Advice For You To Pitch A No-Hitter At Your Next Baseball Game.

As a baseball pitcher, you absolutely must make pitching adjustments throughout a game. Just as you make your adjustments, remember that the good hitters will adjust to you also, which is one of the several reasons they are good hitters. Baseball pitching tips quite often involve clever use of the mind as well as the body.

If you made a good hitter look bad on a change up, he's going to adjust. There is a very fine line you have to walk here. If a particular batter is struggling with a certain pitch or a certain location, by all means continue to throw it during the game. On the other hand, proceed with a little caution and always remember that if he's a good hitter he may adjust also, so don't "go to the well" once too often. Like I said, this can be very tricky. If a good hitter has trouble when I went "off speed" to him in his first two at bats, by all means I should consider to continue going off speed to him. But, I must proceed with lots of caution because if he is a good hitter, he knows what I'm probably going to do. At the risk of contradicting myself, it may possibly be the right time to sneak a fastball by him. Does this sound like a chess match to you? Well, it's because it is a chess match that goes on between a good pitcher and a good hitter. Baseball pitching is not just getting the ball and throwing it to your catcher.

You have to make adjustments each time you have an outing. If you have three pitches in your arsenal, on some days maybe only two of them will be working for you. You still have to show the hitters the one that's not working. Just show it to them as a ball and not as a strike.

If you have a great breaking ball on a particular day, it will become a hot topic on the other team's bench in no time at all. It might be time to start throwing more fast balls. Then, the opposing bench will start to talk about your "heater."

If you are fortunate and have good command of three pitches on a particular day, then they very well may be talking about how they have a major problem on their hands!

The Greatest Baseball Pitching Tips That You Did Not Think Of.

I've answered hundreds of baseball questions in the last forty plus years on baseball hitting, baseball pitching tips, baseball coaching etc, covering over four decades. I can proudly say that not once did I ever think the question was not a worthwhile question and I always showed the utmost respect to the person asking the question. However, there is one question on the topic of baseball pitching that I'm having a hard time coming to grips with. It is way off base, no pun intended. I must have heard it 1000 times. The question is one that is asked to a baseball pitcher about pitching to a real good hitter.

The big question asked to the pitcher is, "how do you pitch to...... so and so?"

The sportswriter, sportscaster or baseball commentator is asking a pitcher how he pitches to a certain outstanding baseball hitter. I've learned a lot over the years by simply listening to these guys. For the most part, they are very intelligent and great "baseball people." But like I said, this question irks me!

Does the person asking the question think that the answer may be "breaking balls, low and away?"

Or does the person think the answer is "fastballs up and in?"

Or can it be "changeups down low?"

The proper answer given by any intelligent pitcher will always be the same and I've heard this answer 1,000 times in the last four or five decades. It's almost word for word, the same exact answer.

And the answer to this annoying question is... "I try to mix up my pitches, change speeds and move the ball around on him."

What other answer can there possibly be?

OK, I'm kidding a little bit about being annoyed. In all honesty, the question really doesn't bother me but I want to make a point.

I understand that as a pitcher, you may have a favorite pitch you like to use to a certain very good hitter, but you can't rely on it exclusively. Let's use an outstanding right-handed hitter as an example.

If you kept throwing him fast balls low and away, it's just a matter of time before he creams one to right field or to right center field. If you kept throwing him fastballs up and in, eventually he will cream one to left field or left center.

If you threw him all breaking balls, again eventually he will clobber you.

The point here is that real good hitters do not have glaring weaknesses! That's the reason they are real good baseball hitters. They may handle some pitches better than others, but they have no glaring weaknesses.

And the pitcher has to "mix it up" because the real good hitters will make adjustments.

If a batter is having a hard time with your changeup, you can't simply keep throwing it. The good hitter will go from looking terrible and then on about the fourth changeup he will put the baseball in orbit.

That's why your only approach is to mix up your pitches, change speeds, change locations and there is no set answer as to where you specifically try to locate a pitch or what particular pitch you throw to get them out.

It's not really a bad question but I just wanted to make a point.

One of the most important baseball pitching tips to remember is "different pitches, different speeds and different locations." That should be your only approach to be successful against the great hitters.

Mix it up and go get em!

Teach Your Pitchers On Intimidation!

If a pitcher is throwing a very hard baseball in the general direction of a hitter there is no reason on earth why a pitcher should ever be intimidated by any batter! If anything, the hitter should feel the intimidation. I don't care how good or how great a baseball hitter he is. My thought process is that first of all, it comes down to simple math.

Even the great baseball hitters make outs more often than they get hits. So if I'm facing a hitter that has an average of .400, that means 6 out of 10 official at bats I will win the battle. If I'm a slightly better than average baseball pitcher, that means that I probably will get him out about 7 out of 10 times or possibly even a little more often.

Several advantages the pitcher has over the hitter:

1. The pitcher knows what type of pitch is being thrown and the hitter does not.

2. The pitcher knows the speed of the pitch and the hitter does not.

3. The pitcher knows where he wants to locate the pitch and the batter does not.

4. Last but not least, the pitcher is standing on "the hill" and is throwing a very hard baseball in the batter's general direction.

As a baseball pitcher, there is no logical reason whatsoever to feel any intimidation.

On the other hand, if a pitcher has a batter intimidated, part of the job is done before the first pitch is even thrown!

One of the better baseball pitching tips to always remember is that it is a baseball pitcher's job to make the batter uncomfortable at the plate. Baseball pitching tips are not just about throwing the baseball and often require thinking while on the hill. I am NOT implying that a baseball pitcher should throw at a batter! What I am saying is that I strongly believe there is nothing illegal or immoral about throwing a pitch six inches or so off the inside corner of the plate.

The batter's box is six inches away from the plate, right? As a baseball pitcher, I have every moral and legal right to throw into what I call that "neutral area." And if my pitch goes an inch or so beyond that neutral area, I won't lose any sleep over it.

Once again, I have no intention of hitting the batter with the baseball.

If I see a great hitter get up to the plate and he is just dying to clobber me, I would not hesitate to work him "low and away" with my pitches and occasionally throw the fastball six inches or so off the inside corner of the plate.

The following short story is strictly for your benefit and not mine. Back in the late 1960's, when I was about 15 years old, I used to occasionally pitch against a fabulous hitter named Jimmy.

Jimmy was a feared hitter, strong as an ox, and it was only fitting that he was a catcher. I swear that when he came up to bat I could see smoke coming out of his ears and he was a very aggressive baseball hitter.

Every time we played his team and I was pitching, I would give him my "calling card" by throwing a fast ball inside off the plate, by about six inches or so. Just a friendly reminder to not get too comfortable up there and a reminder that I'm throwing a very hard baseball in his direction.

Once again, I want to emphasize that this is NOT to be confused with throwing at a batter, which is morally and legally wrong. I had a great deal of success in my showdowns with Jimmy and it was not a coincidence.

If I wasn't intimidated by Jimmy, a truly great hitter, I don't want you to ever be intimidated by any batter either. It is one of the more important baseball pitching tips to keep batters uncomfortable at the plate!

Baseball Pitching Tips

Every kid that loves baseball has fantasized about being a great pro pitcher and throwing a perfect game. It's one of those universal American dreams of little boys everywhere. While dreams like these should never be quashed, its important for responsible adults to teach kids how to pitch a baseball with the correct form and control. Without such guidance, overly enthusiastic children run a real risk of doing damage to their arms, elbows, and shoulder joints when throwing baseballs.

The first thing ever kid needs to learn before he takes the mound to pitch in a baseball game is the correct form. Not only will this give his pitches more power and control, it will also put less strain on the important and vulnerable parts of the body. There are two big keys for baseball pitchers. First, it must be taught to youngsters that effective and safe pitching is powered mainly by the legs, not the arm.

A good training tip is to have players watch several pro baseball games, paying close attention to the form of the pitchers as they wind up and throw. Have them note how the legs are what propel them, and that the arm is really just a means of directing the ball. Kids arent analyzers, and most of them will attempt to pitch a baseball using all arm strength. This is sure path to injury!

The other crucially important aspect of pitching a baseball that must be taught early is the role of the elbow. The natural tendency, especially in kids, is to simply try to throw the baseball as hard as they can each and every time. Again, this invites injury and can actually rob them of speed on every pitch.

The proper form is to train the elbow to lead the hand. The elbow should stay ahead of hand until just before release of the baseball. This takes some practice, but once a child learns to do it without forcing it, he s on the path to better control, more power, and (most importantly) a safe baseball throwing motion.

Caution: in conjunction with this move, baseball pitchers must learn to keep their throwing arm's shoulder in close to their body. One of the biggest hazards is letting the shoulder jut forward or to the side early in the pitching motion. The elbow moving ahead will put strain on the shoulder joint if it isn't kept close in. Again, this takes repeated practice, especially for kids for whom baseball pitching is new and whose bodies are not yet under their full control.

A good idea is to impress upon the young pitcher that speed isnt the top priority in good baseball pitching, control is. This serves two purposes. First, it will help you slow him down in order to ingrain the proper and safe movements outlined above. Second, its generally easier to build up speed after control is learned when throwing a baseball than it is to learn control after speed.

Pitching Tips for Kids

"A lot of people think throwing and pitching are two different things. That really isn't the case. If you don't learn how to throw, you aren't going to be a good pitcher. The only difference is there is a leg kick when you pitch," said Coutts.

The Glove. He said the use of the glove goes under the radar.

"The glove helps you keep your direction and balance," said Coutts. "If you glove falls below your waist, your shoulders won't be parallel. Your glove should always stay above your waist and should point in the direction of home plate. As you rotate through [on your delivery], you should pull your glove into your chest.

"You also want to get the ball out of your glove quickly. The ball should come out of the glove as the stride [front] foot and knee start toward home plate," said Coutts.

If the pitcher waits too long, his stride foot will land early and his pitches will stay up.

Warmup drills. Coutts will have pitchers throw while on both knees, on one knee and with their feet wider apart than the shoulders. He will also have them throw from 100 feet while shuffling their feet to help stretch out their arms. They will also have 10 toes facing a partner and will rotate their upper body when they throw without using their feet.