When a Thrower Becomes a Pitcher

I'm sure you've heard before about the best pitch a pitcher can throw. You know, the pitch all coaches love to see out of their starters and relievers.

A strike.

I'm sure I don't need to explain all of the advantages of throwing strikes. But, I would like to help clarify the difference between a thrower and a pitcher, since I see too many of the latter.

A pitcher is an athlete who has command of his pitches to a large extent. In the younger age groups, there may be some slack given on command of pitches, but as you approach junior high school and into high school, there are some musts.

MUST #1 - To call yourself a pitcher, you must be able to throw all of your pitches for a strike (in any count) 50% of the time or better. In college, 60%. Why? For two main reasons. Getting ahead and staying ahead of hitters, and saving your valuable "bullets" in your arm. You don't want to end up in the 4th inning (as a starter) and have used 80% of your pitch count.

MUST #2 - As a pitcher you must, must, must learn to change speeds. I don't care if your only pitch is a fastball, you can win games. Keep the same arm speed and shorten your landing stride six inches would help with that. Throwing hard is nice, but if that's all you do, hitters will figure it out.

So what is the difference between a pitcher and a thrower? You're a thrower until you have become proficient with the above. Keep working on it.



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