Thinking Too Much On The Mound

Get your hands on HEADS-UP BASEBALL by Ken Ravissa.

Read the pitching chapter. Pay special attention to when he talks about "Releases" on the mound.

Understand that you can only play one pitch at a time, but that you must play EVERY single pitch. Your focus must not waver from your immediate responsibility - the pitch you are throwing right now.

Thanks

I appreciate your time to lend some advice

Try focusing your thoughts in another direction. Analyze the batter.

Is the batter too close to the plate? Bust him inside with a fastaball. Then perhaps follow with something outside.

Too far off the plate? Work the outside corner until he moves up on the plate. Then bust him inside with a fastball.

Batter looks nervous, perhaps timid? Inside heat to remind him he is timid (as a great pitcher once said). Then perhaps work him away.

Does the batter hit with a closed stance? Again, work him inside, perhaps with a fastball angled in on his hands.

Does the batter use an open stance? Work him away, he won't be able to do anything with it.

An uppercut swinger? Pitch him up & in.

Has he chased a high pitch? Give him another on the inside, about 2-3" above the top of the zone. He will chase it all day long, but he won't be able to do anything with it.

A really hard swinger? How about a first pitch changeup to throw him off balance.

Behind on his swing? Stay with the heat, but change grips and location.

Ahead on his swing? Changeup time. Then mix it up.

Read the batter. Determine his tendencies, weaknesses & strengths.

Plot your pitch strategy. A pitcher must keep the batter off balance. He can do that through deception and variation.

Deception - The pitcher at times should use deception. E.g., follow an inside two seam with an inside no seam. It appears to be the same pitch coming in. But it will drop more as it approaches the plate. The batter is more likely to swing over the top. Or an outside double cross fastball followed by an outside changeup. Again, the pitch appears to be the same, but the different speed will throw off the batter.

Variation - The pitcher can vary from pitch to pitch. E.g., work the batter inside, then outside.

Pitchers can keep batters off balance by changing speed, location, movement (e.g., grip), angles. They can use deception or variation.

Perhaps by focusing your thoughts in a positive direction, you can keep the doubts and negative thoughts from creeping in.

Good luck.

hey Texan what an excellent post for any pitcher. I am going to print this and give it
to all of the pitchers on our HS staff. once
again thanks.

Texan i appreciate your advice as well. thank you.

Garvey,

You can pm or email me for some one on one advice if you want. I pitched up to the minor league level myself and have seen the importance of the mental side of pitching. And yes one of the most imprtant things of being a pitcher is the mental aspect of it. I have seen many of good pitchers not fullfill there potential due to the lack in the mental game. Being a solid tough pitcher mentally will help take you farther and obviously help you reach your potential more then if your lacking in the mental game. Alot of pitchers get away on raw talent but there comes a time then the knowledge of actually pitching and the mental side of pitching will determine there final path.

Texan that is a great post, but dont you think its a bit much for someone who thinks too much on the mound?

I think it just gives him more to think about
albeit good stuff

quote:

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Originally posted by KingOfThirdBase:
Texan that is a great post, but dont you think its a bit much for someone who thinks too much on the mound?

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A pitcher must think on the mound. Otherwise he is just a thrower and will not be successful over the long run.

But the thinking needs to be about the correct things. Not negative things.

putty hill i sent you a pm, and i am in total agreement with Texan. I remeber that a sports phsycologist once proved that if you think don't do this and don't do this, you are highly likely to do them while playing your game, whatever it maybe. here is an example

"DON'T LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF YOUR COMPUTER!!"


the first thing you will probably do is notice that sound and keeping paying attention to the fact it is there. saying it through a post might not work but you can prove it on your own.


-EDITED: sorry about that i am an idiot idk what i was thinking by saying the dont listen to the sound of your computer thing

I agree with texan on some things about looking at the placement of the batter, Etc. But hats alot for a pitcher to think. Your mind is supposed to be clear up there. When i pitched for College and Minor leagues, I use to look at the batter and wondered if he feard me and doubted him self. What are you looking to hit, What are you looking for on this pitch. But mostly what went through my mind was a song. I sung it over and over in my head It cleared my mind and help me focus on the job at hand.

For those who Wondering what the song was it was "Eye of the Tiger"

I agree with what Texan has to say. I also feel the catcher can help the pitcher out on a lot of the stuff. He can see where the batter is setting up, stance, etc. and give him targets accordingly. This will take some of the thinking away from the pitcher.

Heres my take on it. What you need to be thinking about is making sure that your mechanics are sound. Making sure that you hit your spots. That is all you need to be thinking about. Let the pitching coach call the pitches and location. You dont need to be worrying about what to throw or where it needs to be thrown. Some of you might disagree thats ok. But we are talking about a kid that has already said he thinks too much on the hill. Why give him things to think about other than staying within himself and hitting his spots? No need.

Coach May,

I would simplify it even more....don't worry about mechanics. You must trust all of your hard work in practice. In the game, just execute.

Good point redbird.

Lots of great opinions..thought I would throw mine in as well. I think you need to think about the level of the pitcher. I want most high school pitchers do follow Coach May's advice. They need to focus on consistent mechanics and hitting their spots. If they cannot do these things, it does no good to think about up down, in out, stance of the hitter, and and type of swing. If you have a pitcher that can consistently hit his spots and has consistent mechanics, then I think it is good for them to be able to read a hitter's swing and stance. When they get to college they need to be able to think, but then again, that doesn't work for every pitcher at that level either. Some pitchers, rely on the catcher, others rely on their own info. The main thing is to master the mechanics and location first.

Really good information and I believe however that the real key for Garvey or anyone else for that matter is a pitchers overall belief in his soul that he is physically better, smarter, better prepared and more resolute than the batter he's facing. In other words he's got to BELIEVE he'll win every battle. I said it in another post recently, you have got to be a predator not a victim out there! Self doubt is what creates overthinking in my view. As far as mechanics are concerned, the only mechanic I want a pitcher to THINK about is "getting to the top" in his gather to avoid rushing. I told my wife that if Kerry Wood wanted to take me out to dinner, I'd fix at least half of his mechanic issues just by "getting him to the top". I can see the headlines "Wood finally wins 20, credits obscure youth coach with simplistic fix"!

Oh yeah, I forgot...I also ask my little guys if they saw the movie "The Patriot"? They all say yeah and I ask what did the dad say to his two boys when he gave them rifles right before they ambushed the British? They all yell in choral response..."AIM SMALL, MISS SMALL!

when im on the mound i usually think of sumthin completely different or i just zone everything out.

I want my pitchers to think on the mound...But your thoughts are negative, be positve..And Texan is right on what to be thinking about.. Battle

Garvey or any interested reader.
I recommend three things having worked with my son over these years which seems to have worked.

1) Never, never, never let the batter, opposing team or coach see you get frustrated with the results of the last pitch,
the last hit, missed call, etc.

2) Don't over-complicate the position. What does that mean?
Earn confidence. Can I throw a strike, no matter the pitch, when I have to, (3 strikes from a 3-0 count)? To do
this, I recommend every time you go out to throw bullpen after warming up, pitch 50 pitches, counting how many you
can throw for a strike by hitting the mitt located in the bottom of the strike-zone. A bet with dad, if he is
willing, is optional.

3) What will you do with the ball when it is hit back to you. Do not let frustration of not fielding a ball cleanly, not
making a good throw or throwing to the wrong base get your mind off your pitching control.

Practice these three activities every chance you have and you will be successful.

Here's my 2 cents: Sounds like you need to get more mentally tough! I don't say that to be mean or as an insult...I say it because I think the majority of high school players today are a bit weak mentally. They allow external doubts get in the way of their performance because they don't know how to deal with things. I work with my players on the mental side of the game...I figure, if the game is indeed 90% mental like all the fancy publications and big-time experts say, why spend 100% of practice time doing the other 10%?
I recently talked to a member of Michigan's national championship softball team, and she said their team spent a good portion of every practice working on the mental side of performance.
I would recommend doing some research on mental training (visualization, positive self-talk, affirmations, etc.). It really made a difference in my career at all levels, and I have no doubt that it is helping MY pitchers.
Good luck. If you need a place to start, my email is: jknight@central-office.grand-blanc.k12.mi.us. Coach Knight

Garvy, keep thinking, the pitching position is a thinking mans game. Learning how to get batters out comes with experience. The higher you move up the better the hitters and you cant get along with just velocity. You gotta keep im off balance and guessing. At the higher levels a great catcher will guide you and help ya a ton with this. A good catcher will help you when your a little unsure of what to throw. Thats why most big league starters have their favorite catchers to be behind the plate when their in the game because they know each other and the catcher knows what your best pitch is and whats working for you right now. Keep thinking and learning and in time it will come natural and the pressure will ease.