Skip to main content

lol.

I saw what I saw.

When my son does well, I tell him. When he doesn't do well, I tell him. He was fine. I would guess that he was probably one of a handful of people that wanted to bat against the pitcher. There were a couple of kids on the bench that should have stayed home. They were "afraid" of the velocity and they were 35' feet from the action.

No problem with the angle. I was about 25' down from home plate looking right down at the hitter.

We should get together at one of these things and compare notes as they are happening.

By the way...control and command are not one of his strengths. If you think that, you haven't seen him pitch in games.
Last edited {1}
Great point Sonen. Point #1; "can you pitch"? Take a look at Jamie Moyer, 6'0" 170lbs and I bet can't break a pane of glass. He has been piching in the "bigs" since 1986, is over 40 years old, and had a W/L of 21/7 last year (2nd only to Hallady). This is one of the ML ballplayers I suggest my LHP son emulate (and have been since he started playing). Point #2; remember baseball is a TEAM sport. Pichers are not successful by themselves. You have to play defense. Moyer didn't go 21/7 by himself, not with only 129 SOs in 33 appearances (avg. about 4 SOs per game). He threw a lot of ground balls and flys to the outfield. The only way you can be effective defensivly is to play as a unit. Offense wins games, defense wins championships.

Speed is over rated. It's important because it gets you notice and is used as one of the components in "projecting" a pitchers ability.

With regards to the best picher in Illinois, I don't have a clue at this time but I bet he plays on a TEAM with one of the best defenses in the state.

"You can't hit what you can't see."
Ping Bodie (NYY 1918-21) Speaking on Walter Johnson
There are different points of view on velocity, To someone who throws 95 velocity is the most important thing in the world but to someone who throws 75-80 its not a big part of thier game just depends on who you are talking to, but speed definitly is not over-rated, if it is throwing a baseball or running bases "speed kills". What makes it so important also is there is no pitching coach in the world that will teach you how to throw hard, either you have it or you dont.
Bret,
You must be throwing 95...
I will "agree to disagree" regarding the discussion of how speed is over-rated. It just flat out is! In my humble opinion, speed gets all the hype because, as stated before, it is the "flashy" variable of the "projection" equation (along with height, weight, pitching motion, body type, and ball movement). You are right in saying that it "depends on who you are talking to". I would never claim to have even 1% of the knowlege and expertise of some of those who post here. However, the college coaches and several pro-scouts that I have listened to have stated that location and movement first, velocity last. They have continued to state that, regardless of velocity, a pitcher must have at least 3 pitches he can locate and throw for "strikes", fastball, breacking ball, and change (more if he's got'em) in that order. Another reason I believe that velocity gets all the hype is the "CYA" factor. It is easier to justify a pitcher throwing 95 mph (in a HS game, college roster selection, or pro draft choce). Pitching is a science. Understand the science and you will realise that pitching is much more than velocity. It's the means and methods of destroying the timing of the hitter. The "skill" of the pitcher is extreemly difficult to quantify; the experience, mental aspects of a pitcher's ability, setting-up hitters, hitting locations (control and command), changing speeds, mound presence, moxie.... Only the skilled experienced experts, the talented trained eye, can "sniff" out the skill of a picher without alot of time. That is why they rely on "projectability" of which velocity (over-rated) is one important component. The ability/skill to pitch well is rare. Those with this rare skill continue to progess to the next level. I am not stating that velocity is not important, it is. I am stating that it is over rated. I will back this up with two "skilled" D1 pitchers; 1)Justin Simmons, throwing 78-82 mph max, two years ago, was the #1 starter on Texas' National Championship Team at 16-1, 2) JD Cockcroft a pre-season All-American and the University of Miami's #1 starter, tops out at 82-83 mph, I believe he won 14 games last year. I read somewhere within these message boards that the average college fastball is 85 mph.......

I will take issue with your statement;
"there is no pitching coach in the world that will teach you how to throw hard"
Assuming that "throw hard" and velocity are the same;
I have first hand experience with a pitching coach who has increased a picher's velocity well over 10 mph in 6 months with stretching, weights, technique and machanics. He is teaching how to throw with velocity.

All I am trying to do is get over my ego and insecurities in an effort to find a balance between the dream and the reality.
What a bag of wind.............

"You can't hit what you can't see."
Ping Bodie (NYY 1918-21) Speaking on Walter Johnson
Good job SMOKEY,I totally agree. The only way to fight hot air is, WITH HOT AIR. Velocity is over rated. 90+ pitchers show up on a scouts radar alot more because it's an easy target. Less Leg work. Alot of good pitchers go unnoticed because they "ONLY" throw in the low to mid 80's. Hey if you can consistently keep a batter off balance and mess with his timing by mixing up your pitches. Then your doing your job. Speed Kills but "TIMING IS EVERYTHING"... applaude
Last edited {1}
I agree jerny. Timing is everything. As an x-ballplayer i was throwin high 80's in college. There were some games that the other team could touch the fastball. But to me those are the games u wanna work on ur breakin stuff/ offspeed.Then again i got spanked by college of St. Francis n Lewis Univ. But after every game no matter what the outcome i was always lookin for ways to be better. I also believe its in the"genes". My oldest son is 6'-5" and is in the low 90's. Yes he can throw hard, but even more he can pitch, not just throw. He'll be playin w/ The Express along W/ Matt Jernsted, Kenny Williams Jr. Matt Mennen and a cast of standout this summer. Come n catch a game....It'll be worth the time spent.
Shaun Seibett - Edwardsville
GP GS CG W-L PCT IP Sv R ER ERA H 2B 3B HR
18 11 5 11-1 917 70.0 3 9 3 0.30 34 2 0 1
GP BB K KAVG WHIP Ks/W SB ROE AVG OB% SLG BF WP HB
18 18 96 9.60 5.20 5.43 0 1 139 282 159 204 2 17

"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen
Last edited {1}
Yes, Shaun pitched in all of those games. A common practice that is catching on in the south is to use your 1&2 in games in relief to get their bullpen work in. They have a very definitive number of pitches and then out. Also, a lot of southern teams are now, "pitching by committee." We do that a lot. We go into a game with 3 pitchers ready. We use a 3-2-2 formula. We do this in non-conference games so that it really is those pitcher's bullpen work under game conditions.

Jenny1111, Shaun is already signed but I can't remember who signed him. He is going south and playing D-1 is all that I can recollect. He is very tough to hit. Several of these games that he pitched in, he probablly didn't throw 20 pitches. His only loss last year came in relief.

BTW, I have a 6'5" lefty that is also pretty good. His name is Cody Litteken.

GP GS CG W-L PCT IP Sv R ER ERA H 2B 3B HR
14 11 5 9-2 818 68.3 0 34 24 2.46 75 12 0 1
GP BB K KAVG WHIP Ks/W SB ROE AVG OB% SLG BF WP HB
14 23 74 7.58 7.68 3.32 4 13 256 358 307 313 6 7

"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen
Last edited {1}
Congratulations to all the boys mentioned in this site. It's good to know there is alot of talent in the midwest. Thanks to all the indoor facilitys avilable to the players now the talent is increasing in the Midwest. It used to be if you were from the northern part of the states you were sub-par not the case any more. Just by looking at the names and hearing about their accomplishments is proof that the tallent is'nt just in the southern states.
Another quality pitcher in the South this year will be Andy Tillotson from Belleville East. I know these stats might be hard to read this way but look at his innings pitched vs. his strikeouts. He can really throw the ball. He does have control issues. His stats:

GP GS CG W-L PCT IP Sv R ER ERA H 2B 3B HR
14 14 6 9-4 692 73.3 0 31 27 2.58 48 10 0 1
GP BB K KAVG WHIP Ks/W SB ROE AVG OB% SLG BF WP HB
14 72 138 13.17 6.40 2.02 1 2 178 459 226 79 4 4

"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen
Last edited {1}
styles2310, are you referring to Seibert? If so, I know that Edwardsville played in the Peoria Notre Dame Tournament. I don't know which team Shaun pitched against. If you saw him pitch, maybe you can verify that he has some great stuff.

"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen
coach- im not sure i was just asking we faced a real fine pitcher that day when we threw a sophmore who ended up throwing well... it was close we lost 2-1 ..... he wasnt really big and was a righty who hid the ball real well ... no movement on his fastball but he brought it pretty good and his off speed was really good he kept us off balance... im not sure what his name is but that could be him ... what do you think??

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×