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It is mandatory for baseball pitchers to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the baseball hitters they face. There are certain very clever things a pitcher can do. If the hitter takes a practice swing before facing you, pay attention to his practice swing! If he appears to be hitting an inside pitch with it, he is probably a pull hitter. If he appears to be hitting the ball the opposite way with his practice swing, chances are he likes to go the opposite way. If he appears to be hitting a high pitch, he probably likes the ball up. If he appears to be hitting a low pitch, you guessed it, he’s probably a good low ball hitter.

One of the best baseball pitching tips to remember is that professional baseball hitters, all the way down to very young players like to practice what they do well and not what they do NOT do well. This very often includes their practice swings.

Some Guidelines To Use BEFORE You Actually See The Hitter Swing:

Batter Has A Closed Stance. He probably likes the ball away from him and out over the plate. Find out if he can handle a pitch inside.

Batter Has An Open Stance. He probably likes the ball inside. Find out if he can handle the tough low and away strike.

Batter Stands Deep In The Box. I would be thinking primarily breaking balls. If he doesn’t want to “catch” my breaking ball early, let’s go with it and see how he handles my late break.

Batter Stands Shallow In The Box. Well, if the batter wants to give me an extra couple of feet on my fastball, I’ll take the extra foot or two he’s giving me to see if he can catch up to my heater.

Batter Has His Hands Held High. Almost always likes the ball low, with very few exceptions! You can check it out for yourself right now. Put your hands up high right now, by your back ear and pretend you are holding a bat. Move your hands like you are swinging at a chest high fastball. It doesn’t feel right, does it? Pitch him primarily up in the zone until he proves you to be wrong.

Batter Has The Bat Curled Around His Neck. Find out if he can handle a pitch that is up and in. His bat has to travel extremely far to hit that pitch well.

Some Thought Processes To Use AFTER You Have Seen The Hitter Swing:

Your first pitch is a real good fastball and he pulls it and hits a seed that’s a foul about 350 feet from home plate. You now know there is a very good chance he loves the fast ball. You should strongly consider going off speed on your next pitch. The only risk is that if he’s a good hitter, he might be thinking along with you after what he just did to your fast ball. (This is part of the chess match that takes place between a good pitcher and a good hitter.)

Good hitters are good hitters for a reason and that’s because they are always thinking. OK, he has clobbered your first pitch fastball. I’m not saying that you should not go off speed but you do have another option, considering this guy appears to love the fastball. The thought process goes like this…OK, you love the fastball, well I’ll give you another fastball. But this time it’s going to be six inches or so off the outside corner. Remember, if he loves to hit the fastball, he may chase one out of the strike zone because he doesn’t know if he’ll get another one from you. After two fastballs, he may start to think that you are going to stay with your heater. You might then go off speed, on your third pitch. If this sounds like a chess match to you, it is because it is a chess match that should be going on between a good pitcher and a good batter!

What If You Start The Batter Off With A Curve Ball?

You may start a hitter off with a curve ball and he may act like he’s never seen a curve ball before. I experienced this first hand when I was pitching at the age of 15. I had a very successful outing in our championship game. A player on the other team was a feared and outstanding hitter! I knew very little about him other than that everybody knew he was a tremendous hitter. Now please keep in mind the purpose of this article…I want to get to know him as quickly as possible. He had smoke coming out of his ears when he came up to the plate and I thought, “Oh boy, here we go.”

My first pitch to him was a slow curve ball. He swung down at the ball with the very unusual appearance that he was hammering a spike into the ground. I had him “chopping the wood,” as it’s referred too. I remember his timing was disrupted and literally saw the look of bewilderment on his face after the pitch. After this peculiar swing, I actually saw his eyes squint as he was shaking his head from left to right and right to left as if saying “no.” Well, the only thing I knew about him was that he batted something ridiculous like .600. I now also knew, after only one pitch that he does not like my curve ball.

In two subsequent at bats, he hesitated and decided to swing at the last fraction of a second. He was 0-3 against me and did not come close to getting a hit off me. Please…I am not making fun of Danny nor am I bragging. I have always and still have total respect for everyone on the baseball field. The only point I’m making here is for your benefit and not mine. The point is that I was able to learn a lot about this hitter after throwing one pitch! He saw fastballs off the plate and medium speed or slow curve balls the entire game. I still had to show him the fast ball because he’s a good hitter for a reason and he will make adjustments. If I threw him only curve balls, probably about the fifth one would go over the fence. He would progressively go from looking terrible to looking very good and that’s why he’s a very good hitter.

I have to be honest and level with you here. I told you I had a very successful outing and that’s totally true. We lost the game 2-1 in extra innings. I had a two hit shutout going into the last inning. We led 1-0 in the last inning and I was starting to get tired. With one out, I walked a batter. I struck out the next batter on a fastball. So there is a runner on first base and two outs. No problem. The next batter hits a fairly easy grounder to second base. Our second baseman runs over about three steps to his left, is in front of the ball and it goes through his legs. (Ouch!) I should be celebrating a 1-0 victory with a 2 hit shutout! But instead, there are now runners on first and second and still two outs. I still need one out and they have their second best hitter up. I threw him a “mistake,” a high curve ball and he singled to left center to tie the game up. The next batter popped up to end the inning and I was done for the game, as the league rules required me to leave after six innings. They scored in the first extra inning on a walk and then a double and beat us 2-1.

It’s amazing how I can remember the details from over forty years ago but I was heart broken and that’s probably why I can remember it so well. I was very upset and emotional after the game and my father, God rest his soul, had a very nice chat with me. We lived less than a mile from the park but my father and I drove around for about twenty minutes before returning home to break the bad news to my mother and sisters. He kept dwelling on my solid performance and told me, “you pitched your heart out and that’s all you can do.” My father was great and made me feel a little better but this one hurt and my tears reflected just that. (Thanks for letting me share my heartbreaking story with you.)

Okay, let’s get back to knowing a batter quickly. Let’s make sure we are clear on something. Remember that even if I see that a hitter does not like a pitch in a certain location, it does not mean that I can throw that same pitch over and over and over again and expect to be successful. Good hitters will make adjustments at the plate. I still have to show him other pitches and other locations also.

Be cautious that a batter doesn’t start out one way and then when he is actually swinging, he changes. For example, a batter may have his bat curled around his head but when he’s actually ready to hit, he changes and it’s not curled any longer.

Another example is if a batter has an open stance. He may possibly close his stance just before getting ready to swing. You have to pay attention, just like a batter who takes your pitch and follows it all the way into the catcher’s mitt to see how your pitch is moving.

Baseball pitching tips require clever use of the mind as well as the body and pitching is not simply getting the ball and throwing the pitch. Please make sure you learn a hitter’s tendencies as quickly as possible!

And don’t ever forget to take that sneaky look at those practice swings, one of the best baseball pitching tips you will ever learn!

About Author
Larry is the author of “Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away.” His VERY user friendly eBooks and CD’s cover 320 topics. ANY player, coach or baseball parent will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at LarryBaseball.com

Just as a quarterback in football uses the element of surprise, as a baseball pitcher, you too better be unpredictable. Especially when facing the better hitters! Try not to get into patterns where baseball hitters know what pitch you are going to throw next.

A very common baseball pitching problem is that many pitchers throw a first pitch fastball to most hitters. If a weak hitter is up, a first pitch fast ball is actually recommended. Just proceed with caution when you are facing the better hitters.

Let’s say you are pitching and you start off the first three batters in a game with first pitch fast balls. If you throw a first pitch fastball to their number four hitter, you really have no right to be upset if he hits a bomb off you. No right to be upset whatsoever because you were predictable. And believe me, a clean up hitter will be looking for your fastball on that first pitch. There’s a very good chance that he has observed that you have started off the first three batters with the fast ball. If he’s batting in the heart of the order, he probably makes it his business to observe what you are and what you are not doing. All good hitters watch the opposing pitcher very closely and that’s one of the reasons they are good hitters!

Good hitters look for patterns like this. They are constantly looking to gain any advantage and they are not good hitters by accident. Good hitters talk about opposing pitcher’s tendencies constantly while on the bench. As a pitcher, you want them to be talking about how you will throw any pitch on any count and how unpredictable you are. Pitchers must mix in an occasional breaking ball on the first pitch to keep the better hitters honest.

Being unpredictable is not just limited to throwing a breaking ball or an off speed pitch on the first pitch to a hitter. You can also be unpredictable when the count is 2-0 or 3-1 to a good hitter. With the count in the hitter’s favor at 2-0 or 3-1, you can practically see the smoke coming out of the good hitter’s ears as he’s digging in for your fast ball. What a perfect time to go off speed.

Batting averages on 2-0 or 3-1 changeups or breaking balls are low. Extremely low!

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

If while pitching, you have the very good fortune to have an umpire who is calling strikes on pitches not in the strike zone, don’t feel any obligation to throw strikes. If he is calling them high, why should you bring your pitches down? If he is calling them low, why should you bring your pitches up higher? The same holds true for inside and outside off the plate. Pay close attention early in a ball game to what an umpire IS or is NOT calling strikes and pitch accordingly. No matter what the rule book says for the strike zone at any level of play, no two umpires are going to call balls and strikes the same. Some have small strike zones and some have very large strike zones.

It’s 2009 and I still remember an umpire I had in high school back in the year 1968. (Boy, I’m old) Do you want to talk about a pitcher friendly umpire? I noticed very, very early in the game that if a curve ball was within a foot of home plate, he would call it a strike. Also, if it didn’t bounce in the dirt it was high enough for him to call it a strike. I was only 16 years old but I recognized in the first inning how this guy loved any curve ball he saw and was pretty much going to call it a strike if it was anywhere close to the plate. This had nothing to do with pitching mechanics and it merely required a very simple observation.

It was easy to have a very successful outing and you probably know what pitch made it a success. You guessed it. Curve balls that were six inches off the plate and just barely above being in the dirt. The umpire wasn’t intentionally trying to favor anyone or give anyone an unfair advantage. In fact, he was a very nice guy and an honorable man.

Always remember, all umpires have different strike zones and you better get to know your umpire very quickly. It’s one of the easiest things you will ever do on the mound. Baseball pitching tips require clever use of the mind as well as the body. Always remember that you don’t necessarily have to throw strikes to get good hitters out!

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

There are several different types of pitching machines. Of course, all pitching machines help you improve your baseball swing, but each type of pitching machine has a unique function and is optimized for certain use and circumstances.

There are several different types of pitching machines. Of course, all pitching machines help you improve your baseball swing, but each type of pitching machine has a unique function and is optimized for certain use and circumstances. This article discusses the five main types of pitching machines:

1) Baseball pitching machine
2) Softball pitching machine
3) Baseball – softball combo pitching machine
4) Lite ball pitching machine
5) Mini lite ball pitching machine

First, there’s the classic baseball pitching machine. It pitches regular leather baseballs, although most pitching machine manufacturers suggest using dimpled pitching machine baseballs instead. Since they don’t have seams, dimpled pitching machine balls can be pitched with more accuracy and do not wear down the pitching machine wheel as quickly. There is a wide variety of baseball pitching machines: some that throw fastballs only, some that can also throw sliders and sinkers, and some that can even throw curve balls.

Next, there’s the softball pitching machine. Most softball pitching machines can throw both 11-inch and 12-inch softballs. Here again, most manufacturers suggest using seamless, dimpled softballs since they can be thrown more accurately and are easier on the pitching machine wheel. Softball pitching machines generally have the same capabilities as baseball pitching machines in terms of pitch types, speed control, and other features. Really, the main difference is simply the size of the ball the pitching machine can throw.

Baseball – softball combo pitching machines can obviously throw both sizes of ball: baseballs and softballs (11″ and 12″). The pitching machine has a simple setting where you can specify whether you are inserting baseballs or softballs. The pitching machine is basically built to throw softballs (since they are larger), but when you set it to throw baseballs a simple mechanism compensates for the size difference and enables the pitching machine to throw baseballs instead. Baseball – softball combination pitching machines generally cost slightly more than baseball pitching machines and softball pitching machines.

Fourth, there’s the lite ball pitching machines. Lite balls are about the same size as a regular baseball, but they usually weight about one third as much. This makes them ideal for backyard batting practice. You wouldn’t be able to throw a lite ball as fast as you could a regular baseball, but lite ball pitching machines can pitch them just as fast. Many baseball pitching machines are capable of throwing lite balls.

Finally, there’s the mini lite ball pitching machine. Mini lite balls are about the size of a golf ball (approximately a third the size of a baseball) and are (as the name suggests) very light. They can be hit in your garage or even your basement (with enough room). Many baseball players use a mini lite ball pitching machine to improve their form and accuracy. If you can hit a golf-ball-sized ball, you can certainly hit a full-size baseball. Mini lite ball pitching machines are also very inexpensive.

Pitching is very important in winning baseball games. Pitching the proper way with the help of your baseball training will greatly improve your teams chance of winning.

Your pitching plan should include located fastball, quick breaking ball, change speeds, pick off and hold runners, and fielding. Pitchers should do three things when they pick up a baseball. Locate, change speeds, and throw with a proper mechanical delivery.

Proper delivery mechanics should help a pitcher increase velocity, throw better breaking balls, have better control, reduce injury, and build confidence. Pitchers should be able to pitch from a wind up or stretch position.

The delivery is broken down into five phases. The initial stance or set up is where you analyze, visualize, centralize, and execute. The primary balance point is where the pitcher achieves balance. The break phase is when the pitcher starts his movement toward the plate. Secondary power position starts the moment the pitchers foot hits the ground. The last phase is the follow-through which is extremely important to how your ball is pitched.

A great baseball training aid is the designated hitter which is a silhouette dummy at the plate. Great for good pitching location mechanics.

Baseball training drills are very important in a pitchers development. The knee drill drill is important in developing upper-body technique. Power emphasizes lower-body technique. There is also balance drill, full delivery drill, dry drill, clap drill, and glide-to-stride drill.

With a lot of practice your baseball training will help you develop into a great pitcher. There are different baseball training aids which will greatly improve your chance of success. Remember, practice, practice, and practice.

There’s no reason for a pitcher to be hesitant to face any hitter. 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 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 the one who is standing on “the hill” and is throwing a very hard baseball in the batter’s 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!

It is a pitcher’s job to make the batter uncomfortable at the plate. I am not implying that a 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. He was a feared hitter, strong as an ox and it was only fitting that he was a catcher. You know, 6 foot 2 inches tall, 210 pounds and all muscle. 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 not to 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!

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

Baseball pitchers at all levels of play are very much entitled to pitch from a safe mound that’s pitcher friendly. Do your own mound maintenance if necessary and don’t let anybody stop you.

As a baseball pitcher, don’t be bashful about inspecting or fixing a mound yourself before you even throw a warm up pitch. Two very important areas are where your landing foot will hit the ground and the pitching rubber area. Don’t hesitate to fill up a hole that quite often is present where most pitchers land with their landing foot. I’ve seen this landing spot sometimes a foot deep and that is unsafe and your pitch quality will suffer also. You can easily get injured landing into this unsafe, deep hole that should not be there.

The area that I have the biggest problem with is those deep holes just in front of the rubber where your pivot foot moves. Unfortunately, they are very common at amateur levels of play. They are very dangerous and risk injury to the pitcher’s foot and also to his arm. Many baseball pitchers have injured their throwing arms by releasing a ball awkwardly and these deep holes in front of the pitching rubber are encouraging just that to happen.

When I was about ten years old, my father taught me how to deal with this hole that is right smack in front of the pitching rubber and does not belong there. He taught me to fill up the hole myself, using my feet to move the dirt from other areas of the mound. Sometimes if the mound is too hard you can’t do this. It didn’t happen often, but occasionally I would hold up the baseball game, spending close to five full minutes filling up this dangerous hole. It makes no sense at all to twist an ankle or possibly getting an injury even more severe.

I asked my father what should I tell an umpire if he tells me to hurry up because we have to get this game moving. My father told me to very politely tell the umpire that this hole should not be there and I’m concerned about breaking my ankle. I must have delayed ball games on about a dozen occasions and not once did an umpire ever say a word to me because they all knew that this hole should not be present if the mound was properly maintained.

Don’t hesitate to make sure the mound is safe and don’t let anybody rush you when you are doing your maintenance. Don’t allow anyone to talk you out of it. The more intelligent umpires will be in total agreement with you and may actually join you while you fill up the hole, as was the case with me several times. You may not be entitled to a pitcher’s mound that is perfect like professional levels of play. On the other hand, you are very much entitled to a pitcher’s mound that is safe and will not inhibit your pitching. Baseball pitching is tough enough on your throwing arm and don’t allow yourself to be put at an even higher risk of injury. Don’t ever hesitate or let anyone stop you from making your workplace safe! And by the way, those of you who are serious about your baseball pitching will very much consider the pitcher’s mound your work place!

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

I don’t want to sound like a dictator but using check points is not something that is “open for discussion.” This is not debatable. All the real good baseball pitchers have checkpoints that they use before every pitch. Read what some very common check points are. If you take your baseball pitching seriously, you better have your checkpoints also!

Checkpoints are very simply mental reminders that a pitcher gives to himself before every pitch. They are something that every baseball pitcher should do before every pitch in order to be the most effective! Usually, baseball pitchers have about three or four. They will vary from pitcher to pitcher.

Some Common Checkpoints That Pitchers Use:

1. Step toward your catcher’s target.

2. Keep the front shoulder closed when driving toward the plate so you don’t “fly open.”

3. Throw the ball and don’t overthrow the ball.

4. Don’t rock left and right and keep everything straight during the windup and the delivery of the pitch.

5. Remember not to tilt your head and to keep it straight.

6. Remember to “stay back on the rubber” if you have a tendency to get your body ahead of your throwing arm and it causes you to rush when throwing.

7. Keep your windup slow if you sometimes have a tendency to rush and it causes pitching problems for you.

8. Get the legs involved in the pitch to take some of the work load off your throwing arm.

9. “Stay on top” of your pitches or they will flatten out and be much more hittable.

10. Turn your hip enough when pivoting.

11. Raise your throwing elbow up to shoulder height or you will have a tendency to “push” the ball instead of throw the ball.

12. Break the hands apart early so you don’t have to rush the throwing arm.

13. Raise your front knee to at least waist height or higher. The list can go on and on. (And it almost did.)

As an individual baseball pitcher, you have to decide what the three or four things are that should be your personal checkpoints. Only you will know what these things are that you should do, or should not do to pitch the most effectively. Think of them before you throw every pitch! It’s not nearly as complicated as one might think. Simply think of an abbreviated form because it is not like you have to think of thirty, forty or fifty words before every pitch.

A typical list of checkpoints may be staying back on the rubber, front shoulder closed and point your landing foot toward the catcher’s target. A more logical and abbreviated version would be “stay back, closed and foot.” It takes about one second at the most.

Spending this valuable one second will help you tremendously as a baseball pitcher!

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com

Baseball Pitching Machines

 A baseball pitching machine is a great tool to help hitters improve their hitting. There are many benefits in owning a baseball pitching machine.
 When buying a baseball pitching machine there are five things to consider.

1. Pitch speed-You want to have a pitching machine with the proper pitching speed for you.

2. Number of wheels-You want the right amount of wheels.

3. Transportability-Pick a pitching machine which is easy to transport.

4. Parts and accessories-Generators,auto ball feeders,dimpled balls and covers are important to your pitching machine.

5. Warranty-Make sure you are properly covered with your investment.

 Pitching machines come in different styles. An arm action pitching machine and a circular wheel machine are very popular. Pitching machines are useful for batters who can practice on their own. Batting cages are useful for pitching machines. The starter baseball pitching machine is ideal for young players and leagues where pitching machines are used in actual games. Pitches are normally 30 mph in these games. The curveball machine actually spins the ball in an opposite direction. The spin goes forward, which causes the ball to curve downward. Since the ball is curving toward the ground, gravity does not prevent it from curving. It actually helps it. You can put different spins on the ball. The 2 pitch sidewinder pitching machine can throw straight fastball and 3/4 curve, straight fastball and 3/4 slider, tailing fastball and sidearm curve, and tailing fastball sidearm slider. The 2pitch3 baseball pitching machine can throw a 95 mph and a 75 mph curveball in one set up. There is also the twin pitch pitching machine which gives you 2 pitches in one set up. There is a pitching machine available for all ballplayers.

 Pitching machine parts and accessories are important to your baseball pitching machine. Auto ball feeders feeds balls at different intervals. Can be used with almost any pitching machine. A power generator is an alternative power source for running your single wheel pitching machine, or automatic ball feeder units in locations where there are no electric outlets. Baseball pitching covers protect your machine. Dimpled balls will dramatically extend the life of your baseball pitching machine. A pitch selector allows you to feed fastballs and curveballs without the batter knowing which pitch is coming. Two downhill feed chute extensions are connected to the in-feed chutes. Two balls are rolled down the feed chutes at the same time. The batter can see the balls roll down. Both balls appear just before the pitching wheels, but only one comes out. This feature makes it impossible for the batter to predict the pitch, but allows for ample timing of when the ball will be pitched.

I hope this article will be a tremendous help in your hunt for purchasing a baseball pitching machine best suited for your game. Besides improving your game, you can share your pitching machine with teammates and have a lot of fun.

I’m well aware that most of a pitcher’s practice time should be spent throwing the baseball. I’m also well aware that a pitcher who is serious about being successful should find some time for practicing his fielding as well. Ten minutes a day and a couple of times a week is all it should take. Let’s look at some very basic basic baseball fielding drills that a pitcher should practice.

Grounders Back to the Mound. Field the ball and throw to all four bases a couple of times. It’s amazing that some pitchers with pinpoint control when throwing to their catchers will miss their target when throwing to third base by ten feet! The reason is quite simple. They are making throws that are unfamiliar to them. Practice throws to all four bases and they will no longer be unfamiliar throws.

Fielding Bunts. Practice fielding bunts in front of the plate and down both lines. Practice throwing to all four bases.

Fielding Bunts Suicide Squeeze Situation. Practice getting the throw to your catcher quickly and accurately.

Covering First Base. In a nutshell, sprint to the first base line about four steps from the base. Turn and run in fair territory down the line. Chest high target and tag inside of the base with your right foot.

Covering Home Plate. Be very cautious when covering home plate. Along with the line drive back to the mound, it is an extremely dangerous play for a pitcher! Make sure to stay in front of the plate and in fair territory. Make a quick swipe tag with your glove going quickly toward the ground to tag out the runner. In other words, you only want the base runner to slide into your glove and make sure the rest of your body is out of harm’s way. Baseball pitching careers have ended because the pitcher has stood in the path of a sprinting base runner. Stay in front of the plate!

Baseball pitchers should practice their baseball fielding like it’s a live game. If you practice at only half speed, the results you get may be only slighter better than if you did not practice at all. Hey, if you’re willing to put in the time to practice and improve your baseball skills, you deserve to get all the benefits from that practice time. Don’t cheat yourself.

In closing, just remember that it makes no sense at all for a baseball pitcher with pinpoint control to miss one of his infielders by ten feet when throwing to a base. It can cost the ball game. Finding some time to work on your baseball fielding is time very well spent and one of the more important baseball pitching tips.

About Author
Larry’s very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing excellent baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at Larry Baseball.com