The intent of the Baseball Collegian Pitching Project is to inform coaches and players and parents of some of the many theories on being a successful pitcher.

Most every concept has advocates with very strong opinions on either side of the argument. Too often, a theory is chosen based on popularity, conventional wisdom, or because someone famous does it that way, as opposed to one’s own analysis. With so many contradicting theories, it is essential to have an understanding of all of the possible options before deciding which one to commit to.
These pitching theories are presented without judgment, without confirmation bias, with no preconceptions, and without dogma or commercialism. In turn, the strong hope is that people are inspired to do the work to make up their own mind based on as much information as possible – and in turn, do what makes most sense to them.

Last month, the discussion was about pitch calling. This month, the discussion turns to pitch sequencing and pitch calling.

PITCH CALLING
Q. What are the hardest pitches to hit?

General Belief:
• Off-speed pitches
The Data Behind Baseballs 10 Toughest Pitches (stats.com)

Other Philosophies:

• Fastballs Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Maddon
“A well-located fastball is still the hardest pitch to hit in the big leagues,” Ryan Zimmerman said. “I think some people forget that sometimes.”
“Absolutely, no question. Totally agree with that. And that’s how you get quick outs,” Joe Maddon added. “The group that goes away from that, it boggles my mind. They don’t understand that concept.” (mlb.com)

• Fastballs down and Away Leo Mazzone
I’m not telling them to throw every pitch down and away, but as long as you have that pitch, you’re always going to be good. I had a coach one time say, “Leo, how do you teach guys to pitch inside?” I said, “I teach them down-and-away.” He said, “What do you mean?” I said, “They can dictate, then, when they want to go in.” (espn.com & sbnation.com)

• Any pitch a hitter is not timed up for Perry Husband
By understanding where the Hitter’s Attention is, you can best pitch around it. (perryhusband.wordpress.com)

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Q. Which pitch is the correct pitch to throw at a certain time (Pitch calling/Pitch Sequencing)?

General Belief:
• Mixing it up John Madden
By throwing inside and outside pitches you are disrupting a batter’s balance. By throwing up and down, you are changing their eye levels. By throwing hard and soft pitches, you are disrupting a batter’s timing. If you mix all three of these things up, a batter will have a hard time hitting you. (yougoprobaseball.com)

Other Philosophies:
• The pitch that a hitter is not timed for Perry Husband
Effective Velocity (EV) is the study of pitch speed and how location changes the reaction time by forcing the hitter to hit the ball at a contact point that is different than they were ready for.
When a pitch at 90 MPH is inside or outside, the speed “Effectively” changes because the hitter has to hit the ball earlier or later as though the pitch gained or lost speed. So, in essence, the pitch location has caused the hitter to gain or lose reaction time.
For every 6 inches that the ball changes laterally, there is a little less than 3MPH gained or lost. EV is like time management – only for reaction time. Bottom line, in an at bat, whoever understands how timing works will win most of the battles. (hittingisaguess.com)

• Effective Velocity Elevation Perry Husband
EV is made up of many smaller facets, that if taken one at a time, are easily understood. One of these elements is elevation. When a pitch is thrown down and inside at 88 MPH, followed by another pitch at the same speed, only higher but also inside, the elevated pitch will be faster. The pitch does not add speed really, it just goes to an area that forces the hitter to react sooner. So, “Effectively”, the elevated pitch gains speed or EV. (perryhusband.wordpress.com)

• Effective Velocity Tunnels Perry Husband
The idea behind pitch tunnels is to “hide” different pitch types by having them share the same trajectory – or tunnel – for the first 20 feet out of the hand. (hardballtimes.com & sbnation.com)

• Effective Velocity Greg Maddux sequence
When asked if he had a particular pitch sequence that stood out, Maddux replied that he did have one three-pitch approach that stood out as especially effective against even the most advanced hitters, and the sequence was rooted in Effective Velocity. Maddux claimed that he would start with a change-up located up-and-in to the hitter, would follow it up with another change-up down and away, and finish high and inside with his fastball. The Effective Velocity of that particular sequence was approximately 83, 77, and then 94 mph, with a timing adjustment that made the fastball feel like Clemens-level heat after being lulled to sleep with the cambios. (baseballprospectus.com)

• Strikeout sequences John Roegele
While the results of this study may have been predictable to you, I have to say that I had not expected that the three pitch sequence filled with the same pitch type would be by far the most common, nor had I realized how much the slider had taken over the league compared to the curveball and changeup! (beyondtheboxscore.com)