One of the primary faults with young pitchers is their tempo is too fast and they have a tendency to rush their delivery. This means that they go into and come out of the wind-up position too fast. Pitchers that rush are usually out of balance which negatively affects their pitch speed and control. To improve their tempo I tell pitchers “Slow and Soft Up”, “Slow and Soft Down” and “Out Fast”.

*“Slow and Soft Up” – Lift the glove-side leg up slowly and softly into the wind-up position.

*“Slow and Soft Down” – Simultaneously break the glove-side foot and hands down slowly and softly.

*“Out Fast” – After completing the break accelerate towards home plate and deliver the pitch.  

The other day I asked a 10-year old pitcher how many pitches did he throw and he said “six”. He said he threw a fastball, cutter, curveball, change-up, knuckleball and slider. That’s quite an assortment of pitches for such a young pitcher. The question is how many pitches do youth pitchers (Ages 9 to 14) need to learn?

I teach youth pitchers 3 pitches: A 4-seam fastball, a 2-seam fastball and a change-up.  

The 4-seam fastball grip is the basic grip taught to all pitchers. The 4-seam fastball is generally faster than the 2-seam fastball. Place the index and middle fingers across the horseshoe seams of the baseball and place the thumb on the bottom of the ball. Use a relaxed grip and hold the ball ‘like an egg’. It’s important not to jam the ball into the back or palm of the hand. It’s acceptable for younger players to grip the ball with 3 or 4 fingers with their thumb placed on the bottom of the ball until their hands grow.

The 2-seam fastball grip provides pitchers with an alternative fastball that breaks or cuts. The 2-seam fastball is held generally the same way as the 4-seam fastball, but instead of gripping the ball across the seams the pitcher places the index and middle fingers on the seams of the baseball where the seams are the closest together.

Pitchers that throw a change-up create timing problems for hitters. The most common change-up grips are the Circle Change (pictured) and Palm Ball. But unlike the fastball, the change-up is held deeper in the back of the hand (palm) and gripped slightly tighter (‘choking the ball’). The general rule for a change-up is ‘the more skin touching the ball means more friction and less velocity’. The key to throwing the change-up is using the same arm speed as the fastball so the batter visually thinks the pitcher is throwing a fastball. The change in grip will slow down the pitch.

One last note…arguably New York Yankee pitcher, Mariano Rivera, is the best closer ever. Rivera has appeared in 88 postseason games. He’s pitched a total of 133.1 postseason innings and has an incredible 0.71 earned run average and 107 strikeouts. He’s also only given up 21 walks and 2 homeruns. So how many pitches does he throw? One. That’s right the best closer in baseball throws a 4-seam fastball. So why would a youth pitcher need to throw six different pitches?  

After getting into the wind-up position the pitcher begins the move out of the wind-up by breaking their hands and glove-side foot ‘down’. By breaking ‘down’ the pitcher maintains power by keeping the front shoulder and hip closed and also helps the pitcher hide the ball from the hitter.  Pitchers that break ‘out’ instead of ‘down’ lose power and accuracy because they open their front hip and shoulder too soon and create timing problems because the throwing arm gets into position before the glove-side foot lands.  

The pitcher begins the move out of the wind-up by slowly or softly breaking the glove-side foot (and knee) down and simultaneously breaking the hands down the center of the body. Breaking the hands down helps the pitcher use a circular motion to throw the ball.   As the hands break down the fingers of the throwing hand stay on top of the ball, the thumbs face each other and the wrists stay relaxed. The hand break stops at approximately belt level and the arms stay relaxed and flexed. The ball will slightly separate from the glove and stay hidden behind the pitcher’s body. The pitcher’s front shoulder and hip remain closed.  The pitcher’s weight remains over the post leg, the pitcher’s post leg slightly collapses and the pitcher’s head remains still and focused on the target.

After breaking down the pitcher accelerates to home plate and delivers the pitch.