Pitching 101: Pitchers Need A Plan
January 31, 2016
Dan Cevette
Director, New York
Our column, Pitching 101, was one of the most viewed articles across the Empire State in our first eight months of operation. In 2015 - 2016, we are bringing a more in-depth column focused solely on everything pitching.
I get asked a lot of questions about baseball; mainly about Pitching. I was a Professional Baseball Pitcher for 11 years in three different MLB Organizations where I was able to fill my knowledge bank on pitching from some very impressive instructors. John Farrell, Scott Radinsky, Charles Nagy, and Steve Belcher just to name a few, and I have also picked the brain of Giants Gold Glove Catcher Kurt Manwaring (1992) a time or two. It's the heart and soul of this beautiful game, let's get to it.
Pitchers Need A Plan
I'll be the first to tell you pitching is hard, arguably the toughest position to master on the baseball field. I know hitting a baseball traveling over 90-mph from 60-feet 6-inches is no walk in the park, but consider where that baseball is coming from and everything in between to get it there. Pitching is no joke. In my opinion, without an effective, detailed plan of attack in place you have not earned the right to call yourself a pitcher - your simply a guy that throws the ball from 60-feet 6-inches. Pitchers need a plan.
Let's get right to it. I look at pitching in three-different phases. Off-season, Pre-season, and In-season. Each one of these phases has its own plan, and if all three are executed with care the overall plan will come together in the end. Speaking from my experience only, let's take a look the blueprints for all three-phases.
Phase One
Off-season: