow balls. This change of pace will do more than anything else to prevent being hit freely.

Simple Secret Drill that will help your team WIN!

If you have a player who is suffering from a long, looping swing, then the old standby of the fence drill may be just the prescription for what ails him.

In hitting, the name of the game is batspeed, period.

In order to obtain optimal batspeed, the bat must be held with the elbow "in the slot" - in other words, the arms should remain close to the body, allowing the hips and large muscles of the body to provide the power of the swing.

Many times, however, a player will take the old adage of "throwing their hands at the ball" too seriously and end up extending their arms very early in the swing. This not only causes a slow bat - i.e. loss of power - but tends to force a "dip" in the swinging motion, which leads to a high percentage of easy popouts.

To do this drill, set your player facing a fence, slightly more than one bat length away (make sure that there are no fence posts withing the player's swing zone). Have the player swing properly through the zone.

If the batter "casts out" with his hands, the bat will contact the fence, causing instant negative feedback. The only way that the drill can be completed successfully is by maintaining a compact swing.

The drill can also be varied by placing the player's back shoulder very near to a fence or net, but the concept remains the same - a proper swing works, while a long swing or a "dip" results in the bat striking the fence.

A big part of successful baserunning involves properly reading balls in the dirt. This drill will help your players to learn to properly judge the trajectory of a pitched ball that bounces in the dirt.

Station a baserunner at each base - first, second, and third. Runners should be independent of one another, since the responsibilities for each base differ slightly. Have a coach on the mound, pitching a variety of pitches - mix in balls and strikes, as well as pitches that will bounce.

Any time a pitch is about to bounce, the entire team must yell "Dirt!" This lets you know if everyone is paying attention, and players tend to like the excuse to yell.

Baserunners on first should automatically go if they know the ball is going to bounce - if they wait to see if the catcher has blocked the pitch, they are too late.

Runners on second should read the pitch and decide whether it is safe to go - if the ball gets away from the catcher, they should go, whereas if the catcher blocks the ball, they should stay put.

Similarly, the runner on third should read and react. Take a lead, get a good crow hop as the ball nears the plate, then react to the bounce of the ball.

Emphasize that each base is independent of one another; this is not a game situation in which a runner going from first automatically forces the runner from second. This is a drill to teach the different reactions needed from each base to a pitch in the dirt. Emphasize your runners' lead techniques, making sure that they don't lead too far, or are caught leaning the wrong way... it's not a bad idea to have your coach occasionally make a move to pick off one of the runner, just to keep them honest.

It's also a good idea to keep two catchers for this drill, to avoid tiring one out too much.