In Part One of “A Helmet for Pitchers,” I talked about the importance of pitching inside, and how that can greatly reduce the number of hard hit baseballs drilled right back at the mound.
Despite its effectiveness however, I’m sorry to say that commanding the inside half of the plate doesn’t completely guarantee any pitcher that a hard hit come-backer will never happen. In fact nothing does.
No, not even a helmet.
Before I go any further, let me say that I am not completely against pitchers wearing some form of protective gear. In fact, I’m not against it at all. As I mentioned in Part One, pitchers are in fact the closest player (in fair territory) to the hitter, and have the least amount of time to react to a batted ball.
But I don’t want anyone to be under the impression that simply wearing a helmet, a heart guard, a face mask, or even a bullet-proof vest, is the solution to “come-backer injuries,” That’s just silly. That’s like saying wearing a seat belt is the solution for car accidents. While seat belts do protect the car’s passengers from serious injury, if the driver puts the car in a position to be in an accident, the chance of getting in a fender bender will still be the same whether you wear a seat belt or not. Sure, you may not suffer as severe an injury, but the accident still happens. And let’s not forget that many times the physical damage is significantly outweighed by the mental damage, and the fear of it happening again.
Anyway, back to the reason for the post…
One of the major reasons pitchers get hit with come-backers has to do with the myth that pitchers need to “follow through” into a proper fielding position.
I for one, refuse to teach about the importance of making sure pitchers get themselves into proper fielding position.
The reason: There’s no such thing.
That’s right, I said it. There’s no such thing.
All my life, I’ve heard all the talk about the importance of pitchers getting into a proper fielding position. I was told that once a pitcher releases the baseball, he becomes an infielder. As a pitcher, I prided myself in fielding any ball hit remotely my way, and was mad when I wasn’t quick enough to make a play. I was considered a very good fielding pitcher at every level I pitched.
But I have also taken shots off my chest (just above my heart), my pitching-side ankle, and even my right butt cheek… not to mention dodging more than a few baseballs buzzing past me and into center field.
Despite my best efforts, I could not consistently get into a proper fielding position, and I didn’t know why.
Now I do.
Before you write me and tell me that I’m completely off base on this one, let’s take a look at what a “proper fielding position” really is, and how it is impossible for pitchers to make this happen and consistently make pitches to the best of their ability.
Here’s a picture of what is accepted as a solid fielding position:
Although his glove isn’t ready to field a ground ball, I picked this picture specifically to point out how far along the third baseman is into his fielding set up, despite the fact that the pitcher hasn’t released the baseball yet.
Here’s another picture for my readers that would rather see amateur ballplayers as examples:
Two things to take note of. First, look at how much closer to the ground the third baseman’s glove is to the ground compared to the short stop. The reason: the third baseman is closer to the hitter and needs to be ready sooner. Second, notice that the third baseman is looking in the direction of the pitcher. The reason: the pitcher still hasn’t released the baseball yet.
Here’s a look at the greatest fielding pitcher of all time, Greg Maddux, just as the ball gets to home plate:
Here’s a look at another excellent fielding pitcher, Mike Hampton, as the ball reaches the dish:
Here’s Mike Mussina:
None of these pitchers look much like the first two pictures do they?
However…
The great fielding characteristic that Maddux, Hampton, and Mussina all share: they work very hard to get their pitching leg off the rubber in order to catch up with the rest of their body. This is a very important “extra effort” if you stand any chance of protecting yourself from a hard hit come-backer. (You may recall the finish each of the three examples listed “hopping” into a fielding position, rather than the traditional spinning on the glove leg as the pitching leg swings up and around the body. The ‘hop,’ is the result of trying to get the pitching leg forward.)
Now, am I saying that all pitchers should learn how to “hop” into a decent fielding position? No.
But it sure beats the common alternative!
What I do suggest:
- Deliver each pitch with conviction. Worrying about a fielding position or the possibility of a comebacker will dramatically reduce the effectiveness of the pitch, and increase the chances that the pitch will be hit hard.
- Use you body correctly to throw the baseball. “Correctly” is the key word. An extra-long stride, bending your back, and the rest of the junk that gets taught today will only put you in the cross hairs of a come-backer. Oh. I can’t forget to mention that a long stride and a bent back does NOT improve you pitches anyway so…
- Once you’ve finished the pitch: protect yourself! This involves getting your glove up to your glove-side shoulder and not letting it flail around behind you. Doing this will allow you to protect your face and head should a ball be hit back at you! (There’s more to this position, but that will have to be for another day.)
That’s all for now,
Coach Bones
Your analysis is flawed due to your use of deceptive images.
Here’s just one example. You show a photo of Mike Hampton in what is clearly not a good fielding position — actually, a very awkward, vlunerable position — implying that since Hampton is an excellent fielding pitcher, one does not need to be (or can’t be) in a good fielding position in order to be a good fielding pitcher. However, you mention that the position in which you show Hampton is at the moment in time when the ball is at the plate, not when a batted ball is on its way into the field of play. Furthermore, as that photo is not taken from a video, you have no way of knowing exactly where the ball was when that picture was snapped.
The truth of the matter is that the position you show Hampton in occurs when the ball is about halfway to the plate. Here is a frame-grab of a video showing Hampton in the same position, and the ball is clearly roughly mid-way to the plate:
http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Hampton/Hampton_Delivery_1.jpg
However, as the ball leaves the bat, Hampton is in a radically different position — a good fielding position:
http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Hampton/Hampton_Delivery_2.jpg
(the ball is visible by the catcher’s left shin having just bounced once)
When you show your picture of Hampton, you ask, “None of these pitchers look much like the first two pictures do they?” Yet when the ball is struck, Hampton actually looks almost identical to the shortstop in your picture.
That’s a perfect example of a pitcher getting into good fielding position.
Daniel – You are right about the fact that the pictures I chose to share are not from a video. It could be argued that the pictures I used are not the perfect examples of what Hampton looked like exactly when the ball crossed home plate. However, neither one of us can be exactly sure where the ball is the moment this picture was taken, due to the camera angle. To suggest that the ball has not yet reached home plate is only a guess on your part, just as you argue that I am implying that the ball has reached the plate.
My bad on the poor picture as the example.
I do have a few more items to mention:
1. I am NOT implying that excellent fielding pitchers can get away with being in poor fielding positions. I am suggesting that even excellent fielding pitchers do not get themselves in a good fielding position consistently.
2. It is a fact that a 90mph fastball leaves the pitcher’s hand and crosses home plate in .42 seconds. (Give or take a few thousanths of a second.) Even a 78mph off speed pitch takes only .49 seconds to reach the dish. That’s not much time to get into a consistent fielding position, pitch after pitch after pitch.
3. The freeze frame you chose to use as your example is not at the same point in Hampton’s delivery as the one I chose to use. It’s somewhat close but is actually a touch earlier in his delivery. Since the baseball gets to home plate in less than half of one second, and can very well be hit back at the pitcher in that same amount of time – or less, “a touch,” can be the difference between fielding the baseball, and getting drilled.
4. The freeze frame you chose to show Mike Hampton’s “good fielding position,” is at the point where the ball shattered the hitter’s bat, was fouled away, and had already bounced once, does prove that Hampton was in good fielding position… after the fact. Pitchers need to be ready to field the ball – I should say in a position to protect themselves – BEFORE the hitter makes contact.
5. I used the three pitchers as examples due to the fact that they worked hard to get their pitching leg forward as quickly as possible, thus giving them a better chance to get into some semblance of a fielding position. What does that say about pitchers who fail to get into a fielding position remotely close to Maddux, Hampton, and Mussina? I think that is where the discussion should start.
Let me finish with this: I appreciate the time you took you support your argument with pictures of your own. Actually, I like the fact that you suggested that my pictures were “deceptive.” I made a very similar argument based on a certain wild left-hander-turned TV analyst’s breakdown of a pitcher’s delvery, using two similar but different camera angles to support his argument.
I suppose if I can dish it, I need to take it!
Thank you for reading, and for a polite, well put together critique.
Coach -
Thanks for your thorough and considered response. If I may, let’s go around one more time on this.
You write,
“neither one of us can be exactly sure where the ball is the moment this picture was taken, due to the camera angle. To suggest that the ball has not yet reached home plate is only a guess on your part…”
Not so. Hampton’s delivery is completely consistent pitch-to-pitch, as a viewing of videos of him will prove, and the still picture you show demonstrates his position at the same point as in the frame I provided, when the ball is about halfway to the plate, or perhaps a few feet closer. The camera angle is irrelevant; the position of the arms and legs is definitive, and it matches exactly.
You write,
“I am suggesting that even excellent fielding pitchers do not get themselves in a good fielding position consistently.”
But you provide not a single piece of evidence for this claim. You are suggesting that on some pitches, Mike Hampton gets into good fielding position, while on others, he does not. Yet you present nothing to support this — you only show a single picture of him, as opposed to, say, ten pictures all from the same moment after his delivery with him in a variety of positions, some good, some bad.
You write,
“It is a fact that a 90mph fastball leaves the pitcher’s hand and crosses home plate in .42 seconds. (Give or take a few thousanths of a second.) Even a 78mph off speed pitch takes only .49 seconds to reach the dish. That’s not much time to get into a consistent fielding position, pitch after pitch after pitch.”
You conflate two issues here: whether there’s enough time to get into good fielding position — which Mike Hampton does as shown by the picture I provided — and, separately, whether it can be done “pitch after pitch after pitch” — the same point made above about consistency, or the lack thereof.
The first point is rebutted by examination of Hampton’s position. He is in good fielding position within 0.1 seconds after the ball reaches the batter. For the second point, you have provided no evidence that good fielding pitchers are inconsistent in assuming their fielding position, and my review of videos of Hampton shows an extremely high degree of consistency in this regard.
Here is an even earlier frame showing Hampton in good fielding position. Here, the ball is still in contact with the ground in front of home plate:
http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Hampton/Hampton_Delivery_3.jpg
You write,
“The freeze frame you chose to use as your example is not at the same point in Hampton’s delivery as the one I chose to use. It’s somewhat close but is actually a touch earlier in his delivery. Since the baseball gets to home plate in less than half of one second, and can very well be hit back at the pitcher in that same amount of time – or less, ‘a touch,’ can be the difference between fielding the baseball, and getting drilled.”
See previous comment about the two images; note, for example, that Hampton’s throwing hand is in precisely the same position in both images (viewing of the video makes this a bit clearer). Your point about the duration of “a touch” is simply in error; we may *feel* that 0.4 seconds is an impossibly short interval, easily within the variance of a pitcher’s pitch-to-pitch inconsistency, but this is simply not the case, as a viewing of videos of professional pitchers will absolutely prove, and as a viewing of Mike Hampton videos will more specifically show. The fact of the matter is that the position you show Hampton in to make your point is completely irrelevant, because he has never — never — been in that position when a ball could be on its way to him. In fact, I view it as a bit of sensationalism, frankly — he’s all arms and legs, looks off-balance, and incredibly awkward and vulnerable. But that’s not how he looks after the batter has swung, and that’s what’s relevant.
You write,
“The freeze frame you chose to show Mike Hampton’s “good fielding position,” is at the point where the ball shattered the hitter’s bat, was fouled away, and had already bounced once, does prove that Hampton was in good fielding position… after the fact. Pitchers need to be ready to field the ball – I should say in a position to protect themselves – BEFORE the hitter makes contact.”
Simply not so. They need to able to protect themselves — period. Mike Hampton protects himself — that’s an empirical fact, which you acknowledge. When *specifically* he gets to his good fielding position is not crucial — what is crucial is that he simply does it in time to be an excellent fielder, WHICH HE IS. Frankly, your reasoning that Mike Hampton is an excellent fielding pitcher who doesn’t get in good fielding position in time is internally contradictory. The fact of his excellent fielding is proof that he is in good fielding position IN TIME for it to matter. It’s not after the fact — quite the contrary.
You write,
“I used the three pitchers as examples due to the fact that they worked hard to get their pitching leg forward as quickly as possible, thus giving them a better chance to get into some semblance of a fielding position. What does that say about pitchers who fail to get into a fielding position remotely close to Maddux, Hampton, and Mussina? I think that is where the discussion should start.”
That’s fine — but why then present the good fielding pitchers, show them in awkward positions, and imply that they can’t be ready to field a batted ball? Why not present POOR fielding pitchers and show them when it matters — when a ball is on top of them?
Here’s a good example — K-Rod:
http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Hampton/K-Rod_Delivery_1.jpg
My overarching comment is that your core assertion — that “there’s no such thing [as]… good fielding position” for a pitcher is definitively undermined by the facts of the matter.
Let me close by thanking you for being willing to engage in a serious discussion about this, and I appreciate the fact that you are not turned off by my direct approach. I will add that I am a youth baseball coach, and my son wears a fielder’s mask when he pitches (he’s a travel player), and I wear one when I throw BP, so I take the issue of safety in youth baseball very seriously.
Thanks for listening.
–Daniel
Daniel,
Before anything else, let me say that I am absolutely thrilled to see someone read my posts and take the time to make such thorough comments! I’m pretty sure we don’t see eye-to-eye on a few details, however I think it’s safe to say that we both feel the need for pitchers to do what they can to protect themselves from batted baseballs.
I don’t want to debate Mike Hampton anymore, simply because I think we both know that he did as well as any pitcher could to get into a position to both protect himself and make plays. He, along with the Madduxes, and Mussinas of the world, while not perfect, did a very good job of getting themselves ready for most baseballs headed their way.
Your picture of “K Rod,” is a great example of where many pitchers find themselves, although I’d think you agree, K Rod is slightly more exaggerated than most. Slightly.
Just before I sat down at my laptop, I watched a few highlights of today’s games. When I slowed down a few different highlights of pitchers delivering the ball to the plate (including one pitch, that was lined straight back at the pitcher but just over his head). I paused the action right at the moment when the baseballs were struck. NOT to my surprise, each and every pitcher had their pitching foot off the ground, and their back bent forward.
This is where the majority of pitchers find themselves. They are exposed. For these pitchers, there is no such thing as a good fielding position.
Unfortunately, this position is the result of accepted pitching techniques. The same people that teach this “follow through,” are the same people that talk about pitchers being able to field their position. (You wanna talk about contradictory…)
You are right. I should have used the obvious examples. I am guilty of over-thinking. It’s one of the dangers of being a one-man show!
In any event, I applaud your passion on the subject, and the precautions you take with both your son and yourself.
Thanks again for participating, and good luck to you and your son.