Strikes to Balls Ratio?

The strikes to balls ratio really depends upon what you are trying to do, the game situation, and where you are in the batting order. So, each inning could vary. I think everyone wants to pitch ahead. How you get ahead is the question. Do you throw a first pitch fastball or breaking pitch? Next, if that first pitch is a ball, then what do you do? Sometimes, it depends upon whether you have seen the hitter or not. Sometimes, you have to throw a strike given the games situation or sometimes, you might what to throw another ball. If the batter chases, great. If not, then what do you throw? I think a lot of good programs throw a changeup. Why? The batter has been told that he is getting a big fat fastball in this situation. Well, I could go on and on. In pitching there is "wild" = out of control and there is "wild" = hitting location or "spots." In the end, I think that a decent high school pitcher should be able to throw 75% strikes on an off day. JMHO! I hope this helps some.

75% strikes on an off day! Never happen. 2/3 strikes is a good ratio. A HS pitcher on an off day would be lucky to throw 60% strikes. I will admit that a HS pitcher who is struggling with his control might be able to just groove fastballs and throw 75% strikes until he was knocked out of the game which probably wouldn't take long.

I've always thought that 2:1 was a good strike/ball ratio.
On the first pitch, you want very close to a 1:0 ratio.
First pitch strikes are important, because on 0-1, you (as the batter) can look for a fast ball to sit on 90% of the time. "Just throw strikes" is a fan/parent version of "Don't walk anybody else.".

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Originally posted by CADad:
75% strikes on an off day! Never happen. 2/3 strikes is a good ratio. A HS pitcher on an off day would be lucky to throw 60% strikes. I will admit that a HS pitcher who is struggling with his control might be able to just groove fastballs and throw 75% strikes until he was knocked out of the game which probably wouldn't take long.

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You're right. Should have changed this to location instead of strike.

As a pitching coach, I hope that my pitchers throw as few strikes as possible, but that the batters swing at them all. You only want to throw the strike when you have to.

Based on empirical data, aabout 65% is normally a good outing. 65-70% is usually fantastic. Over 70% usually the pitcher has given up too many hits.

These numbers assume the pitcher throws at least 2 to 3 innings or more.

I have been coaching high school pitchers for 8 years. We have always tried to throw strikes at a 60% clip. We chart the strike percentage of every pitcher every outing.

I live near Long Beach State (So Cal) where Dave Snow was an extremely successful head coach. He was once the Oympic coach and always placed a large emphasis on pitching. Luckily, he held many open practices while I was finishing my credential. I learned a lot just by watching and listening. The 60% clip was his goal. I figured if it was good enough for him it was good enough for me -and it has served my kids well over the years.

We try to throw 67% first pitch strikes (2 out of 3) and place a major emphasis on throwing two of the first three pitches to each batter for a strike.

This percentage may seam low, but it includes every pitch. And, in many at bats during the course of a game the pitcher will be expected to purposely throw balls!

60% is a good barometer.