Pitch locations and aiming

If a pitcher is aiming he is in trouble right from the start

Aiming is deliberately trying to throw to one location, which often ends in a pitcher throwing all over the place. What a good pitcher does is work tirelessly in the pen on throwing his pitches in areas that are desired by his catcher, and some more than others, begin to hit spots out of habit. When the body recognizes the habit, or muscle memory of doing things a certain way, it becomes easier to repeat it.

You did ask about certain locations and to address that point, it comes down to game plan. What kind of game plan do the coaches and the catcher have based on the pitchers ability and the opponent they are facing. That may determine where the catcher is asking for certain pitches.

Precision pitching and accuracy is all about aiming the ball. My pitchers better have a purpose behind every pitch and "just hittin the glove" aint gonna do it, neither is "just play catch" with the catcher. I think the reason that coaches say these things is to relax pitchers. How about just telling a pitcher to relax? A pitcher can aim the ball AND relax. Pitchers are not taught accuracy by the methods of FOCUS and CONCENTRATION and it is a huge mistake. These skills can be used in other areas of life as well, where distractions are abundant! Oftentimes, we command our players to FOCUS and CONCENTRATE but we haven't taught them HOW to do it!
I definitely wouldnt tell my kid to aim, concentrate or focus without teaching these skills, so on that account you are correct. But a kid who does learn how to focus and concentrate will be aiming the ball - not for the glove (which has at least an 8 inch margin of error depending on the size of the glove) - but for the smallest visible spot possible. I could go on but I will stop here, this post may have been started by some of my comments about this on other threads (but maybe not, the timing of the start of this thread is conspicuous).

Ted, focus and concentration should definitely be practiced in the pen when working on other pitches. Thats where it should be taught and studied. The word "Aim" has always been associated with those that are trying too hard to place the ball when they have lost control. They often loose velocity, by not concentrating and tend to get even more wild. Yes, mental drills are more important than we often emphasize.

Aiming is a problem that young pitchers have. It is the restricted arm motion instead of letting it go. Aiming is the result of inexperience and not being confident in your stuff.
Locating is not aiming. Locating is being able to consitently throw to a de4sired location and is the resutl of years of practice and devbeloping motor skills.

Thats funny, when I teach a kid who has control problems that stupid little trick, you know, AIMING for the smallest spot possible (concentration) and tuning out all the other distractions (focus) and wanting to hit that spot (desire, belief), sometimes like your life depends on it, it takes about 5 minutes to straighten them out. If they believe, that is, gotta believe.

We may be splitting hairs here and talking about the same thing using different words. What I see as aiming is when a kid trys too hard to hit a spot using his arm and trying to guide the ball to that spot. When this is happening, mechanics suffer, the kid tends to short arm the ball and almost kind of push the ball in. Kind of like throwing a dart rather than a baseball. What I tell the kids, is to develop a "tunnel vision" when pitching. The only thing you see is the catchers glove. Then you just step and throw. Don't TRY to hit the spot, just keep your focus on the glove and throw the ball. When the mechanics are right and the talent is there, most of the time, the ball will go where you want. If it doesn't, there may be mechanical issues to work on.

I am with you Ted on all those being important. Focus, concentration, and belief in the pitch.

we differ a little in the fact that when a guy has control problems I try to simplify the situation. Make the spot larger not smaller. For some the glove is a large target, for some it is a small target, most likley the guy having trouble throwing strikes already feels the glove is a tiny target. For me the control problem guy needs to be concentrating on hitting the catcher in the chest. If he is able to do that after time, then step it up and make things a bit tougher. (then glove) If your hitting him in the chest , your getting near the intended zone anyway. Visually easier, mentally easier. Crawl before you walk and walk before you run , then run like heck..

Well, I think another part of this is to highlight the importance of positive thinking. When are you giving in and when are you going to raise your standards instead of lowering them? On the other post we were talking about visualization and I think that really helps with accuracy, too. Thanks to all of you for this discussion. May I say that I was taught this by a mentor and coach but WAY too late in my career. I really could have used it 10 years earlier in just so many ways. Kids with alot of natural talent shouldn't ever fool themselves into thinking that they know the game just because they are getting hitters out. They wont be able to get away with throwing 87 MPH belt high fastballs for long.

quote:

Originally posted by Teluog:
Watching baseball on TV I've only seen pitchers aim for 3 locations: low-inside, low-outside, and high-inside. Occasionally the catcher will set up for something low and over the plate, or up high abive the strike to get the batter to chase a fastball. But what about middle-in, or middle-high, or high-outside? Is there ever a time when a pitcher should aim his slider middle-in, or their splitter high and over the plate, or their change-up high and away?

If you want to really understand a systematic way of understanding pitching/location/velocity selection go pick up book 3 at:

http://www.hittingisaguess.com/F_book.html

IMO a must read for all serious pitchers.