For high school and beyond, serious competitors should have a pitch inventory, or repertoire, that has two categories of pitch types. The first type being those of your highest confidence – otherwise called your Game Pitch(s) and those that are WIP otherwise called Work In Progress pitch(s).
Every pitcher, amateur and pro, has these two categories of pitches. And this remains constant throughout his/her career. No exceptions. Sometimes changes are necessary in the Game Pitch(s) due to age, injury, rehabilitation, and other factors. That’s why the Work In Progress pitch selection is so important. Why? Because when one or more Game Pitch(s) are no longer working to fill that demand – a decision must be made by the pitcher and his/her pitching coach of what to select from the Work In Progress selection that best fits that player’s current situation.
What to look for in your Game Pitch(s).
(1) First pitch, usually called your bread – n – butter pitch, I would suggest be a Fastball With Location. This is also called your “go to” pitch. The reason for calling this pitch your “go to” pitch is because first of all it’s the key stone – or foundation, for all your other pitches and second of all it’s your strongest suit. However, what really strengthens your appearance every time your deliver this pitch is not only its blistering velocity, but its accuracy. In other words, when you want that pitch to hit the corners … it dose just that… it hits the corners.
This quality – accuracy, is something that you usually work on constantly.
Also, during your training period of honing in on your Game Pitch(s) quality, it’s also an important time to see where your greatest accuracy is – high inside or low outside, etc.
(2) Second pitch in the Game Pitch(s) category for you is your Off-Speed or sometimes called a Change-Up.
With this pitch, concentrating on HOW this pitch performed AFTER you’ve just delivered a Fastball and at what location is the main thing to take note of. I can grantee you that your Off-Speed or Change-Up when delivered after a Fastball down and away, will have a totally different feel, flight, and performance at the plate then say … a fastball that was just delivered down and inside. Your body’s memory of certain muscle functions injects a certain amount of “memory feel” here. By the way, if you ever noticed a Major League Pitcher that really takes his time after delivering a blistering Fastball to … say the inside or outside… then follows up with an Off-Speed or Change-Up … that’s probably why.
Finally, if you have a definite gift – athletically, and you practice on the stuff that really works for you … scouts and recruiters alike look for young prospects that USE WHAT THEY HAVE. So, hone your skills with the stuff that works and reason for yourself why-when-and how come … then use that method to work on your WORK-IN-PROGRESS stuff.
Coach B.