I’ve been holding off on talking about a phrase in baseball that I truly can’t stand: Pitch to Contact.
For a while I thought I knew exactly what it meant, and had no problem explaining why it’s a completely flawed “strategy.” But over the years (as it’s gained more and more momentum) I began to question if it was your’s truly that didn’t have the correct definition.
I mean, really! Every time you turn around, a pitcher, pitching coach, announcer, or instructor is throwing that phrase out there like it’s THE WAY to be successful as a pitcher.
And just like the old saying goes, “It’s easier to believe a lie told a thousand times, than believe the truth told once,” the overwhelming use of the term got the better of me, and I kept my mouth shut.
However, after sitting through Jaime Moyer’s studio interview with Mitch Williams (the day before the 48 year old was to have UCL replacement surgery), and listening to “Mitchie-poo” talk about “pitching to contact,” then contradict his own definition, I had to get all these pent up emotions off my chest.
Pitch to contact is the dumbest “pitching philosophy” anyone has ever come up with! (Whew! That felt good to get out!)
Seriously, it is.
But before I tell you exactly why, let’s cover the definition:
Pitch to Contact – A pitcher who doesn’t try to strike out batters but instead tries to get them to hit the ball weakly, especially on the ground, is said to pitch to contact.
The gist of the definition itself isn’t truly terrible. After all, if I was a pitcher getting hitters to bounce into weak-hit ground balls all day long, I wouldn’t be too upset…
If my defense made the plays behind me, the weak ground balls didn’t find the holes, and there were no runners in scoring position when one (or more) of those “ground balls with eyes,” dribbled through the infield.
But I can’t stand that the definition actually says that “pitch-to-contact” pitchers do not try to strike hitters out.
Why?
Because the ultimate example EVERYONE uses to illustrate pitch to contact is Greg Maddux.
Before you say “case dismissed,” and agree with the masses, let me point out a thing or two about Mr. Maddux:
In his prime, here’s where Maddux’s strike out totals landed him among the league leaders each season:
1991 NL 198 (2nd)
1992 NL 199 (3rd)
1993 NL 197 (3rd)
1994 NL 156 (3rd)
1995 NL 181 (3rd)
1997 NL 177 (9th)
1998 NL 204 (5th)
Not bad for a guy “not trying” to strike people out!
How ’bout his career strike out numbers: 3371 (10th)
Yeah… he’s just a ground ball pitcher!
The pitch-to-contact enthusiasts will argue that “trying” to strike hitters out will increase pitch counts. If pitchers get ground outs early in the count, they will not run the risk of racking up a lot of pitches over the course of the game.
To that I say:
- Greg Maddux. (Touché!) Did he ever throw a lot of pitches over the course of a game?
- OBP (On Base Percentage) – hitters today are taught to take more pitches than ever before. Just try to get hitters trained to work the count swing at anything early in the at bat!
- Today’s hitters swing and miss a lot… and the “power guys” don’t really care that they do. Why do them any favors and give them something to hit, when they swing big regardless of the situation?
- Bullpens – I don’t care what anybody says about extending starting pitching deep into games, the fact is that at least half of a big league roster is made up of pitchers. If your team has a five-men starting rotation, that leaves what, seven or eight arms coming out of the pen? Not that I agree with this but, so what if a starting pitcher throws 100 pitches over five innings? In today’s game, (again, not that I agree with this) the bullpen – especially in the National League with the pitcher’s spot in the order coming up – will be coming in anyway!
- Pitch counts are stupid… but don’t get me started on that one!
The fact is: strike outs are good for pitchers. It doesn’t matter if you are a flame-thrower or a Greg Maddux-type, if hitters know you can punch then out, they will be forced to be aggressive early in the count so you don’t strike then out!
That’s how you throw fewer pitches!
I’m going to stop here for today… but I’m not done! I still have to talk about:
How one type of pitch is being completely overused and it’s overuse is one of the problems with pitch to contact.
Plus, I want to look at how young (big league) pitchers are being forced into pitching a way that is the opposite from what got them noticed to begin with.
PLUS…
For the pitch count fans, I have actual proof that the pitch to contact craze is making pitchers throw more pitches than just a few years ago.
Coach Bones
