Skip to main content

Three pitches for Little Leaguers

Forget about throwing the curveball when you are 9 years olds. Here are three pitches that a Little League pitcher can use to keep hitters off balance and mess up their timing.

1) 4-seam fastball
2) 2-seam fastball
3) changeup

These pitches can be thrown with the same arm angle and speed. The key is to locate the pitches on the corners or low in the zone for strikes.

4-seam Fastball - The Heater
Use the 4-seam fastball on most of your pitches. Throw the fastball on the inside or outside corner for strikes. If they start fouling it off, then switch to the two seam fastball.

2-seamer - The Sinker
Hitters have trouble tracking the movement of a 2-seam fastball, especially when thrown by a lefty pitcher. The 2-seamer thrown toward the middle of the plate, by a lefty, can run low and away from a right handed hitter. The pitch will run to the outside of a left-handed hitter, when thrown by a right-handed pitcher.

Cy Young award winner Félix Hernández throws a fastball that has been clocked at 100 mph, although he does not rely entirely on overpowering velocity. Instead he uses a two-seam fastball, which comes in a bit slower but with more movement and the ball sinks as it approaches the batter. (Wikipedia)

The changeup - Keeping the hitter off balance
The chageup works great for keeping a hitter guessing and makes them look silly when they lunge at the slow moving ball. The pitch is thrown with the same arm motion as the fastball, but using a loose three finger grip.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fastball Velocity - How fast do kids throw?

How fast does a Little League pitcher throw? The average fastball is between 50-60 mph for a  pitcher in the Majors division of Little League (11-13 yo). Pitchers in the Little League World Series throw fastballs 60-70+ mph. Only a few pitchers touched 70+ mph in 2015 and 2016. One man-child hit 81 mph on the radar. This velocity is almost unhittable from 46 feet  and extremely rare for a 13 year old. #18 RHP Carlos Gonzalez - Panama 79-81 mph fastball  105 mph MLB equivalent reaction time #18 RHP Jaekyeong Kim - South Korea 75-76 mph fastball #19 RHP Ryan Harlost - Mid-Atlantic, Endwell, NY 71-74 mph fastball Threw a complete game to win the 2016 Little League World Series Loreto Siniscalchi , a 6'1" pitcher from Canada, threw in the mid 70s and completely dominated the hitters from Japan.  He led Team Canada to its first victory over Japan in 18 years. Big right-hander Isaiah Head from Kentucky threw 70-73 mph fastballs. His record was 3-0, 12 I

Pitchers Glove Rules - Size and Color

What are the rules on a pitchers glove? According to the official baseball rules, a pitchers glove can be up to 12 inches in size , of any weight , and any color except white or gray as long as it is not distracting.  The Akadema ABX-00 glove, pictured above, is 12 inches,  solid black and is not distracting according to local umpires. Little League Rules Gray glove is not allowed for pitching  White glove is not allowed for pitching Little League Rule 1.14: Each fielder, other than the first baseman and the catcher may wear a glove not more than 12 inches long nor more than 7 3/4 inches wide, measured from the base of the thumb crotch to the outer edge of the glove. The glove may be of any weight. Little League Rule  1.15 (a) : The pitcher's glove may not, exclusive of the piping, be white or light gray, nor, in the judgment of an umpire, distracting in any manner. (source: Little League Baseball Rules Regarding Bats and Gloves ) Off

Angel Macias pitched a perfect game in the 1957 Little League World Series

Angel Macias, ambidextrous pitcher - threw a perfect game in the 1957 Little League World Series Angel Macias, an ambidextrous pitcher from Mexico, threw a perfect game in the 1957 Little League World Series. Macias set down all 18 batters, in six innings, from the  Northern La Mesa Little League to win the  Little League World Series. 1957 Little League World Series Newsreel Stock Footage The Perfect Game Movie   TIME Magazine, Monday, Sept. 02, 1957 Ambidextrous Angel By the time they got to Williamsport, Pa. last week, the barnstorming little ballplayers from Monterrey, Mexico were just about worn out. They had beaten their way across country for a month, had played and won eleven games from Texas to Kentucky. Coach  César  Faz  called on his best pitcher, ambidextrous Angel Macias, a twelve-year-old 88-pounder with a fine assortment of curves and sliders, plus a plain, old-fashioned fast ball under disciplined control. Against Bridgeport, Ang