Archive for Pitching – Page 4

Don’t Let The Game Speed Up On You

May
15

2015-04-16 11.11.33As a young player, I have no idea how many times this happened to me. I do know, though, that it was more than I would have liked. But to this day, all those moments have helped mold me into the parent and coach that I strive to be today.

I was working with one of my college students the other day. His mound work started off good but as the session went on, he started to battle his command. When I have worked with a player for a period of time, and I have come to know them emotionally and see where their strengths and weaknesses are, I will give them a chance to to work through these moments on their own. The worst thing a coach can do is say something to a pitcher between every pitch. Trust me, been there, experienced that. No bueno!

As the miss fires kept coming, you could see him getting more and more frustrated. With that frustration came a lose of focus which, in a game situation, would lead to disaster. After about 10-15 in a row, I finally stepped in and helped him realize what was going on. Physically, mechanically, nothing was wrong. What was wrong was what he was allowing to happen between his ears. He was throwing pitches while still focusing on what happened with his last pitch. He was trying to force command instead of trusting in his ability and letting his natural talent take over. It had had “Sped Up On Him”.

When this happens, we lose all rational thought. We are letting the situation control us instead of us controlling the situation. We swing at pitches out of the zone because we have no plan. We make poor pitch choices because we have become emotional. We make mistakes that we should know better than to do.

This happens often on the other side too. Us coaches in the dugout are just as prone to this as the players on the field are. My first year coaching, this reality slapped me in the face one night. Our pitcher was out there struggling. Things just weren’t going his way and I, as the coach, was in charge of keeping the pitch count. The longer the inning went on, the more mistakes I watched happen, the quicker I started to lose control of my job. We had an organizational rule that no pitcher was to throw more than 35 pitches in one inning. My boss happened to be in town, and in the dugout with me, when he came up and asked me what he was at (pitch count). When I looked down, he was at 30+ and we had no one up in the bullpen getting ready. Well, our pitcher ended up throwing too many and I got a good talking to after the game was over. Needless to say, lesson learned, it never happened again.

In the heat of the moment, on the field or in the dugout, staying mentally in control will allow you to make those rational decisions. The correct pitch selections, mound visits in the correct moments, making the last out at third, pitching changes, keeping track of pitch counts, etc.

Take a deep breath, gather your thoughts and do your best to…

“Don’t Let The Game Speed Up On You”

Categories : Catching, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Fielding, Hitting, Pitching

Pitch To Contact

May
11

2015-05-11 09.13.06My last session of the day yesterday was with two of my High School students. Both are great kids, both are talented pitchers and both have the ability to play past HS, if they so desire.

As they were playing catch, I was chatting with their parents I came to learn that they both had walk rates, during their seasons, that needed some attention.

After they were done with their mound work, we sat down for a few minutes and dug a little deeper into the topic. I wanted to hear what their approach is with every pitch. Is their catcher moving around, side to side, too much? What is their thought process in 2 ball counts? What is their intent with the first pitch to each batter? Are they looking to get contact or trying to get swing and misses?

A pitcher’s #1 job is to throw strikes. The goal is to do this 65% of the time. In my book, a pitcher has two counts where he can purposely throwing a pitch, out of the zone, to get a swing and miss. 0-2 and 1-2 counts. With that said, there is nothing better for a pitcher than getting a punch-out on 3 pitches, especially when you freeze the hitter with a fastball in an 0-2 count. This is proof that you are in the dome, you have them thinking too much and you have out thought them.

Besides those two counts, EVERY SINGLE PITCH should be thrown with the intent of inducing weak contact on the ground. Too often, young pitchers are pitching to get swing and misses. When we do this, pitch AWAY from contact, we WILL throw more balls than we should be. Remember, our job is to throw strikes. Nothing drives me more crazy, than seeing a catcher set up a foot off the plate, trying to steal strikes. This is not efficiency and this is not development.

Very few youth pitchers have the ability to hit the corner 6-7 times out of 10 pitches. With that understanding, catchers need to be using more of the plate, to give their pitchers a little wiggle room when they miss, some, side to side. Unless it is an 0-2 or 1-2 count, have them sit thirds of the plate or just stay middle. If you do have a pitcher who is advanced with their command of the baseball, then sure, keep them progressing in their development and learn how to work the strike zone.

Two ball counts are a huge count for pitchers. One of our main goals should be to do what we can to stay away from the dreaded 3 ball count. Staying away from these counts will allow us to stay away from those free bases. There is nothing worse than giving the batter first base for free. We have to make them earn it. A mentality of Pitching To Contact, will most definitely, help us achieve this important goal.

They first pitch to each hitter IS the most important pitch of the at bat. I don’t have specifics, but there is a HUGE difference in a hitters batting average when they start the count 0-1 vs. 1-0. The first pitch to a hitter NEEDS to be thrown with the intent of getting contact, preferably, on the ground. Focus on executing the pitch down in the zone. Getting an out on one pitch can’t be done if we don’t throw a first pitch strike.

Pitchers, learn to trust your stuff and throw pitches with the goal of the inducing contact. Coaches, help your pitchers and catchers understand this. Help them keep their pitch count down which will allow them to give you more innings.

“PITCH TO CONTACT”

Categories : Catching, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Calling Pitches From the Dugout

May
6

IMG_1938I have written on this before but after a couple recent brief conversations, I promised I would go into it further.

I have called plenty of pitches from the dugout (never every pitch though). Always with the intent to help my pitcher on the mound work on developing a certain pitch they need to build some confidence in or to show them how effective a certain pitch/location can affect the hitter and their comfort level.

With this though, there was always an understanding with my catcher that if the pitcher shook him off, he was to go with what they wanted. If they have a plan, are thinking, and feel confident in another pitch, then by all means, go for it. If they believe in a certain pitch in a certain count/situation, they will throw that pitch with more conviction than they will the pitch that I am suggesting.

If it ends up being a poor choice in pitch selection/location, then we can talk about it after the inning is over, or after the game is over and work through thoughts and ideas. With that in mind though, believe this…a pitcher can throw any pitch in any count and if they EXECUTE that pitch, their chances of success are very high. Too often we will get caught up in saying “That was the wrong pitch to throw, that’s why it was a hit” but it ALWAYS comes down to the execution of the pitch. Everyone on the field, and in the stands, may know the pitcher is going to throw a breaking ball and if he throws it where he is suppose to, he will win. If he leaves it up, the hitter should do with it what he trains to do, and he will win. BEFORE YOU SECOND GUESS A PITCH SELECTION, FIRST LOOK AT THE EXECUTION OF THE PITCH.

Now, if we have a young, raw pitcher, on the mound who is so new to it that there is no way they can try to repeat their delivery, focus on the glove and think about pitch selection, at the same time, AND a you have a young catcher who lacks experience too, then sure, let’s help them with pitch selection.

As you all know, I am a strong believer in development. Calling every single pitch for your pitcher and catcher, is not development. If you have a pitcher and/or catcher who has shown you that they are out there thinking, then let them go with it. If you feel that they made some poor choices in pitch selection, then talk through it later. Let them learn. Let them make some mistakes. Let them build some confidence in their own choices. LET THEM LEARN AND FIGURE IT OUT.

It always amazed me when we would get a pitcher, who was just drafted, and he had no idea how to call his own game. At that level, you are expected to be able to do this and when a young pitcher has his hand held every time they took the mound, as an amateur, this is the product. All talent, no smarts. The player who can think, play the mind games and out think their opponent, is the player who will advance quicker.

Coaches, please give the kids, your pitchers and catchers, a chance to call their own pitches. You saying that the pitch you call is the final word, that the pitcher has no option to shake off the catcher, is you saying you have one thing in mind, WIN.

Once again, it all comes down to development. Develop first, win second.

Categories : Catching, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Emotions and Body Language

May
3

2014-06-12 15.28.26True competitors are often very emotional. They have the tendency to get very excited when great things happen and get very frustrated when things go against them. This is the nature of a competitor.

You watch any game in person or on TV, there is a good chance you will see both sides of this. I was brought up to never do something that will let your opponents know that they are getting the better of you or do anything that would rub your success in their face. These traits, I believe, are a huge reason why I feel I was able to play for as long as I did with very average stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a learning curve. I had plenty of games, early in my career, where I let my emotions get the best of me, but I did get a grip on it. Through trail and error, it got to the point where I had coaches who would ask if I was happy with my performance or if I was disappointed. Of course I was happy when I did my part and the team won, that was my job, and of course I was disappointed when the team lost, but I would never let my emotions waiver. This is what I learned about myself and what would allow me to stay in the right place, mentally, to go out and perform outing after outing. Never get too high and never get too low. Stay even keel through success AND failure.

When you do see a player who has poor body language, you are seeing a player who is most likely one of the mentally weaker ones on the field. If they can’t control their appearance, in my experience, they will have a hard time controlling their emotions when they are on the mound or in the box in a big situation.

The player who is great at controlling their body language, in success and failure, is the player who is mentally stronger and will win the battle of longevity in the end.

Here are some examples of poor body language to look out for…
-Throwing their hands up in the air, or throwing their head back, after they think the umpire missed a call.
-Yelling at their teammates, while on the field, when they make a mistake.
-Striking out and slamming their bat, or helmet, on the ground.
-Yelling out curse words when they get to the dugout.

This goes for us coaches too. Remember, we are our Dudes role models. How we handle success, and adversity, is an example to them. We are telling them how we think it’s okay to act. With that in mind, keep yourself in check at all times.

Poor body language is a direct reflect of ones mental toughness. Learn how to control your emotions boys!

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Hitting, Parents, Pitching

Giving Signs From Second Base

Apr
24

2015-03-13 23.21.25-1
With the season in full swing, we have many from across the country contact us seeking advise, looking for our opinion on how to handle special situations and just wanting to share stories with us.

We talk about playing this game the right way. We talk about development. We talk about respecting the game and your opponents.

Here is a topic that has come up a few times so I want to speak on it for a few minutes. This is one of those un-written rules in Baseball. It’s unacceptable, but often done. If, and when, a team gets caught doing this by the other team, it often doesn’t end well, especially in the adult version of this game. It’s usually something planed out by the players (though I have heard of coaches teaching the players how to do this…classless). A runner gets to second base and is there long enough that he is able to unlock the code of signs the catcher is giving to the pitcher. It’s often something very simple like, “The second sign”, “The first sign after 2”, “The last sign” or “Outs +1”.

Some tips on what to look for in a runner on second who is giving signs…

-Verbal cues (probably only with the young age groups).
-Different shuffles in their lead after seeing the signs.
-Starting with hands on upper leg, then dropping one or the other after seeing the signs.
-Looking left or right after seeing the signs.
-Stepping forward or backward after seeing the signs.
-Standing straight up or squatting lower in their lead after seeing the signs.

Like I said, this is often done but is what we call “Bush League” and most pitchers and catchers will take this personal when they see this happening.

If your hitters can’t read the ball out of the pitchers hand, then try teaching them what to look for in a pitchers delivery that may show what he plans on throwing. If you really study a pitcher, most will tell you, with their body movements, what they are throwing on almost every pitch. If you are teaching your players how to “Give Signs From Second Base”, you are NOT developing. You are NOT respecting the game. You are NOT respecting your opponent.

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Hitting, Pitching

Get Your Mind Right

Apr
14

2015-03-18 09.55.47
WARNING…This is a former pitcher speaking so hitters, don’t get sensitive on me!

One of my biggest pet peeves as a player and now as a coach, was and is, when hitters complain about high strikes called. I’m talking about the pitch belt high, maybe a ball or two above it, that is called for a strike. First, according to the so called rule book strike zone, it should be called a strike every time, but it’s not and I’m ok with that because I don’t ever want to throw it there. Second, think about it, if you HAD swung the bat instead of watching that meat ball go by, you could have crushed it! If you are going to be upset with anybody, it should be with yourself. Stop whining about a mistake that you made (by choosing not to swing) but are trying to blame it on someone else (the umpire).

Next…Pitchers, you should know how hard it is to hit. I don’t care who is in the box, don’t ever give them too much credit. Last time I checked, there has NEVER been a hitter that got a hit every time they stepped in the box. Even Trout gets out 6-7 times out of every 10 at bats. Your job is to throw strikes. Execute pitches. Compete with every pitch. Pitch to contact. Stay away from 3 ball counts. Control the running game and get as many outs as you can on as few pitches as possible.

When we give them too much credit, that’s when we make mistakes. That’s when we throw pitches without conviction. That’s when we are focused too much on who is in the box rather than what pitch I am about to throw and how I want to execute it. Remember, when we are on the mound, all we are doing is playing a glorified game of catch with our catcher.

Get Your Mind Right boys!!

Categories : All Articles, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Pitching

BE SMART

Nov
27

2014-11-16 22.31.04BE SMART…Our PDP students will not pick up a baseball from October thru December. Somewhere along the line, the idea of throwing a baseball year round came about as a way to get ahead. Well…It’s Not! The arm needs a break. Time to heal up and give a player some time to play another sport, focus on the mental side of the game, focus on overall strength or just be a kid. I strongly recommend taking at least 2.5 months off of throwing, and 3 would be great!

We use the months of November and December to focus on our Mental Toughness & Leadership Skills through class room work and also meet to focus on arm care routines, the fundamentals of our swings, the fundamentals of the different positions and some speed and agility when we can.

Parents…Take care of your Dudes arm. Please educate yourself on this and have a plan for the off seasons. If you want suggestions on this, please feel free to send us a message or email us and we will help in any way we can.

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Parents, Pitching

In Your Favor…

Aug
7

AdamPiratesPitchers…Like I have said before, you need to realize how hard it is to hit a baseball. Besides that, there are a few other things that are in your favor. Here’s what I can think of…

1) The strike zone goes all the way to the bottom of the knees. If you can become great at commanding that part of the zone, you will make it a lot easier on yourself and get a lot more ground balls.

2) You have 7 guys behind you, and 1 behind the plate, waiting to help you. Throw the ball over the plate, don’t be afraid of contact, and let them take care of the rest.

3) Hitters can be very emotional. If a pitch comes anywhere near them, they more often than not, think it was on purpose. They have a hard time realizing that you just badly missed your spot. They often will get frustrated and become more aggressive and swing at pitches that they normally wouldn’t. Use this to your advantage.

4) They also have a hard time letting it go when they don’t agree with the umpires. Whether it’s a strike call or a check swing call, many amateur, minor league and some major league hitters will step back in the box still thinking about how they think they just get screwed. Use this to your advantage as they will be in that aggressive mode again.

5) Play doesn’t start until you throw the ball. Use this to your advantage and work quickly. Get back on the rubber as soon as possible and throw the next pitch. If you can work with 8 seconds or less in-between pitches, the hitter may feel uncomfortable and rushed in the box resulting in less quality swings.

6) You have a catcher behind the plate who, if he is taught right, can see things that the hitter does in the box which can help him decide on which pitches to call. Trust him back there!

There are more, but think about those for now. There are also many things that give the hitter an advantage but we don’t want to focus on that. Give all of your attention to what you do, and think, when you are on the mound. Become confident in your ability and believe in yourself. Proper preparation builds self esteem and confidence.

Categories : Chris Gissell, Dudes Blog, Pitching

High Elevation

Jun
30

2014-05-25 15.34.25It’s very tough to pitch in higher elevation cities. Pitchers struggle with it all the time. Sinkers don’t sink. Fly balls fly further than normal. Breaking balls usually don’t have the bite they do when closer to sea level. In my opinion, there are a couple keys to be able to have some success in these places.

First, you better be able to pitch inside with your fastball. And I’m not just talking about going in there a couple times, I’m talking about going in there often enough to make the hitters uncomfortable. Hitters naturally have more confidence in these ball parks since they right away know they have the advantage. Hitters are taught to look for something out over the plate that they can get extended on. Often, they are also taught to let it go inside and look away on the next pitch. I have heard, on many occasions, hitting coaches and hitters say that very rarely will you see a pitcher who can command the inside part of the plate.

When you do go inside, commit to that part of the plate. Tell yourself, if you are going to miss, miss off the plate. It’s ok if you knock someone down or mistakingly hit him, you have to be able to own this side of the plate, especially in those higher elevation places. Get comfortable at pitching inside for balls and strikes and you will see more success.

Second, and this goes for anywhere, you need to learn what “Down in the zone” really means. Five inches above the knee is NOT down in the zone. Down in the zone is the knee caps or lower. Pitchers often fool themselves thinking they made a great pitch, but most of the time if they are able to go back and look at it on video, or ask their catcher, they will realize the pitch wasn’t where they thought it was. When throwing a bullpen session, you need to focus on this. If you throw a pitch that is too high, have a coach or the catcher tell you how high it was and get the next one down. Develop that muscle memory you need to get it down consistently. Become a good self evaluator and be able to recognize when you made a good pitch or bad pitch.

Command the inside part of the plate and the bottom of the zone and you will have more success in not just the higher elevation cities, but anywhere you pitch.

Categories : Chris Gissell, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Don’t OVER Coach

May
5

ChrisCedarRapidsI talk a lot about not letting teachable moments pass. This may be the most important part of a coach’s job. If done, and done correctly, this is where coach’s will see the most growth in the players no matter if they are 5 or 25. It’s the small details in a delivery, swing or the game that, if corrected, will turn average and below average teams into winning teams.

So with that said, here is what I mean when I say “Don’t OVER Coach”. You see it all the time, parents and coaches yelling something at the player who’s in the batters box, every pitch.

“Move closer to the plate.”
“Get your hands up.”
“See the ball hit that bat.”
“Make sure it’s a good pitch.”
Etc, Etc, Etc…

These are all good and can be helpful but when the kid is hearing it every 8 seconds, two things can happen. One, he is going to be so distracted with thinking about these things when he should be focused on the ball. Two, depending on his nature, he may put more pressure on himself when he should be relaxed and focused.

You also hear this when the kids are pitching.

“Come on, throw a strike buddy.’
“Step at your target.”
“Throw it hard.”
Etc, Etc, Etc…

Again, these comments may be helpful, but if over done, will do more harm than good. These need to be discussed in-between AB’s and innings.

Another place you see this happen too often is when a hitter is in the batting cage or a pitcher is on the mound throwing a practice bullpen session. They are being talked to so mush that it gets to the point where they do more listening than working. It’s very tough to get in quality work when you aren’t allowed to get into a rhythm. This can easily turn into a wasted session. It’s very easy as a coach to have many thoughts and suggestions running through your head in these moments, but you need to learn to control how much you say. Young players can only handle so much information at one time and you need to always be aware of this. Break it down to one specific thing and focus on that. Let them perfect that before you move on.

Point is, coach smart and “Don’t OVER Coach”.

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Teachable Moments

Apr
3

2014-04-02 17.26.22One of the biggest things I have learned since becoming a coach a few years ago is to NEVER let a “Teachable Moment” pass. If, and when, coaches do, they are doing that player a disservice and quite frankly, not living up to their name…”COACH”.

I got to watch my 10 year old son play last night which was a special moment. With all the traveling I do, I don’t get to watch him play much in person. He started the third inning on the mound. Here’s a summary of how it went…

He fell behind in the count often which made the hitters comfortable, so when he did put the ball over the plate, there were a few hard hit balls. Added a walk in there and unfortunately his defense had a tough inning too.

Here are the negatives we talked about after the game. First, we talked about hitter’s counts and what they are (whenever there are more balls than strikes). Second, when there were runners on base and the ball was hit to the outfield, he just stood on the mound. We talked about how he should always be moving to either cover an unoccupied base or backing one up incase of an overthrow.

Here are the positives we talked about. His mound presence was great. He didn’t hang his head or show emotion when things weren’t going his way (giving up hard hit balls or his defense making errors behind him). He covered home perfectly on a wild pitch, though the catcher didn’t throw him the ball and tried to tag the runner himself who ended up scoring (hope the catcher was talked to about that). He was able to self adjust a mechanical issue half way through the inning which helped him get his FB back in the strike zone. The thing I think he did best was that he didn’t give up. Even with nothing going his way, he kept competing. As a coach, that is all we can ask.

In every game, win or lose, there is always something to learn from it. As a coach, it is our job not to let a single “Teachable Moment” pass. These are the little things that can make or break a team/player. Help the players understand that we need to learn from the negatives and focus on the positives.

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Parents, Pitching

Feel

Mar
1

Natepitching20122Recently I was warming up with one of my students who happens to be a little hyper, to put it lightly. He’s the kid that comes in already warmed up because he cant stop moving all day. Maybe a mustard stain on the shirt and possibly even forgot to bring his glove to practice. You know the type of kid I am talking about. Getting him to focus on the task at hand is usually a big accomplishment. However, kids like this can find a way to focus. It took me awhile to figure out what that was until our last lesson.

We started talking about how to feel the ball come off his fingers. “What does it feel like when it comes out of your hand?” I asked him. “Does your body feel balanced and in control throughout your delivery?” Instead of watching his eyes glaze over like usual after I give him a mechanical cue, he checked in with his body and what he was feeling. He let the mechanical issues go and felt what it was like when he threw a pitch down in the zone. If he air mailed one, he knew what his body felt like and corrected it. As much as it was astonishing to watch from my end, I wondered what sort of nirvana it must have been for him since he had never entered that part of his brain before. It was easily our best lesson to date and I think he learned a valuable tool during that time.

Big leaguers often talk about “feel.” I heard so many times that, “he’s got a good feel for that pitch.” Or, “That pitch is a feel pitch” when referring to an off-speed pitch of some kind. It is true that the ball has to feel good in your hand to have confidence in throwing it. What is also true by that rationale is, full body and mind awareness must be achieved before you have confidence in ANY pitch. Meaning, if your mind is all over the place and your body isn’t feeling good, you wont be successful no matter your mechanics or who you are facing. How you feel a certain day cannot be a predictor of success. How you channel your energy based on what you are feeling will give you the best chance of success on any given day. Check in with yourself before your next lesson or game and settle in to that “feel” for the day and make the most of it.

Categories : Dudes Blog, Pitching

Young Pitchers and the Curveball

Feb
24

CALL_1990I recently had a training session with a 10 year old who I have been working with since he was 7. He is a very talented young pitcher with a bright future on the mound. Over the last few years he has developed a healthy/repeatable delivery. If used correctly, he should be able to stay away from any major injuries.

At this point with a young athlete like this, his one purpose is, and should be, to continue to repeat his delivery, learn who he is and what makes his delivery good or bad and develop his Fastball/Straight Changeup mix the best he can. He needs to spend the next 1-2 years PERFECTING these which are his strengths.

This will be his first year with the 11-12 year old group (as he turns 11 in a couple months) and will get hit around a little. We have talked about this and how best to handle this mentally. This will be his first real big test as a young pitcher.

In our last session, it was brought to my attention that he had a coach trying to teach him a curveball.

There are MANY opinions on this and here is mine…

First and for most in a young pitcher’s life, they need to learn a healthy/repeatable delivery. While doing that, they should be developing a STRAIGHT fastball that has true backspin. It shouldn’t have sinker rotation or slider spin. Once a player has shown the ability to do both of these things, we can now learn a Straight Changeup.

If the player continues to develop these, especially the healthy delivery, and we get to the 12 year old mark (maybe a little sooner or a little later depending on the child’s body maturity) we can now introduce a breaking ball.

The most important thing when getting to this stage is getting your Dude in front of someone who is a true baseball person. Someone who knows what to look for and what is right and wrong. PLEASE NOTE, watching a video on YouTube or attending a pitching clinic where this is discussed, by no means, means you know how to teach this or what to look for.

It’s all about the development of that young player. Helping him achieve his LONG term goals. Him learning a breaking ball at this young of an age will take focus off what it should be on. If a player needs something else at this age to help him get by, we are just delaying the inevitable. Once that player gets to the big field, it may be hard to watch.

Parents, please be smart and when your Dude gets to this stage in their baseball life, get them with someone who has experience in this area and can give you proper guidance. Ask around, do some research and make sure they are learning the right/smart thing.

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Pitching To Contact

Dec
27

IMG_0008I recall watching an Angels @ White Sox game this past summer. Chris Sale started for the Sox and pitched a one hit shutout on 98 pitches (under 11 pitches per inning). When it comes to pitching, a 12-15 pitch inning is considered a quality inning as far as pitch count goes. That’s 4-5 pitches per batter. For us to achieve this, we should have a goal of getting the hitters out in three pitches or less.

I am sure that many youth, HS and College coaches would disagree with this approach but I have been in this game long enough, and have used this approach myself, to understand why this is important. There are multiple big league organizations who actually keep track of this stat (3 pitches or less). If the big boys keep an eye on this, I would hope that would be enough for you to believe in it.

Let me explain why I think this is important. If you have your ace on the mound, you want him out there as long as he can be. And not only do you want him out there in the 6th, 7th or 9th inning, you want him to be as strong as he was at he beginning of the game. The only way for this to happen is to keep his pitch count down. To keep his pitch count down means getting early outs. Getting early outs means getting outs in three pitches or less. To get an out on three pitches or less means pitching to contact. Pitching to contact means trying to throw every pitch in the strike zone.

In HS and College, too often you will see a pitcher go 0-2 on a hitter and then the catcher will call a fastball and set up a foot off the plate (because that is what he has been taught). This is often called a waste pitch. That is the perfect name for this pitch because that is exactly what it was, a waste! You can’t give me a reason why this is a good pitch. If you want to set up off the plate on 0-2, set up a couple inches off and call a slider, curveball or a change up. Something that you might get the hitter to chase. Coaches, teach your players to pitch to contact and why it is important.

The only way Chris Sale, or anyone else, can average 9-12 pitches per inning is to pitch to contact. Throw strikes often, eliminate free bases (Walks) and you will find yourself a successful pitcher!

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Playing Catch

Sep
27

Image 9When you think of pitching, you need to realize that it is just a glorified game of catch. The #1 job of a pitcher is to throw strikes, execute pitches and hit his target as well as he can and as often as he can.

Here’s a big issue though…Too many young players out there just are not good and playing a simple game of catch! I would watch some of my pro guys and it was simply embarrassing! These young men, who now get paid to throw strikes, had such poor feel for the baseball that they couldn’t consistently find their release point for distance and side to side. I would keep track of my pitchers strike percentages every season and there was definitely a direct relationship between the guys with low strike percentages and with their inability to play quality catch. It’s also important to point out that we should be trying to control the ball in long toss. If you can consistently hit your mark at 200+, 250+ and 300+ feet, it WILL translate to the mound in a big way.

Parents and coaches, please pay closer attention to this. Your Dude needs to realize that if he wants to be a better pitcher, he needs to start with being a better catch player. With every throw, they need to pick a spot on their partner and hit it. Hold your glove at your stomach and see how often they can hit it.

I grew up playing a catch game called “21” and a lot of our pro guys would play a similar version. Try using these rules…

Head = 5 points
Chest = 3 points
Below waist = 1 point

For older more advanced kids, use these rules…
Head = 2 points
Chest = 1 point

The throw has to be within the outline of your body. If off, it is 0 points. Play where you have to get exactly “21”.

It’s little things like this that can really help you or your Dude become a better catch player. Take pride in your catch play, develop feel and you will see yourself doing your job better and better with each day. Have fun and dominate out there!!

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching
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Perspective

I’ve been instructing for I don’t know how many years. At first it was just something I did during the off seasons but had no idea what it was leading to.

Fast forward to 2012, the Angels gave me an opportunity to lead their young draft picks, teach them the game and how to be a professional, my eyes were opened. Since then my appreciation and understanding of coaching has grown deep. The amount of time coaches put in, the level of patience required, the attention to detail necessary, the consistent body language needed to lead by example, the understanding of what’s really important and what’s not, the importance of being able to relate to all different personalities, athleticism and abilities, the fact that being a good coach means consistently growing ourselves and coming to the realization that the one thing that matters most in all of this is finding ways to use the game to help them prepare for all those years when they are not playing the game.

I need to say Thank You to all my past coaches and to all the current coaches who take pride in giving the kids in front of them what they need on top of baseball skills. It’s often a thankless role but remember that no matter where they go in the game, they are going somewhere in life. That’s our mission.

– Chris Gissell

“My purpose, MY WHY, is to provide for my family, while also doing everything I can to develop quality people through the many life lessons that Baseball provides daily.”

17 Years Professional Experience (14 as a player, 3 as a coach). MLB debut 8/22/2004 with the Colorado Rockies. Retired from professional coaching on 10/31/14 to focus on family and developing youth baseball players full time.

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