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Reply to "batters, protective gear and pitching inside"

A reply to "gotta own the inside" comment.   Ted Willams said "the history of baseball is written on the inside half of the plate".  He wasn't referring to throwing inside at guys heads.

You throw inside, to set up the outside.  If you miss over the inside half of the plate,  you will get murdered.

To be successful as a pitcher, you have to do two things

1) Disrupt timing   (Warren Spahn)

2) Get hitters to swing at bad pitches  (Rogers Hornsby who got it from Honus Wagner)   the reverse logic.

A well located off speed is more effective than a fastball 18 inches off the plate.  No one was afraid of Greg Maddux and he did alright.

Nolan Ryan only hit 158 batters in 22575 batters faced or 1 every 140 batters faced

Randy Johnson  1 every 90 

Roger Clemens 1 every 128

Maddux 1 every 148

Warren Spahn -   42 out of 21547 batters faced.  That's 1 out of every 513.    He seamed to do all right.

If you need to use fear in High School baseball to challenge hitters you won't make it at the next level.  In the Power 5 Conferences and the Minor Leagues,  every team has 10 guys who can top 90.  So throwing in and hitting a player is just going to get one of your teammates drilled.

 Only a failed little league player would suggest owning the inside. -  you have to pitch inside to set up the outside.

 

 

 

 

 

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