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1. GRIP OF THE BASEBALL - The size of your hand determines how many fingers you will grip the ball with. The smaller the hand, the more fingers you will need to use. This will help with control.
2. WIND-UP MECHANICS - Break down the entire motion of the wind-up. Start from standing still with both feet on the pitching rubber and end up with delivery and follow- through.
3. BALANCE POINT - This is a part of the pitching motion. You should be able to hold this position for a while as it should be comfortable. From this position, the pitcher will lower his center of gravity and separate his hands. A common term is "sit and separate." The stride and release of the ball follow this. It could be said that the balance point is the most important aspect of the entire wind-up. If you never reach the balance point, it will be tough to be consistent. Yes, it is possible to throw strikes with mechanical flaws. But it is impossible to throw CONSISTENT STRIKES without reaching the balance point and following through.
The pitching drills will consist of a "soft-side" This is a simulation of game like conditions. The instructor will catch the pitches and call balls and strikes. The goal is to strike out three batters before a run would be walked in.
Pitchers will also work on fielding their position. Once the pitch is thrown, the pitcher turns into a defensive player. Not only are ground balls important to practice, but so are bunts. How many times does a batter bunt the ball, only to have the pitcher field the ball and throw it away. This is not a common move (getting to the ball quickly and getting rid of it quickly) and must be practiced.
A pitcher has several pitches to choose from. The following is a description of these pitches and their purposes.
A) FASTBALL - The first pitch a pitcher must master. This is also the most frequently thrown pitch from Little League up to the Major League level. This pitch may be thrown in different ways. The two most common types of fastballs are the four-seam fastball and the two-seam fastball. A four-seam fastball stays straighter, and is thrown with a higher degree of control than the two-seam fastball. A two-seam fastball relies more on movement to be effective. A good two-seamer will "run" and/or "sink". The most important aspects of a fastball are its control and location. Any major league player will tell you that a pitch down the middle of the plate and waist high that is 95 miles per hour is easier to hit than a pitch that is 89 miles per hour but located down and away. Pitchers should be more concerned with the location of their fastball than with their velocity.
B) CURVE - A breaking pitch that is commonly the second pitch in a pitcher's arsenal. This pitch should not be taught or practiced until the pitcher's arm has matured. This point in time is different for everybody, but a little league player should not be throwing curve balls. This pitch comes into the hitting zone a little slower than a fastball and with a downward rotation. This rotation causes the ball to move, hence the name curve. This pitch causes some hitters fits. You often hear the phrase, " He can't hit the breaking stuff." This pitch would be thrown with one of two purposes. The first is a "get ahead" mentality. The pitcher is not trying to throw a "nasty" curve ball (one with a lot of movement). This pitch would start a little higher and sort of "roll" into the strike zone. A hitter will often not swing at a curve ball. The pitcher is banking on this by throwing a hittable pitch that the umpire will call for a strike. This pitch also has an entirely different purpose. When the pitcher is ahead in the count he will commonly throw a curve ball that starts a little lower and breaks out of the strike zone. The hitter sees a ball coming in for a low strike, but by the time the ball reaches home plate it is too low to hit. This pitch works off the fastball and deception is the key.
C) SLIDER - Another breaking pitch that is a lot like the curve ball. The major differences are that the slider is thrown with more velocity and the movement is more side-to-side versus downward. This pitch tends to look more like a fastball coming in to the hitter and at the last minute it "slides" either in or away.
D) CHANGE UP - This is the premier deception pitch. A change up is little more than a slower fastball. It will have more movement as the fastball is primarily straight. A hitter thinks that he is hitting a fastball, but the ball is not traveling as fast as he thinks it is. This pitch is very effective to aggressive hitters who try to pull everything. A pitcher may throw a change up just to show a hitter that he may throw one later. This pitch creates the illusion that the fastball is faster than it really is. A pitcher with a good change up (Example: Tom Glavine) will throw this pitch as his "out" pitch. When he is in a jam, this is the pitch he throws to get him out of it. To illustrate how this pitch creates this illusion consider this: A pitch 85 miles per hour is 3'9" behind a 90 mile per hour pitch at 60'6".
E) FORK BALL, SPLIT-FINGER, KNUCKLE BALL, ETC. - These are all advanced pitches that may be good to have in your bag of tricks, but it is much more important to have a mastery of the basic pitches before you practice these. A pitcher that can throw a fastball and a change up with control is going to be more effective than a pitcher who has six pitches and little control of them.
1. Review the proper ready position and discuss pre-pitch movement.
The following drills are done with no glove. You should think of your glove as an extension of your arm. So, we first field balls with our bare hands until we master the techniques involving proper form. These techniques involve actually catching the ball, transferring the ball to our throwing hand, and stepping toward our target and delivering an accurate throw.
These drills are then duplicated with your glove on. The pace of the ground balls will be picked up as well. Keep in mind that even the ground ball hit right at you can be bouncing several different ways and with different spins.
2. Infielders will then work a few drills that are specific to the infield:
a) FEEDS AT SECOND BASE FOR DOUBLE PLAY. These throws will come from first base, second base, shortstop, third base, and the pitcher and catcher.
b) TURNS AT SECOND BASE ON A DOUBLE PLAY. The second baseman and the shortstop would be the only players involved with this drill. The out at second base is the first priority. The out at first base should be thought of as icing on the cake. Proper footwork and avoiding the sliding baserunner will be discussed in the lessons.
3. Outfielders will also work a few drills that are specific to the outfield:
a) FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE BACK DRILL. The instructor stands opposite the player in the outfield. The outfielder reads ball direction as the instructor points to different areas. The fielder is to sprint 3-5 steps in the correct direction, then repeat the process. This drill focuses on getting a good jump. Your first step will often determine if you catch the ball or not at the end of a long run
b) WAVE DRILL. A line of outfielders work on balls at them, to both of their sides, and straight back. This drill is good in that it allows for a lot of repetitions in a short period of time.
c) FOOTBALL WIDE RECEIVER DRILL. This helps to get fielders running correctly on their route to fly balls. Often younger players experience a fly ball "bouncing" when they look up at a ball while running. This is caused by running in the heels of your feet. Watch David Justice going after a fly ball. He seems to "glide" like deer. This is because he runs on the balls of his feet. It is a graceful technique that is not for show. It makes a difference as to how the ball appears against the sky.
d) GAP COMMUNICATION DRILL. This requires more than one student. Two or more players are separated in the outfield and a fly ball is hit between them. The players are to then communicate and use rules of fly ball priorities to make the catch. The player that is "called off" the fly ball is then responsible for backing up the play and telling the outfielder with the ball where to direct the throw.
e) FENCE OR WALL BALLS. Students are placed near a fence or outfield wall. Balls are then hit over their heads. The outfielder must read the flight of the ball to determine the best course of action. Is the ball to be caught, or played off the fence ? This drill may be done in conjunction with the gap communication drill to involve more than one player.
f) SACRIFICE FLY SITUATIONS. The player must work on footwork, form, and momentum to correctly catch and throw a ball with a little wasted time as possible.
g) OVERALL SITUATIONS. The player assumes his correct defensive position, whatever that may be. The situation of a hypothetical game is then said allowed. (i.e. The number of outs and where the baserunners are.) The instructor will then deliver a fly or ground ball and the player must make the correct decision as to what to do with the ball. There are different answers for different game situations. These situations will be discussed in class.
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