Q. What are the hardest pitches to hit?
General Belief:
• Off-speed pitches
http://www.stats.com/insights/mlb/digging-into-the-data-behind-baseballs-10-toughest-pitches/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203547904574278432133582224
Other Philosophies:
• Fastballs
"A well-located fastball is still the hardest pitch to hit in the big leagues," Ryan Zimmerman said. "I think some people forget that sometimes."
"Absolutely, no question. Totally agree with that. And that's how you get quick outs," Joe Maddon added. "The group that goes away from that, it boggles my mind. They don't understand that concept."
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/45834916/hitters-and-pitchers-agree-there-is-no-pitch-tougher-to-hit-in-baseball-than-a-well-placed-fastball/
• Fastballs down and Away
I'm not telling them to throw every pitch down and away, but as long as you have that pitch, you're always going to be good. I had a coach one time say, "Leo, how do you teach guys to pitch inside?" I said, "I teach them down-and-away." He said, "What do you mean?" I said, "They can dictate, then, when they want to go in."
Leo Mazzone - http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=mazzone
More on Leo Mazzone - http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2015/5/13/8585249/leo-mazzone-profile-feature
• Any pitch a hitter is not timed up for
By understanding where the Hitter’s Attention is, you can best pitch around it.
Perry Husband - https://perryhusband.wordpress.com/tag/effective-velocity-pitching-instruction-elevated-pitches-ev-pitching-perry-husband/
Q. Which pitch is the correct pitch to throw at a certain time (Pitch calling/Pitch Sequencing)?
General Belief:
• Mixing it up
By throwing inside and outside pitches you are disrupting a batter's balance. By throwing up and down you are changing their eye levels. By throwing hard and soft pitches you are disrupting a batter's timing. If you mix all three of these things up a batter will have a hard time hitting you.
John Madden - http://www.yougoprobaseball.com/Pitching-Philosophies.html
Other Philosophies:
• The pitch that a hitter is not timed for
Effective Velocity (EV) is the study of pitch speed and how location changes the reaction time by forcing the hitter to hit the ball at a contact point that is different than they were ready for.
When a pitch at 90 MPH is inside or outside, the speed “Effectively” changes because the hitter has to hit the ball earlier or later as though the pitch gained or lost speed. So, in essence, the pitch location has caused the hitter to gain or lose reaction time.
For every 6? inches that the ball changes laterally, there is a little less than 3MPH gained or lost. EV is like time management – only for reaction time. Bottom line in an at bat, whoever understands how timing works will win most of the battles.
Perry Husband - https://www.hittingisaguess.com/index.php/effective-velocity/
• Effective Velocity Elevation
EV is made up of many smaller facets, that if taken one at a time, are easily understood. One of these elements is elevation. When a pitch is thrown down and inside at 88 MPH, followed by another pitch at the same speed, only higher but also inside, the elevated pitch will be faster. The pitch does not add speed really, it just goes to an area that forces the hitter to react sooner. So, “Effectively”, the elevated pitch gains speed or EV.
Perry Husband - https://perryhusband.wordpress.com/tag/effective-velocity-pitching-instruction-elevated-pitches-ev-pitching-perry-husband/
• Effective Velocity - Tunnels
The idea behind pitch tunnels is to “hide” different pitch types by having them share the same trajectory — or tunnel — for the first 20 feet out of the hand.
Article - http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-effects-of-pitch-sequencing/
• Effective Velocity - Concepts
Effective Velocity Article - http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2014/6/18/5818380/effective-velocity-pitching-theory-profile-perry-husband
• Effective Velocity - Greg Maddux sequence
When asked if he had a particular pitch sequence that stood out, Maddux replied that he did have one three-pitch approach that stood out as especially effective against even the most advanced hitters, and the sequence was rooted in Effective Velocity. Maddux claimed that he would start with a change-up located up-and-in to the hitter, would follow it up with another change-up down and away, and finish high and inside with his fastball. The Effective Velocity of that particular sequence was approximately 83, 77, and then 94 mph, with a timing adjustment that made the fastball feel like Clemens-level heat after being lulled to sleep with the cambios.
Greg Maddux - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19173
• Strikeout sequences
While the results of this study may have been predictable to you, I have to say that I had not expected that the three pitch sequence filled with the same pitch type would be by far the most common, nor had I realized how much the slider had taken over the league compared to the curveball and changeup!
Jon Roegele - http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2013/7/26/4558940/strikeout-pitch-sequences-pitchfx-sabermetrics
Q. Who should call the pitches?
General Belief:
• Catcher
"I grew up believing that educating the catcher on how to call a game was extremely important, and I have done this for the past 32 years with pretty good success."
Wayne Graham, Rice Baseball http://www.baseballnews.com/old/features/stories/callingpitches.htm
• Catcher
It really shouldn't have been a surprise to me as an overwhelming percentage of youth coaches have decided to call the game for their young catchers. I believe this to be a mistake. If the man sitting on the bucket knows which pitch is the right pitch, then why doesn't he teach the catcher how to do it? It may take some time, and some (a lot of) patience, and it may actually cost the team a couple of wins (heaven forbid) but it will give these aspiring players the foundation of what it really means to wear the "tools of intelligence."
Mike Matheny - http://mikematheny.com/mikes-blog/calling-pitches
Other Philosophies:
• Coach
"How many college football coaches are letting their quarterbacks call the plays?" said Mainieri, knowing the answer is not many. "Why? Because the coaches understand they have a greater knowledge."
Paul Mainieri, LSU - http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_iLVVZNS7bkJ:www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/05/sec_baseball_teams_vary_on_who.html+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
• Coach
"As a coach, if a mistake is made with a pitch, I would much rather it be on one of our coaches having called that pitch than a 19-year-old catcher being questioned on a pitch call," he said. "Coaches also feel they're putting their team in a higher percentage to succeed."
Mitch Gaspard, Alabama http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_iLVVZNS7bkJ:www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/05/sec_baseball_teams_vary_on_who.html+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
• Coach suggestion
In our system I’m basically suggesting a pitch, then our catcher is seconding it, and the pitcher commits to it - we don’t have any “well I didn’t want to throw that.” Our guys can shake off whenever they want.
Scott Brown, Vanderbilt - https://insidepitchonline.com/2013/05/27/vanderbilts-scott-brown/
