Pitching Strategy - Situational Pitching Strategy

By Steven Ellis, former pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization

1.Situational Pitching:
What to throw and why

The following are pitching situations which may occur in a game. Even though it’s highly unlikely that all of these pitching situations would happen in the same outing, it’s very likely that over the course of a season, there will be numerous occasions upon which knowing what to do and why is extremely important.
For me, a closer in the Chicago Cubs organization, knowing what to do in the following 12 situations meant the difference between blowing a save – and losing altogether – in more than one situation.
The key to advanced situational pitching success is knowing what to do BEFORE it actually happens so that you’re prepared to react.
The following are a look at what the hitter is trying to do, and what you must do to be successful.  

Lead-Off Hitter In The Game

Hitter:
Advanced hitters will look to capitalize on pitchers who struggle with their control in the first few innings of an outing as many often do.
The leadoff hitter in the game is looking to get on base any way possible and work the count so that the hitters on deck and double deck can see as many pitches as possible.
If the count falls in the hitter’s favor 2-0, the hitter will likely have the red light from his third base coach and will take pitches until the pitcher can throw a strike. Sometimes leadoff hitters will have the red light on 2-0 counts until the pitcher proves he can come back with two pitches for strikes in a row.
Because both the hitter and the manager are banking on control problems from the starting pitcher, the starting pitcher is going to want to be aggressive and attack the strike zone from the first pitch.

Pitcher:
            Remember, leadoff walks score 80 percent of the time. The reason this statistic so highly favors the runner is because of the leadoff hitter in the game. He’s looking to walk. Get to second with one out. And score on the base hit from the three- or four-hole hitters.
            So go out there and throw strikes!
            Now I know that this isn’t any different than what you’re trying to do on every pitch, but one way to give yourself the very best ability to attack the strike zone early in the game is to be prepared before the game even begins.