Backing the Batter off the plate

NOPE - we throw inside to try and hit the inside corner to tie his hands up

Honestly not in the traditional sense of throwing up and in with a fastball. I have had some good pitchers play for me but I still didn't want to take the chance of a miss hitting a kid in the head. Now if we call an outside fastball and it hits him in the head well.......that's just baseball. I hate it happens but it did but to purposefully go in that neighborhood I won't do it.

So we will go the opposite direction and go low and in. It's much easier to turn / duck away from a pitch than it is to jump out of the way. Plus if we miss and it hits them all it's going to do is hurt like heck then he won't be able to try and steal second.

Depends on the pitcher and his command.

i agree with coach2709. you have to throw in to keep hitter uncomfortable, but we are not going to go up and in. we've always had trouble hitting that spot anyway. we go up and away. we throw in for strikes.

We will go up and it not to "back him off the plate." We will go up and in to sequence the next pitch. i.e. Up and in CB....up and in inside for a strike.

Who mentioned throwing up and in/ I said backing the batter off the plate

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Who mentioned throwing up and in/ I said backing the batter off the plate

Vast majority of time when people talk about backing someone off the plate you go up and in.

Agreed....when someone talks of backing hitter's off the plate I have never heard them talking about throw a change up on the inside corner. It always up and in hard.

waist to chest is up and in--that will back them off the plate

I'm sorry TR but I'm missing the point of your question.

Coach

The question was "do have your pitchers back batters off the plate" ?

It then went into throwing at the head--I say you don't have to throw at the head to back batters off the plate--you can move them back by being inside and tight from the waist to the top of the chest

Some hitters are simply not going to physically back off the plate no matter how much you throw in or where. Its how they hit and they are going to get up on the plate. But by throwing in your planting the seed and mentally get them to look in and then you can go soft away etc. Setting up the next pitch or sequence of pitches by going inside on the batter. Most guys that get up on the plate are trying to take away the outside pitch. And they are confident they can still beat you inside if you miss over the plate. If you can get a batter to back off by busting him inside he probably isnt much of a hitter to start with. Guys that get up on the plate know they are going to get busted inside. And they are hoping you miss when you do so they can punish the mistake.

I like splitting the difference inside on a guy up on the plate. The distance from his feet to the plate and split it. Two seamers work well here. Change ups down and in off the plate as well after a fb up and in. To me the intent is not to back him off the plate. The intent is to get him to mentally look in and then get him to roll over the pitch away.

If we think the batter is trying to turn outside pitches into inside pitches (presumably because he likes/wants to turn on a pitch) we will stay outside. If we think he's crowded the plate too much and can't get to the inside pitch, then we'll go inside.

Gotcha TR - thanks for the clarification. I still stick by what I put in my first post. But to clarify more we will try to move someone off the plate by throwing low and in. Not necessarily at them but near them. I agree with Coach May that some guys won't change regardless of what you do but if you got a guy who can bring it that might change their mind.

We played a team in the playoffs who had a guy that lived on the outside corner but was completely soft. He threw so soft I believe the catcher didn't need a mitt. Anyway our strategy in that game was to crowd the plate because he couldn't blow it by us but the flip side is when he came inside it didn't phase us because we weren't "scared".

The harder someone throws the less likely they are to see a batter crowd the plate - still happens though but those guys are usually freaks who can flat out hit. I guess it's about strategy overall though - one person may call it backing off the plate while another may call it setting up a pitch on the outside corner.

I'm not a big fan of crowding the plate. I think it gives pitchers a bit of advantage, because they can live on the inside, which is hard to hit hard in fair territory.

The batter can stand with his toes a full 12" off the edge of the plate and the bat coverage easily hits the outside corner on the sweet spot. Of course, the hitter has to be able to hit the outside fastball, let it travel, take it oppo.

But it seems to me that a good hitter who will hit the ball where it is pitched should not crowd the plate. That way he can pull balls on the inside corner. If they bust him in, it's a ball for sure.

quote:

The batter can stand with his toes a full 12" off the edge of the plate and the bat coverage easily hits the outside corner on the sweet spot.

SOme guys "crowd" the plate because the umpire has wide zone and they need to be that close to hit the outside "strike" even in college.

Unless you know the hitter will get out of the way and/or can't handle the inside pitch I don't think you should try to back him off as you may be accomodating the hitter and making him feel comfortable knowing what pitch is coming.

Obiously some guys crowd the plate to get hit (aka west coast college style baseball) while other players that can hit, crowd the plate because they want the pitcher to challenge in with a fastball.

In many ways going inside to mentally/physically "move" a batter off the plate plays into the hitters strategy of getting the pitcher to "change" his mental approach. There is no second pitch away if the inside pitch attempt gets drilled.

If we want to back a guy off the plate without going up we have a Plus call. This means 2 things to the pitcher. A) It needs to be inside off the black. B) If I miss I better not miss over the plate. We will also use 2 seamers in this situation as well to get more of a running effect.

Coach_May Quote:
"But by throwing in your planting the seed and mentally get them to look in...."
WITHOUT A DOUBT COACH MAY!!!!!!


JMO

Why do hitters set up close to the plate....or as some of you say "crowd the plate"?

Some guys like the ball in. In general (NOT ALWAYS) GUYS GET ON THE PLATE BECAUSE THEY LIKE IT IN.....GUYS STAND AWAY FROM THE PLATE BECAUSE THEY LIKE IT AWAY........GUYS ARE CLOSED BECAUSE THEY LIKE IT IN......GUYS ARE OPEN BECAUSE THEY LIKE IT AWAY........THESE ARE JUST IN GENERAL.....

I don't like the verbage "backing the batter off of the plate"......THE WRONG MESSAGE CAN BE SENT......Just like the message was changed as the thread moved along.......It went from backing a guy off, to throwing up and in......And TR is completely right......HE NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT UP AND IN......

I prefer "move his feet".........

I URGE COACHES TO TEACH YOUNG PITCHERS TO KEEP THE BALL AT THE WAIST OR BELOW. It can be just as effective if you throw a FB in off of the plate knee high and the hitter moves his feet.

YOUNG PITCHERS ARE GOING TO MISS.......IF THE FOCUS IS DOWN/WAIST OR BELOW THEN HOPEFULLY THE RISK OF HITTING A KID IN THE HEAD OR FACE IS GREATLY REDUCED......

When in the game do you move feet?
A: Early at least

When during an at bat do you move feet?
A: The very first time (and every time after if necessary) a hitter reaches out over the plate. His body & mind are not honoring the fact that the pitcher can throw the ball in off the plate. He is too comfortable if he is reaching out over the plate.

EXPLAINATION:
Reaching out over the plate isn't as literal as it sounds. It is a figure of speach. It refers to the hitters aggressivness in attacking pitches that are middle/away from the hitter.
EXAMPLE: Right on Right breaking ball middle/away and the hitter goes and gets it and puts a good swing on it.

Keep in mind there are a small percentage of hitters that get PO'ed when they are pitched in off of the plate. They can tend to get locked in and not fearfull of getting hit or moved at all.

Be very very careful when discussing this subject with players.

Just like the original post (OP)......Well, it's a great question but how old and accomplished are the pitchers that are "moving feet"?

What you don't want is some clown reading this and decides he is going to teach his 10 yr olds to do what we've discussed......

Nor do you want the High School pitcher who can't throw it in the cage to go attempt this stuff......