Connor's Pitching Tips - from Double Switched by Corey Green

Connor's Pitching Tips

Hi, I'm Connor. Here are some of my pitching tips for Little League. I explain the different types of pitches, how to throw them, and give you some general pitching tips. The tips are from the point of view of right handed pitchers. I invented a new pitch, the Connor Special Sputter. Hope it works as well for you as it did for me. Give it a try!

Play ball!
Connor Anderson

General pitching tips: Always point the tip of your left foot toward the plate. This will give you better control when you want to pitch inside or outside, and if you overthrow, you won't miss your target by much. Practice your mechanics in front of a mirror. There is no better way to improve than to correct yourself as you pitch. With the mirror, you can see everything. You might want to just pretend to throw ... you sure don't want to break the mirror! If you're pitching against a good hitter, pitch to him inside. Many pitchers throw as far away from the good hitters as they can while still being in the strike zone, but the big hitters are good at hitting those pitches. If you pitch inside, you can jam a good hitter.
You can fool the batter by pitching slower than usual in pre-inning warm-ups. In Little League, the batters time the pitcher during the warm-ups before the inning. If you throw the opposite of your game plan during these warm-ups, you mess up their timing. Be sure to practice your game-plan in bullpen warm-ups, before you take the field, though. Get in the mind of the hitter. For example, a hitter who really wants to hit will chase balls, so I throw them out of the strike zone. A timid hitter can often be struck out on fastballs in the zone -- they'll blaze right past him and he'll be called out looking. Make your own plan, but listen to your coach. Sometimes I pitch a homerun hitter a slow offspeed pitch because when you pitch a fastball, you supply a lot of the power and the hitter doesn't have to swing as hard. The downside of this is sometimes the hitter hits a home run anyway. I look to my coach for advice in these situations.

Pitches and how to throw them

Note: Most coaches don't want Little Leaguers throwing anything but fastballs and variations on fastballs because other pitches can hurt their arms. I mainly focus on developing my mechanics. Good mechanics will help me have great control when I'm in the Major Leagues -- pitching over 100 mph!

	Four seam fastball You hold a four seam fastball across the two widest seams. Put the "horseshoe" in for a better grip on the ball. With the "horseshoe" in, you can use your thumb to grip the lower seam. A good four seam fastball gives you good backspin and a better lift.

	Two seam fastball You hold a two seamer with one finger on each seam, where the seams are closest together. Really extend your fingers.

	Cut fastball Here, you have a fastball with a little side spin. The ball will move in or out a few inches. Move your four seam grip slightly off-center. You can bring your thumb slightly up the inside of the ball and the index and middle fingers slightly toward the outside.

	Change-ups There are two basic ways to pitch a change-up: "change-up," and "circle changeup." To pitch a regular change-up, put the ball all the way back in your hand, so that it is touching your palm. Next, grip the ball with your knuckles. To throw, use the same arm-action as the fastball.

To pitch a "circle change-up," make your thumb and forefinger into a circle on the baseball, and grip the ball with your three remaining fingers. The "circle change-up" will have some drop on it because of the spin that your fingers put on the ball.

The change-up is most effective when a hitter is expecting a fastball. Because you use the same arm-action, hitters will swing ahead of the change-up, or if they do make contact, it will be a weakly-hit ball that will either go foul or right to a fielder. Note: some more disciplined hitters will be able to hit your off-speed pitch, but most Little Leaguers are not that disciplined.

Seriously, your coach might not want you to throw these pitches. But here's how to throw them.

	Curveball Wedge the ball down between your thumb and forefinger and cock your wrist to the left. The ball will snap down and to the right on release. The pitch will drop and curve to the left.

	Slider A slider will curve down and to the left. You throw a slider sort of like you throw a football pass, with your wrist at a 90 degree angle.

	Screwball Throw the ball like curveball, but reverse the wrist action and spins. This means you cock your wrist to the right and the ball will snap down and to the left up on release. The ball should drop and curve to the right.

Knuckleball
Grip the ball with your index and middle fingers right on the inside of the "horseshoe" seam. Your thumb should be on the seam below your index finger. Put your ring finger down the side of the ball and leave your pinky out to the side. To throw the knuckleball, go into your windup and throw the ball without snapping your wrist to minimize spin. Be sure to extend your fingers toward your target as you follow through with your pitch. A good knuckleball "dances" around on its way to the plate because it has no spin�it drives a batter crazy!

	The Connor Special -- the Sputter This is a pitch I made up myself. Basically, you throw a cut fastball, but using a knuckleball grip. Give it a try!