Here are some very important questions for a pitcher:
1> Where in the batter order would you place yourself?
2> Why?
3> How would you pitch yourself with no runners on?
4> How would you pitch yourself with just a runner on first?
- Would it make a difference, for you anyway?
5> Now here’s the most important questions of them all …
Do you face batters like youself, and do you use the
same logic above to handle those batters? Or does
someone do that for you?
Coach B.
2nd in the order
I’m a tough out I foul off a lot of pitches, tend to have long at bats and can hit to all parts of the field. Most of my power is towards the deepest part of the park, centerfield.
High and tight fastballs mixed with curveballs on the outside part of the plate breaking towards the plate. Keep pitches away the middle of the plate (no brainer) and avoid the low and in pitch.
Off-speed stuff, down and away to try and induce a double play. If I had two strikes I would bring the fastball high and tight for the K instead of continuing to try for the double play.
Never really thought about it but yes I do, except most of them are right handed hitters not left handed hitters. I use similar logic, but it all depends on how my knuckler is moving that day, on a good day there’s a not a lot of strategy to it because they won’t hit it anyways, but on a bad day I have to use my curveball and fastball to get hitters out more often than good days. Fastballs high and tight are amazing for strike outs after seeing off-speed pitches and the off-speed works great to get ahead in counts since most hitters are looking for the opposite in an at bat it really works for me. However, teams that have seen me a lot get a different approach. Since they know I throw a lot of junk early in the count already I give them a good dose of fastballs, even though I’m not exactly bringing it the speed difference is enough to get them behind the pitches.
1> Where in the batter order would you place yourself?
5-6 Spot
2> Why?
I hit in the 4 spot the last 1/3 of the year but I really didn’t like it since I saw way too many curve balls. I love the 5 or 6 spot for myself.
3> How would you pitch yourself with no runners on?
CB, FB, CU
4> How would you pitch yourself with just a runner on first?
Depends on where the runner is":
1st base runner, CU FB, FB to get a double play out.
2nd base runner, FB, CU, CB I really want a strike out.
3rd base runner, combo or FB’s and CU’s since I especially don’t want a pass ball in the dirt etc.
5> Now here’s the most important questions of them all …
Do you face batters like youself, and do you use the
same logic above to handle those batters? Or does
someone do that for you?
I have been on teams that call everything from the dugout, right now the catcher checks with the dugout. Even when I was with the team that called it from the dugout the coaches got more trusting of me shaking it off.
And yes I do know some of the batters agianst me and i do use what i would use against myself.[/i]
I don’t think this belongs in the “off topic” section at all. These questions relate to strategic pitching, and as such they should be at the very least in the “general pitching advice” department. If I had my druthers I would set up a separate section on strategic pitching, where we could explore all the ramifications thereof. It would cover not only the pitchers who have a fast ball or two, but also the finesse pitchers who don’t have the requisite speed—but who do have a good arsenal of breaking pitches. In this section we could examine the hows, whys and wherefores of pitching to different batters—an examination of their strengths and weaknesses—the different situations in which one could use different pitches and pitching sequences, and whether to go for the strikeout or, as my pitching coach once said, “make the batter go after YOUR pitch, what you want them to hit”.
I see where a couple of correspondents have already commented on this, but we could go even deeper into it. We could talk about when NOT to use a fast ball; I saw something like this in the fourth ALDS Rays-Rangers game in which the pitchers all stayed away from the fast ball in pitching to one hitter who absolutely murdered the ball. It occurred to me at that time that a pitcher really needs to know which hitters will do that and which ones can’t hit a fast ball to save themselves—which ones can reach down and get those low pitches and which ones have trouble with them. There was the case, years ago, of Johnny Mize and the golf swings he was practicing with his bat; he knew that Cleveland pitcher Mike Garcia had a habit of starting everybody with a fast ball down and in, and he was ready for this. Mize came to bat with two men on base; Garcia threw a fast ball down and in, and Mize golfed that pitch way back into the right-field stands for a three-run homer and a lead which the Yankees never gave up. You can be sure he never saw another fast ball from Garcia, down and in or not. That pitcher had learned.
I would be interested to hear about various pitchers’ experiences with the different aspects of strategic pitching—not only pitching to hitters but also dealing with base-runners, setting up double plays and the like. This was my particular area of expertise, by the way. 8) 
1> 3-4 Thats where i batted this year.
2> I have some good power, 5hr this year, but can still hit for average(.580) and do fairly well under pressure in driving in run situations.
3> Start me out with a curve, then go fastball on the outer half, and curve low and outside. If i don’t bite, fastball chest high on the hands.
4> I would say that it wouldn’t make a difference, just make sure your catcher knows whats coming and is ready to block anything in the dirt. I have confidence in the catcher i had this year.
5> I usually do pitch to these batters the same way. Show my curve the first pitch, then go fastball, and back to curve if needed. High fastball in on the hands is the most effective in my opinion. Just make sure its not out over the plate.
2nd
Because I have wheels and am known for making consistent contact.
Throw away or inside. I need to work on hitting those pitches.
See 3.
My coach makes adjustments that I dont.