Pitching Tips and strategies

How do I throw the dang thing?

Many would say that pitching a wiffleball is an art because of the incredible results that can be produced. If you've played wiffleball long enough you've seem some ungodly breaking balls where you swing wildly hoping that somehow that ball will make a move towards your bat. Although very artistic, maximum results are acheived when throwing a wiffleball by understanding the science involved.

The basic science of wiffleball pitching is that, when thrown, the ball will travel away from the side with the holes in it. The side without the holes acts basically like a wind break while the holy side lets air pass through. In a nut shell that's the science. However applying the science is the magic, and as you've heard, magic takes practice.

Many pitchers make the mistake of trying to throw a wiffleball like a baseball trying to spin the ball with a sideways wrist snap. Not only will this method not produce the desired result, it will also shorten your pitching career. Instead, when throwing a curve, line the holes on the side from which you want it to move away. I thought that this simple advice would solve all pitching problems as people learned how to throw a wiffleball, however I forgot about the human kinesiology factor: People throw with different arm angles and releases.

The Keys: angle, release, practice and pace.

You may think that the holes are on the right side and when you throw the pitch you expect the ball to move to the left, but when your arm brings the ball around the holes may actually be turned at an angle you weren't intending - the result? A confused pitch that can't make up it's mind what direction to travel. If thrown around the strike zone, those are the ones that land somewhere in the neighbors back yard. So you go out there and figure out your arm angle, but the ball still doesn't obey your command, what happened? Chances are that during your release you moved the holes to a different side. The results? A confused ball in your neighbor's pool.

So basically you'll need to purchase about nine balls and start throwing at a target to find your groove. After a while you will find that you have discovered a comfortable arm angle, release and form. Now you should have one pitch that you can throw for a strike, and you've accomplished the most important step.

Step two is changing speed. A batter's goal is to time his swing to hit the ball. The Pitcher's goal is to mess up that timing. When you learn how to change speeds on your strike pitch, you've effectively added another pitch to your arsenal. Trust me, it's just as satisfying floating a change by an off balanced batter as blowing the heater one. Don't make the mistake of taking so much off that a batter can regroup and still get good plastic on your pitch. Just try and throw each pitch with a slightly different velocity.

The evolution of an effective pitcher.

Darwinists have been trying in vain to make us believe that all of mankind has 'evolved' from a couple of cells that just happened to start moving and dividing. If you think about it, we wouldn't only have apes as our ancestors, but rocks, stars water, and plants as well (And they say having faith in God is foolish). But evolution does take place on the pitching mound.

First a pitcher will develop one good pitch; a pitch that is tough to hit AND can be thrown for strikes. That skill alone will put you ahead for a while, but soon everyone will know it's coming and start to jump on it. A change of speed will slow down the learning curve, but a good hitter will learn to expect the fast pitch and adjust to the change. You've got to upgrade. You've got to find another pitch that is deceptive and can be thrown for strikes. Once you've gain this power you will always be a respected pitcher. Because wiffle balls can do so many un-natural things it is much more difficult to react to the movement, so batters start guessing. What kind of test would you rather take, a true/false or a multiple choice. What you will find after mastering two pitches is that your options will now grow exponentially, and most pitcher's miss this opportunity.

Let's say that you have a fast ball that breaks into a right-handed batter, and a ball that breaks down sharply. Hopefully you are throwing both with the same basic delivery so you don't tip your pitch early. If so, that batter will have to select a pitch to 'look for.' But because you have proven that you can throw strikes with both pitches, the batter knows that he will swing. So what's the key? In a nut shell, don't throw as many strikes. Joseph Hillerman (Catch 22) would have loved this one. To be an effective pitcher you have to be able to throw strikes and to be a succesful pitcher you have to not throw as many strikes. (Brain cramp yet?)

Once you know you can throw strikes, throw fewer of them. Remember your fast ball that breaks into a right handed batter? Let's say that you usually throw it on the outside part of the plate so it hits the inside corner. After a few strike outs a batter will begin to notice that if it is thrown down the middle it will break too far inside and be a ball, so he'll lay off. He's looking for the location that will be a strike. You find a pitch that starts on the outside of the plate and stays there. Now you've got him. He's got four pitches he has to recognize, and when you change speeds he'll be lucky to hit .200

The goal is to throw three different pitches for strikes, have three similiar pitches you don't throw for strikes, and be able to change speeds on every pitch.

The Holy Grail Pitch

The Holy Grail Pitch is the pitch that you throw in an 0-2 situation that is vitually unhittable, but you can't thow it for strikes very often, perhaps one of four. You throw it only once in an at bat, and only when you're ahead on the count. A batter will tend to let this pitch go for two reasons. One, you don't throw it for strikes, and two, it moves more ungodly than Linda Blairs head.

One Last Thing

You've no doubt heard the old axiom "Never throw a change-up to a weak hitter." There is, however, an exception in Wiflleball. Batters who can't hit fastballs very well will try and jump on anything slow, even a lob a foot above their head. It's great fun to watch and the poor guy's team mates will instantly cap on him... divide and conquer...

Have fun!

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