Larry Cicchiello

Baseball Pitching Tips--How To Get To Know Your Plate Umpire Quickly!



Posted: Monday, February 08, 2010

by Larry Cicchiello
Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc

Forget the hundreds of baseball pitching tips for now. By just simply using basic common sense alone, it may very well be enough for a very successful outing on the hill!

If while pitching, you have the very good fortune to have an umpire who is calling strikes on pitches not in the strike zone, don't feel any obligation to throw strikes. If he is calling them high, why should you bring your pitches down? If he is calling them low, why should you bring your pitches up higher? The same holds true for inside and outside off the plate. Pay close attention early in a ball game to what an umpire is or is not calling strikes and pitch accordingly. No matter what the rule book says for the strike zone at any level of play, no two umpires are going to call balls and strikes the same. Some have small strike zones and some have very large strike zones.

It's 2009 and I still remember an umpire I had in high school back in the year 1968. (Boy, I'm old) Do you want to talk about a pitcher friendly umpire? I noticed very, very early in the game that if a curve ball was within a foot of home plate, he would call it a strike. Also, if it didn't bounce in the dirt it was high enough for him to call it a strike. I was only 16 years old but I recognized in the first inning how this guy loved any curve ball he saw and was pretty much going to call it a strike if it was anywhere close to the plate. This had nothing to do with pitching mechanics and it merely required a very simple observation!

It was easy to have a very successful outing and you probably know what pitch made it a success. You guessed it. Curve balls that were six inches off the plate and just barely above being in the dirt. The umpire wasn't intentionally trying to favor anyone or give anyone an unfair advantage. In fact, he was a very nice guy and an honorable man.

Always remember, all umpires have different strike zones and you better get to know your umpire very quickly. It's one of the easiest things you will ever do on the mound. Sometimes baseball pitching tips require only using basic common sense. Always remember that you don't necessarily have to throw strikes to get hitters out!

Larry Cicchiello is the successful author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." His VERY user friendly eBooks and CD's cover 320 topics on playing very good baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at LarryBaseball.com



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