Big problem--Need some huge advice!

General Pitching Topics
#1

Well im 15 years old and going into my Sophmore year in HS. As a freshmen i played JV baseball. We have a very very small school so our JV team consisted of 3 freshmen and 3-4 sophmores! then the rest were 7th and 8th graders! We went 0-15 only one game we got to play for the 5 innings because we werent 10 runned.

Im a pitcher i was prolly the number 3 pitcher. i went 0-2 in 5 starts with a 6+ ERA. I am known for my great glove as i play CF but not the strongest arm.

I love baseball MORE than singing and acting (2 other things i love and im great out which i could probobly get into college because of it) BUT besides that i really want to walk on to ANY college baseball team and play for them as a Pitcher and if they need me id play OF also. But ive never had my MPH pitch checked so id say i prolly throw low 50s. Its slow but some games it works because i can change speed with a Change Up. But sometimes i just cant get the people out. Sometimes i can rack up K’s and sometimes i get cranked HARD because of my teams horrible fielding or just i dont throw hard enough and they just totally crank my pitches.

Now the thing is i only throw a fastball and changeup.

BECAUSE i tried a curve this past year and IT DOESNT break. I try to do my mechanics and it justs stays up in the zone and gets cranked. i have a little variation of a split finger but that can sometimes get wild.

So i need tips!

another thing tho
most of yall gonna say practice more. But its hard for me I LOVE PRACTICING BASEBALL! But im on a summer team for the public school which is stalked so they wont pitch me.

And i have no one to pitch to! My dad has a bad back so he wont play. And my siblings are to young or just refuse to play catch or let me pitch to them. I dont live by any baseball parks nor people who i can pitch to or just in general play catch.

So i really need tips for my game and with the whole its really hard to play catch because i have no one to play with!

Thanks for reading my post! And hopefully you all will have some advice for me :smiley:

Btw is this goal possible for next year? 3+ wins less than 5 losses with under a 5 ERA? even tho i went 0-2 in 5 starts with a 6+ last season?

#2

Okay, let’s take it one step at a time.
I can imagine how rough it must be not to have anyone to at least play catch with, and you really need to work on some of your stuff. There is, however, a solution of sorts. Go to a sporting goods store and get one of those pitcher’s target screens—you could probably use the adult size—and set it up and practice throwing to the various parts of the strike zone marked on it. One thing you want to do is sharpen up your control as well as work on pitches, and this would be a good start.
You say you live in Minnesota—how far away are you from Minneapolis? I would suggest that you get in touch with the Twins’ front office, and see if they can recommend a good pitching coach who will work with you—and also, they do have some camps that they run from time to time; maybe you can attend one of those and get some ideas about mechanics and repertoire.
Next thing. You say you have a sort of split-finger pitch. You may want to work on that, and again there is where a pitching coach can help, because I have an idea that you could use this effectively as a strikeout pitch. And see what you can do about developing a curve ball to go with your fast ball and changeup.
And above all, don’t give up. Stick with it, get all the help you can—and have fun doing it. My guess is that you’ll leave all those others behind you in the dust. And keep me informed, okay? :slight_smile: :baseballpitcher:

#3

Number 1 your goal should be easily obtainable. But you need dedication. If you really love baseball your going to have to do acouple things. You say theres no one to play catch with, well so be it but don’t make it an excuse. Your going to need a job becasue this will cost money. At least $175+shipping.

First off your going to need baseballs and a screen. Here on baseball express just 2 links for a good screen and 30 balls.

http://www.baseballexp.com/Baseball-Training-Aids/Screens-Nets/Atec-Pitchers-Practice-Screen-And-Stand-Combo/baseball/lev/6/productId/1384/parentCatId/69/pCategoryId/8/Ns/CATEGORY_SEQ_69|0/N/36+1100061+33/Nty/1/view/38/index.pro

http://www.baseballexp.com/Baseballs/Buckets/Diamond-Bucket-with-30-DOLA-Baseballs-/baseball/lev/6/productId/634/N/36+1100070+33/pCategoryId/10/parentCatId/76/Ns/CATEGORY_SEQ_76|0/index.pro

Then your going to need (well don’t need but would really help) a camera with video capabilities. Your going to need to film yourself and post it on here. We will help you with your mechancis so you can use your full body potential while throwing the ball. That’s a start, then you will need a mound. You might be able to build one out of dirt, but its tough to get the perfect dirt. The next best thing is a wooden one. They’re not very expensive and easy to build. I have plans for one somewhere if you want I can dig them up and you can build it yourself. But you need to get a job first, talk to your parents/guardians. Your going to need some money to do this.

#4

I actually did start a job umping! I plan on getting payed 100+ Bucks on Thursday i believe. So yea the screen shud work.

One question tho…How high is a regulation high school pitchers mound?

#5

10-and-a-half inches above the height of home plate
Also check this out:

http://www.hksportsfields.com/images/pdf/hs_col_baseball_field.pdf

Also… Dont worry bout not having dominant stuff since you are only a sophmore… I am gonna be a senior… before last season i hadnt pitched in like 6 or 7 years… SO i defintely didnt have dominant stuff… All I had was one powerful fastball and stamina. So yea… Listen to some of these other guys when it comes to improvement.

#6

Here are some plans I made up myself. You should need 5-2x10x8 and 1 1/2x8x4 sheet of plywood. Pressure treated everything will last longer. On the dimensions it shows to use a piece of plywood on the end of it but you won’t have any left so you can use the other half of the 2x10 you have left over. That part isn’t neccessary either. Here are the plans no instructions you can figure them out yourself. You will also need screws and a drill or nails and a hammer. But besides that you can actually use a piece of wood for the rubber if you want or you can get your own rubber.

#7

Thanx!!! This will be a great project!!! Thanks you guys!