Pitching

Does your son prefer to pitch over playing the field? If so, let it be and have him concentrate on pitching. Coaches have it right, it will help prevent injury. Obviously, they feel pitching is his greatest role.

Bum, Jr. was also turned into a pitcher-only at the same age, and at the time I knew that he also had a chance at being a pretty special hitter. In fact, they didn't give him a chance to hit until half-way through his junior season. His first at-bat he hit it off the wall. His second at-bat he hit it over the wall for a homerun. Then he sat again. Yikes! But his future was pitching, and the coaches got it right.

Yes, he loves pitching. Thanks for the reply and information.

Welcome to the HSBBW. Good question. IF your son wants to be a two way player (pitch and play a position) HE needs to ask the coach. Not you. BUT --- just because YOU or your SON wants him to play a particular position doesn't determine where he will play. Coaches look at their roster and assign positions according to team "needs", not player "wants".
Good Luck and keep us posted,
Fungo

Bum is right rooster. The coaches see something they like and something they believe he has a great future at.

Time for you to sit back, grab a large bag of seeds, a coca-cola (a pop for you Yanks) and relax. Enjoy these next 2 years and have fun! That's what it's all about.

Good luck.

YGD

Let me issue another welcome and stress that this place is a wonderful source for someone like yourself who doesn't know a lot about the game. Most people here know what they are talking about and it comes from a lot of experience. Be forewarned that like all places there will be some who might be a little out there with their advice. Find the information that will help you and your son become more informed about baseball.

Something that you put has me thinking. You said he's a sidearm pitcher but came up as an outfielder. My question is does he throw sidearm from the outfield or does he come over the top from the outfield? Reason I ask is if he is throwing sidearm from the OF then he's really not a productive outfielder. When a guy throws a ball 200 some odd feet sidearm will have a hard time hitting his target. Hopefully to put it in better perspective from an OF point of view 84 from over the top is better than 84 sidearm. Accuracy is huge from the OF.

Now if he threw over the top and they turned him into sidearm then we got a whole different ballgame. Sidearm and over the top are totally different throwing type mechanics. So the coaches may feel your son has a real future as a pitcher over being an OF down the road so they are making the switch now because they can replace him in OF. This way he can learn one arm angle when throwing versus trying to perfect two arm angles. Learning / perfecting two arm angles can be done but it does stress the arm a lot more. Maybe he can withstand it or maybe not. Big chance to take if he can't.

I agree with the advice above that if your son does want to play the OF then HE should be the one to talk to the coach. Let him find out from the coaches mouth(s) what they have in store for him. Make sure he approaches the staff that he wants to be a team player and do what the team needs from him but he was wondering if it would be possible to help the team from the OF also.

Stick around and keep us posted as to how the season goes for your son.

Thanks for the advice. I have a better insight and it really makes since. I have never been one to run and talk to a coach. I needed to get these questions answered from another person and you guys did a great job.

In HS, you just gotta let it be and if the kid has questions on what he would like to do, it has to be him to talk to the coach about it.

These things usually work themselves out.

My son wanted to be a pitcher. He talked to the varsity coach about pitching, especially since his team was a bit thin on pitching but never pitched in a varsity game. He pitched in little league up on thru hs j.v but by time he made varsity, he was strictly an outfielder. He had the opposite issue in that in the outfield, he was over the top with a strong RF arm and dead accurate, but from the mound, he tended to drop down and his command wasn't always there even though the velocity was. I think in the end, his coach wanted his bat in the lineup because he was a productive high school hitter and one of their better outfielders who could also steal bases and had good speed.

As much as my son wanted to pitch, he loved hitting so if he was a pitcher, he may not have nearly gotten all the at bats he got as an every day player.

In the end, he didn't care too much. He just wanted to play. He was glad that when he made varsity and won a starting spot, he got moved from LF where he first started to his natural position in RF where his arm would be more of use and where he really liked playing.

Thanks for your comment. Yes, he would rather pitch. He is the only player to pitch only. We have other pitchers that play positions as well. That is one of the reasons for the post. He has been on the high school team since 9th grade. His first year he sat on the bench every game because the coach said you have to start at the bottom and juniors and seniors have priority to playing time. The other problem is we have a young baseball team this year. We have a shortstop who is a ninth grader who also pitches and two outfielders who are sophomores that pitch as well. They are starters on the varsity. So he went from starting centerfield on the JV last year to pitching only for varsity. We have 2 seniors and 4 juniors. The rest are freshman and sophomores. So the old rule went out the window this year. So does that mean he is a very good pitcher to only play that role. He is my son and I try not to be bias, but if he started as centerfielder last year and has improved shouldn't you have the upper hand on that position.

First I am biased, as my son is a pitcher and position player. I personally think it is foolish for HS coaches to presume they know where a kid will end up. They are too young and too undeveloped for anyone to REALLY know. That said I have seen kids that clearly will be a pitcher, or clearly a position player, sometimes it is obvious, many times not.

My son is a Jr and has been told by several college coaches that they are not sure where he will end up. Now if he was throwing 90 it might be more obvious, but he is not. Once we hit league he will be on the hill every other game, but throughout the season he will play OF or DH or pitch. He loves all aspects of the game and he fortunately plays for a coach that recognizes kids abilities and utilizes all of their skills.

In the end it needs to be driven by your boy. If he wants to play two ways, then he will have to deal with the coach. I would help him figure out what he wants and maybe role play a little with him so he gets confident in discussing his options. Then let him have a talk with the coach.

From the sounds of it he could go either way in college. In the end it is what he wants to do.

First and foremost your son should play the position that he loves to play, if given the choice. It appears that he enjoys pitching, so it would reason, that all is well.

As far as position play goes, that is usually determined first and foremost by the ability to hit. Idealy for Average and for some Power. If your guy has wheels and can catch and throw, but is not as productive at the plate, then the move to pitching is that much more beneficial.

I don't hear you saying that your son wants to get his "at bats" and is missing that aspect of the game...if that is true than all the more reason to be comfortable with the choice of "Pitcher Only".

Most HS coaches are not thinking about the players college future but are concerned about what is best for their team---this thinking is a key element here

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Most HS coaches are not thinking about the players college future but are concerned about what is best for their team---this thinking is a key element here

Very good point TR, however I have seen some that get locked into the mind set that they have to run their team like a college team. The best ones seem to know which kids can do both and utilize them.

Rooster,

I'm happy to hear your son is doing so well! It is good to have a problem that you are so good, that the coaches want to protect your arm.

This post hits close to home because I am a side arm pitcher who had to give up hitting for pitching in Junior College. I am also giving lessons to a side arm pitcher in high school now who was just made into a pitcher only. He was also an outfielder.

Here is my experience: I was recruited to play at a local Community College as a pitcher. I had no real direction in my life as far as baseball was concerned. My parents knew nothing about it, and I came from a small high school with a young coach. Therefore when the community college coach told me I would be a pitcher only, I assumed that was how it had to be. I regret not trying to continue being both a position player and pitcher because I really believe that I could have been a good had I continued.

On the other hand, if I hadn't focused soley on pitching would I be where I am today? I don't know. I can't answer that question.

I am happy with being a pitcher, but I still do think about hitting and playing the field. Your son will have to make a decision about if he wants to be a pitcher only or does he think he has a future as a hitter/outfielder.

Overall, I wish I could have tried hitting at the higher levels, but I think being a pitcher only has worked out for the best.

The good thing is that you know your sons coach is looking out for him, his arm, and his career. But who's to say he isn't holding him back. That's going to have to be your sons call.

Please tell him Good Luck and keep up the hard work!

Your son needs to approach the coach and tell him he also wants to play CF. Don't worry about the arm, he's not going to be in the majors, and being a star in the OF & P will only help his college scholarship chances.

Its all about having fun at that age, and you don't make that many strong throws from the OF anyway during the course of a game for it to make much difference.

If his arm is sore the game after pitching, coach can always DH him.

One other thing to think about and I don't want you to take this the wrong way......

If the coach is a good coach he'll usually be able to tell if a player can hit early on in his career. For instance, you may see a JV player hit .400 but turn around and not sniff varsity pitching.

There is a huge difference between 75 down the heart of the plate and 85 on the black.

Rooster,
My son was a pitcher only (only one on the team) when he came up to varsity, this is not unusual.

There is nothing wrong with being a pitcher only.

Floridafan makes a good point, it's not how you play the OF, but your bat in the line up.

Just be careful, pitchers "only" have a tendency to put in more time on the mound than others, start doing your homework on recommended pitch counts and innings pitched in a week for your son, that should be the only thing to worry about this year. JMO.

My son has earned 3 wins in 3 games. He pitched saturday 5 innings and struck out 9. He allowed one run and 2 hits. He has settled in to being a pitcher only. He loves it.

Grats, Winning solves everything hehe...

It seems like your son is a very good pitcher and the coach might have made a good decision for him. I suggest if your son loves to pitch, he should concentrate on that and becoming better. There is still time to improve no matter his record or game stats. If he is a quality pitcher, he will be talked about, he will be noticed and he will be be happy about it. Hopefully he had a knack for learning and playing the game at his best. Good luck to him, be proud and more than likely, see you in college in the near future.

My son has 43 strike outs so far with 6 wins/1 loss. He pitched his second complete game Thursday.

Sounds like way too many innings for a kid who is new to pitching. Keep an eye out for arm problems.