Everything You Need to Know About Charting Your Pitches

Have you ever watched the movie Moneyball? In the real-life story, old-school baseball scouts use feelings and hunches to recruit their players, while Brad Pitt’s character, Peter Brand, uses statistics. Brand ends up leading his team to an American League West victory and a 20-game win streak playing to the teams specific strengths, all revealed with numbers.

When you feel like you throw accurately in practices, but then in games it’s wild, it might be less about a feeling or nerves and more about your stats. Tracking your numbers in games and practices gives you a clear picture of reality. It can help you form your practice plan. Without this knowledge, you’ll be a servant to your emotions and whims.

Below is a chart we use in pitching school. All ages can use this, but adjustments for skill-level are included in the video. Make observations about your improvement over short and long periods of time. If you have a bad day compared to yesterday, shake it off and move on. If you are not getting more accurate over a three to six-month span, re-evaluate your practice plan or mechanics.

Charting my pitches always motivated me because I like games and could see exactly where I stood. It was objective and no one’s opinion mattered. I also had faith in the process and believed, as my dad said, that I would get better over time if I kept working on it.

Here is a copy of the chart for you to print. Leave a comment below of what you think! Do you have any good pitching charts?