Velocity and control balance

Question
Dear Rick,

I have a problem concerning pitching that i really need help with. I'm 15 and am trying out for JV baseball this year as a pitcher. I trained heavily over the winter and have gained a lot on my fastball, but i can't locate my newfound speed. I've been hearing different things from my dad (a former minor league player) who thinks I should throw my slower, accurate fastball to set up my off speed pitches (excellent circle changeup and OK curve), while my JV coach says I need to throw my hardest fastball all the time (he's a real radar gun-lover, otherwise i won't make it. I clearly need to impress the coach with my fastball in order to make the team, but I don't want to be walking guys all the time when I can't find the plate. Any tips on what I should do to balance the two?

If it would be of any help, here's my arsenal:

Fastball (slow, but accurate) : 64-66 MPH
Fastball (faster, but wild) 70-73 MPH
Circle Change (my strikeout, go to pitch with downward break) 53-55 MPH
Curve (Long, loopy, i'm still working on it) 48- 51 MPH

Thanks,

     David

Answer
Hi David!  Thank you for your question.

I am with your dad on this one.  

The best pitch in baseball is strike one.

There is no defense for a walk.

Quote from Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, " I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it."

Quote from Greg Maddux,"I could probably throw harder if I wanted, but why?  When they're in a jam, a lot of pitchers try to throw harder.  Me, I try to locate better."

Hitting is timing~Pitching is the disruption of that timing.

I would suggest you pitch to your strength, get ahead with your 64-66 MPH fastball and use your change as your out pitch.  Use your new found velocity for effect, until you perfect it to where it is a pitch for you, not just something you throw.  

You really only have a pitch if you can throw it 70% or more of the time, for a strike.  Velocity is a good thing; but uncontrolled velocity is not.  It is good that you have made the gains, be patient and work in your pens on locating it.  It will come around.

A good goal to set as a pitcher is to dispatch every hitter on 4 or less pitches.  You won't always be able to do that; but it is a good goal to shoot for.  That becomes a hard goal to achieve if you are unable to effectively control your main pitch.

Keeping each hitter to 4 pitches or less keeps your pitch counts down and allows you to throw more innings; both are positives.

You might revisit your mechanics and see if you are doing something a little different when you throw your hardest fastball, which may be throwing off your accuracy, since you have good accuracy at 5-6 MPH slower.  You may be inadvertently reaching back farther, pushing off harder, leaning back trying to get a little extra.  There could be a lot of possibilities.  Video tape could help you evaluate both deliveries and you may find something there.

I was not a pitcher and am not a pitching coach, I was an infielder.  I am in my 38th season of coaching high school baseball and can say from those experiences that it is essential for a team and for the individual himself that a pitcher throw strikes.  Pitching behind is a big disadvantage to a pitcher and you find that your defense gets back on their heels, when a ball does come errors tend to show up.  They are all intertwined.

MLB hitters hit collectively under .200 in all two strike counts.  It is to the pitchers advantage to work quickly, get ahead, change speeds.  A recipe for success.  It keeps your defense on their toes and provides you with a rhythm whereby you can control the game the way you want it.  Never throw the same pitch, at the same speed, in the same location, twice in a row.

Never have been a big advocate of the "gun".  Once it was developed pitchers started to determine their worth by their MPH.  I listened to a clinic speaker one year at our State Convention who had been a MLB pitcher, and was then a pitching coach in the Brewer's system

He was talking about working with a group of Rookie Ball pitchers, and he asked them what they threw.  He said they were all coming up with numbers from the high 80's and 90's.  He had to stop and explain to them he wanted to know what pitches they threw, not their "gun" readings.

He was not a proponent of the "gun" either.

I will say it sounds like you are in a bit of a spot, with your coaches philosophy.  I can't imagine he would truly rather have you throw your hardest and walk hitters, than be under control and set hitters up.  It is all about getting outs.

I would be interested in knowing how this season works out for you.  Keep working with that new velocity.  It will come under control.  When it does you will be even more effective, since you have developed such a good change.

One last quote,"It is not the velocity of your fastball that counts; but the difference in speed between your fastball and your changeup."

Good luck as you go forward.

Yours in baseball,

Rick