DUMBING DOWN THE PITCHER
by Danny Orr

“The dumber a pitcher is, the better.”  Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean is credited for articulating this often-quoted saying first.  In its original context, Dean was talking about attempting to pitch with too many types of pitches.  He had three: a fastball, curveball and change, and thought it was enough for any pitcher.  According to Dean, anyone who got “smart” and added more than that was in “trouble.”

Outside of his context, it is fairly common to hear baseball coaches talk about what a plus it is to have a “dumb” pitcher on their pitching staff because of an ability to never “overthink” on the mound.  In my experience I would tend to agree.  The pitchers with whom I have played and those I have trained, who don’t over-analyze the task of throwing a pitch at the catcher’s target, perform much better. This doesn’t mean they are intellectually limited; they just have learned to manage their thoughts and feelings better than the rest.

While I am no sports psychologist, the writings of time-management expert, Dr. Stephen Covey, have opened my eyes to some beliefs on managing our thought processes.  I think his thoughts apply to what a pitcher goes through each time he gets his sign from the catcher.

 In his best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey develops a concept that comes to my mind almost daily.  He writes, “between stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.  In those choices lie our growth and happiness.”

This idea goes through my mind when I walk in the kitchen and am forced to make a decision between an apple or a cookie, and when I decide whether or not to hit the snooze button and sleep in or get up and work out.  That space is always there before every decision I have to make.  It is what happens in these brief gaps in my life that will ultimately define me. 

As I think about it, the times when I choose the apple and opt not to choose the snooze, for instance, I feel much better about myself.  I am able to build on these victories and go through my other decisions in my day with more confidence.  In doing so I become more responsible or ‘able to respond’. 

As I work with pitchers I often define that space as the amount of time they have between agreeing on the pitch and delivering the baseball.  Providing there are no mechanical issues or injuries preventing success, what happens in that space will determine whether or not the pitch hits the desired location.  In short, pitchers have a choice to throw balls, strikes, or quality strikes.

 If you think about it, pitching is much like golf in that there is a considerable space between preparing for the throw, or swing, and the actual act of doing it.  If he is not managing his thoughts and emotions, that space can be filled with any number of debilitating beliefs and feelings.  Struggling pitchers often worry, or doubt, or actually visualize themselves failing, as in past experiences.

I am asking pitchers what goes on in their space.  What do they think about and how does it affect the outcome of the pitch?  The following are some answers I got from some Oakland Athletics pitchers as they were preparing for the 2005 season in Spring Training.

• “I take care of knowing the situation first, then step on the mound and see the target. Then I hit the mitt.” - Justin Duchscherer 

Clutter in the space doesn’t work.  Pitchers who aren’t proactive and think about situations or runners right before the pitch tend to struggle.  The checklist including how many outs there are, what plays might be on, what the runner or runners are capable of doing, etc. should be taken care of before taking the sign, not after.

Thinking about mechanical processes in the space doesn’t work either.  If a pitcher is worried about any number of mechanical issues as he delivers the pitch, it often causes problems.  Skill work at practice and at home are where the pitcher should master his delivery.  Also, evaluating the previous delivery and preparing for the next pitch should take place immediately after each pitch, not just before.

Zito is well known for his work ethic.  Curt Young, Oakland’s pitching coach, recently told reporters, "Nobody is as meticulous in his preparation as Barry. This is a guy who goes about his business the right way. Very serious, very professional, very dedicated."  It seems his hard work and preparation have given him the freedom and confidence to be thought-free and simply react to the zone.

All pitchers have this space before delivering the pitch.  It is there every time and will never go away.  Filling that space with confidence is the product of preparation and a track record of making healthy decisions.  Standing on the mound and agreeing on the pitch should lead to the peace only achieved by doing the work beforehand, and then simply letting hours of perfect repetition take over.

 

 

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