Switch Pitching 101

Pitchers Fielding Practice ( PFP) is essential for the success of a young switch pitcher. A good pitcher will field a ground ball for an out each inning, if they are prepared to make the play. In games, fielding should feel natural without much thought. Fielding takes regular focused practice. Here are some basic fielding drills that every pitcher should practice. Time required: ten minutes a session, twice a week. Ground Balls If you throw low and away, then you should get a lot of ground ball hits. Practice fielding ground balls to either side. Charge the slow rollers and get a good angle so you can make an easy throw to first base. If the ball is out of reach for making a good stop then let it go to your fielders rather than deflect the ball off of your glove. Deflected balls often end with a runner on first base. Pop-ups Call pop ups within easy reach. Let your skilled infielders make the catches past the pitching rubber. Avoid deflecting the ball out of reach, as this...

Throw fastballs low and away. Throw first pitch strikes to get ahead in the count. Take a little off the speed of the throws to have more control of your pitches. Use the four-seam or two-seam grip with the same arm angle and velocity. The two-seamer will sink and have more movement. Add an occasional change-up to keep the hitter guessing. Spend extra time in practice working on a change-up, since it can help to neutralize good hitters in games. Young players often try to throw as hard as they can - trying to blow the ball past the hitter. It's fun to strike out hitters with the heat, but often it is better to back off a little on the velocity and throw strikes. The pitcher should aim to keep the hitter off-balance and mess up their timing. They can do this with pitch location, movement and changing speed. Slow it down An experienced umpire shared this tip:  It's better for a young pitcher to throw 5 miles an hour slower and locate the pitch in the strike zone than to ...

Short Distance Pitching Try pitching from a shorter distance when working on new pitches - like a change up.  Players who are learning to switch pitch can work from a short distance using their non-dominant arm. Make sure to use the 4-seam grip and focus on throwing fastballs. Good pitching mechanics are essential so make sure to take lessons from an experienced pitching coach. Pro players successfully use short distance throwing: Roger Clemens' repertoire between starts includes a day of 35-40 pitches at 75-80% velocity.  The day after this workout, he throws a "short session" - throwing from 55 feet instead of 60' 6".  This helps Clemens to keep the ball down, and he feels this work transfers to his regular mound throwing. (baseballfit.com) Long Distance Pitching Just like playing long toss can strengthen the arm and improve accuracy, practicing "long pitching" can help pitchers to develop a stronger arm and more accurate throws. Try adding 1...

Learning Long Toss with Mike Scot t Short instructional video discussing the proper way to throw long toss during warm ups. Long Toss Training - Steve Ellis The way to develop big league arm strength is simple: throw. Covers high school long toss program - 12 minutes of throwing long toss - twice a week in the off-season.   Steve Ellis strongly encourages all players to take at least two full months off every year to allow the arm, body, and mind to fully rest and recuperate.

In baseball, a  switch - hitter  bats right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers.  Most switch-hitters are right-handed throwers. This is the case since the vast majority of players are right-handed.  Switch hitters are rare in baseball. In youth leagues, there might be two or three players out of 100 who regularly switch hit. At the college level, there are only one or two switch hitters on each team (3 to 6%). Only one of 33 players on the UW baseball team is a switch hitter. Two players on the top ranked Arizona State baseball team are switch hitters. Two players, out of forty, on the 2010 Seattle Mariners roster are switch hitters. Switch Hitter Changing Boxes A batter may switch to the other box after every pitch if he so desires until the pitcher is set. He may switch from one box to the other on any ball strike count. One of the oldest myths in baseball is the one that says you can't switch boxes ...

Busting Baseball Myths: Scientist Throws Big Curveballs  livescience.com 20 April 2006 Your Little League coach probably didn't know it, but every time he sent you to the plate with the instructions "keep your eye on the ball," he was giving you an impossible task. And if you followed the coach's advice of positioning yourself directly under a popup, you probably struggled to catch balls in the outfield, too. Myth: A left-hander shouldn't play catcher I have seen a few left-handed all-star catchers in youth baseball. They had no trouble throwing out runners trying to steal second base. In fact, their throws were often better than right-handed catchers. They had  no problem catching a runner trying to steal third base. Catching the low outside pitch was easier for the lefty, who is catching with their right hand. A righty has to catch the outside pitch backhanded, which a number of kids drop or miss.  You may not see a lefty catcher in the big leagues or college...

By  Patrick Newman NPB Tracker    18 January 2009 It’s not often you see a switch-pitcher come along, but we have two such ambidextrous prospects to watch in  Nippon Pro Baseball ( NPB). Both pitchers were  selected in the 2008 draft and will make their debuts this season. Natural lefty  Kazuki Miyata  was selected in the 4th round  by the Seibu Lions. Miyata started throwing right handed in high school as an exercise in balance, and kept it up in junior college as it helped him alleviate back pain. He hasn’t thrown right handed in an official game, but is still working on his right handed pitching and has learned to throw a curve. Yakult instructional draftee  Rafael Fernandez  is also a natural lefty, but throws right handed all the time.  Sponichi explains  that when Fernandez started playing baseball in Brazil when he was 10, he thought that the ball must be thrown with the right hand. Fernandez threw lefty in Yaku...