You Did WHAT to Be Great??

/

Can anyone become a GREAT pitcher?

The simple answer to this question is YES.

If you want to become a GREAT pitcher, regardless of your talent level and innate abilities, you absolutely can achieve GREATNESS. How to go from “good to great” will be up to you and your passion to attain this goal, your work ethic to stay motivated when it’s inconvenient or difficult, and your action plan and implementation of this action plan to get there. These steps are what this article will focus on. So if you want to become a GREAT pitcher with a highly successful career, please read on!

However, before I go any further, I want to be clear that there is a level above GREAT. That level is the ELITE level. And to be ELITE, you do have to possess certain innate qualities (talents). Sadly enough, most players with the ability to be ELITE will never get there because the extra effort it takes to get there is the same formula it takes to achieve GREATNESS, and not everyone “really” wants to do the work.

To measure GREATNESS more specifically, you will be in the top 10% of ALL pitchers at whatever level you compete at. ELITE is the top 1%. And to be clear, it takes an ELITE desire to become GREAT to actually achieve GREATNESS. This is the level I hope all of my students in pitching school are striving to attain.

Most players are satisfied with being GOOD, as it is a lot less time consuming to be GOOD than GREAT and you can still have a successful career and have fun playing the game being GOOD.

So let’s break these levels down more specifically.

GOOD PITCHERS:

  1. They go to pitching lessons or attend pitching school once a week to learn and practice the core fundamentals of pitching.

  2. They practice once (and sometimes twice) a week outside of pitching lessons or pitching school when they’re getting close to season and it is convenient to find a catcher.

  3. They can throw to all 4 zones: Up, down, in, and out with their pitches.

  4. They have different pitches that they throw in a game to batters.

  5. They win more games than they lose.

  6. They can throw strikes repeatedly.

  7. They don’t walk many batters throughout a game (3 - 4 tops in most games).

  8. They are better than 75% of the pitchers in their age group because they throw accurately, they invest in professional instruction to improve their craft, they have a variety of pitches to use to throw off the batters they face, and they help win ballgames for their team when they are in the circle.

GREAT PITCHERS:

  1. They go to pitching lessons or attend pitching school once a week to learn and practice the core fundamentals of pitching.

  2. They practice three or more times a week outside of pitching lessons or pitching school when they’re getting close to season, even when they can’t find a catcher or the weather isn’t ideal or it is difficult to find a place to practice. These obstacles will not deter them from practicing at a minimum of three times a week. The piece that separates GREAT pitchers from GOOD ones is commitment through inconvenience.

  3. GREAT pitchers can throw to all 4 zones: Up, down, in, and out with their pitches. But their accuracy is so much more targeted than zones. They can hit specific spots in each of the 4 zones with a fastball, a change of speed pitch, and at least two different movement pitches. GREAT pitchers understand that the difference in 3 inches of accuracy is the difference in a hit or an out.

  4. Great pitchers have 4+ pitches that they throw in a game to batters with 80% precision, and one of those pitches is always an off speed pitch to disrupt a hitter’s timing.

  5. They win most games they play because their opponents don’t hit them very hard with any amount of frequency (due to their ability to throw precision strikes with movement and a change of speed).

  6. They can not only throw strikes repeatedly, but they hit their specific spots 70-80% of the time.

  7. They have a high K to BB ratio: 4 K’s for every 1 BB they allow.

  8. They are better than 90% of the pitchers in their age group because they maintain composure on the mound when umpires have tight or inconsistent zones and adjust accordingly to maintain success, weather or field conditions minimally impact their effectiveness, they throw accurately, they invest in professional instruction to improve their craft and engage in focused, goal-oriented practice sessions 50+% more often than other pitchers, they have a mixture of pitches used to throw off the batters they face, and they help win championships for their team when they are in the circle.

ELITE PITCHERS look just like the list above that outlines the work ethic and abilities of GREAT pitchers. There are a few key differences:

  1. Elite pitchers can execute all of the above at pitch velocities of 65+

  2. Elite pitchers can throw movement pitches at 2-3 speeds.

  3. Elite pitchers have strikeout to walk ratio’s per game that exceed 7 to 1.

  4. Elite pitchers have won State, National, or International championships at the top level within their age group.

  5. Elite pitchers of the game include names like Cat Osterman, Jennie Finch, and Lisa Fernandez.

  6. Elite pitchers don’t just meet the standards of excellence that have been laid out before them and have been listed here, they change and improve those standards, creating new benchmarks of greatness to strive towards. Their mental fortitude, unusually high level of dedication to their craft, innate talent to throw at exceptional velocities with change of speed and movement make them the top 1%.

Now that you know the difference between GOOD & GREAT, will you do what it takes to make the jump?