Pitcher Only???

Simply put---this is the way the game is today---if he is a pitcher that is what he is and his stick has nothing to do with his recruiting---they are looking at him as a pitcher

If it makes you feel better the pitchers on our travel team very rarely hit

It also gets another player in the game

On my son's travel team, it doesn't matter if the player is in the middle of the order. When he pitches, he's DH'ed for. The coach wants them focused on pitching when they take the mound.

Around here, most big HS's have pitchers only. There are exceptions. There are some kids that are being looked at for the draft or have already signed with D-1's. Often times, these guys will play both ways. But, that seems to be more of the exception than the rule.

If your talented enough to play the field as well then you can do that in the summer. Most high level summer teams do not have many if any two way guys playing. You either are a pitcher or a posistion player. A high school team is going to or should be playing the guys that gives them the best chance to win that day. If your son is not one of the best posistion player options but is good enough to pitch then he will only pitch.

If your son feels he is good enough to play a posistion and get recruited doing so then find a team where he can play the field and on a team where he will be seen by college coaches. There are some programs where they are very deep and very talented and they can afford to put a very good posistion player in a pitcher only role.

Most of the 6A schools around Central FL have pitchers only. There are always a few exceptions, but pitchers are just pitchers here.

I agree that "Pitcher Only" is typical as the player moves up the ladder, but wanted to share this exception to the rule:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sp...dcuffs_Missions.html

Our own TPM's son David Kopp made his AA pitching debut last night. Besides earning the win (final score 5-4), DK went 1-for-2 with a 2-RBI double and scored an additional run, so he helped account for 3 of his new team's 5.


Julie

Great job, David!

Since I live in San Antonio, I was hoping to see David pitch, but fate intervened and I had to follow the game online. I kept thinking that the hitting statistics listed were either an error or there was another guy named Kopp on the team.

Wow!! What a debut in AA ball!

I have been chuckling about it all day. Thanks for the article.
AA ball (at least in the Texas league) you are in the line up, only when playing another NL team, against AL team there is a DH. Pitchers usually are allowed at this phase to bunt only. But his first at bat, bases loaded with 2 outs, he swings on the first pitch, almost to the wall, but caught.
Second at bat, they told him he could go for it, only not to swing on the first pitch.
The best visual of the night, was trying to imagine slow poke making it to second, then from second to home and SAFE.

great job pitching and hitting, keep climbing the ladder.

Congrats to the Kopp family!

Neat!!! Good Game!

My son is the #4 batter on his HS team, set school record for 2b, led team in RBI, Slg,etc.But 1st and foremost, he is the #1 pitcher. On his summer team, which is one of the top in the country, he is a pitcher only for the most part, unless they are short that week. He learned last year that in college, likely D1, his hitting day's will be over. He is definetely OK with that after seeing the pitching he saw last summer! Some kid's- maybe 1 out of 100 can do both at that level. You need to step back and say (what can your son play in colllege)and be realistic.

I just read something interesting - in a book by Derek Gentile - says that Babe Ruth hit 14 home runs while as pitcher. The other 700 came while as an outfielder.

(Splitters, squeezes, and steals: the inside story of baseball's greatest techniques, strategies, and plays. What a long title! Lots of pictures, easy reading, nothing in depth. Great for the summer.)

quote:

Originally posted by BBB08:
Is it common for a larger high school baseball team to have players that are Pitchers Only. If he only pitches and never bats....will it hurt the recruiting potential by college coaches/scouts. Pitching stats will be impressive, but will not batting be an issue. I am clueless about this one and need experienced advice. Thanks.

Most recruiters are looking for one way players only. They might get lucky and find a position player that can eat up a few innings, but you will rarely find a player that can do well playing two ways.

IMO, it's very difficult to become good at both. If a player has the desire and ability to continue playing past HS, he should concentrate on one poistion and that should begin in HS, especially pitchers, more so to avoid injury than anything else. Never go with the theory that if you don't make it in pitching, you might make the lineup, but a position player with a strong arm might often find his role moved to pitching. That's just the way it works.

If one is a pitcher only receiving a few innings per season in HS and has a good bat, Coach May makes a good suggestion.

TR brings up a good point, the game is completely different these days, and that is how they are recruited, or scouted as players, by one position.

My son's now a pitcher only, and he threw the ball last season very well, but it was tough. It meant he didn't play in most of the games, but still had to attend all the practices, all the games, leave school early for games he wasn't even in, etc. There was one Saturday DH that was particularly tough to sit through, as he'd pitched Friday and there was just no way he was going to get to play, but still had to spend the entire day at the field. Not that there's anything he'd rather be doing, but as a parent, I kept thinking he could have spent that time doing homework!

LHPMom2012, whose son is a sophomore as of yesterday...

BBBO8 - I feel your pain - went through that in high school too with my LHP son. And then they'd let him pinchit 8 or 9 times when he was a Senior and he ended up hitting over .700. But at the next level, "just" pitching will be more than enough and the fact he is "just" a pitcher will have little or no impact on recruiting if he is good. My son's college team is filled with pitchers who were All League or District at different postions than pitcher. Just go with it. Remember how hard it is to pitch, and then come off the mound to bat or vice-versa?

LHPMom2012,

It is a bit of an adjustment, isn't it? Mine was a Pitcher Only in college (except for a few at-bats) after being a 2-way player in HS. But don't forget that your son has a job during the games he isn't pitching. He can cheer on his teammates, chart pitches, watch the opposing pitchers for info he can pass on to teammates, and just generally support his team.

But I do understand what you're saying - it's an adjustment as a parent.

Julie

On my team our pitchers is our best hitters. They are basically the real athlete's on our team, if not pitching there either at 2nd or ss, sometimes 3rd...me another guy pitches some and play cf.

But then again we live in a very small town and I go to a pretty small school so we don't have enough on the team for just pitchers.