Post by Bill Reznak on May 20, 2013 12:27:02 GMT -5
The first week of SRL brought some great action, but much of that was slowed down by an extraordinary number of walks. There were some grumblings about all the walks, so I would like to weigh in on the issue.
First of all, finding the strike zone is very difficult for a beginning Wiffle ball pitcher, even for one who pitched high school baseball. Many walks can be expected from the start. The pitchers who threw at our exhibition games were at a distinct advantage. It seems like it is taking most pitchers at least three innings to find the zone with any consistency.
There were some players who seemed perfectly content to take a walk nearly every at bat. There is nothing wrong with this. Don’t Little League coaches always say, “A walk is as good as a hit?” If you saw the movie “Moneyball” you know the value of walks even on the professional level.
I know it can be very frustrating for a pitcher when you keep walking batters. It takes time to learn to throw strikes consistently. It becomes easy to become angry with the batter for not swinging at a close one. I’ve been there. Although it can become maddening, it is the job for the pitchers to throw strikes, not for the batter to swing when it is close. It may not seem like fun to keep taking walks, but it is fun to run the bases, score runs, and win games.
With that said, I now have a word of caution to the players with the bat on their shoulder. The pitching in this league will never be weaker than it is right now. You might be missing out on the opportunity to learn how to hit. When pitchers learn to hit the box, you will be at a disadvantage if you have hardly swung up to this point. Although our mound is a little farther back than some leagues to allow more reaction time for the batters, our strike zone is a little larger to prevent too many walks.
Both Westside Washout pitchers have thrown for five seasons to a smaller zone. They combined to walk only one batter in ten innings, not because the Young Birds are free swingers, but because Devers and Rish are experienced pitchers. Although our team’s batters walked ten times in nine innings, this walk percentage was considerably lower than most games because the Young Birds’ pitchers adapted quickly to the zone. They will perform well against timid batters.
So in summation, do not blame batters when they walk. They are entitled to first base if it is given to them. But I also warn batters that you will struggle when the pitchers improve if you don’t learn to swing now. Although a walk is as good as a hit, a hit is more fun than watching strike three sail past you.
First of all, finding the strike zone is very difficult for a beginning Wiffle ball pitcher, even for one who pitched high school baseball. Many walks can be expected from the start. The pitchers who threw at our exhibition games were at a distinct advantage. It seems like it is taking most pitchers at least three innings to find the zone with any consistency.
There were some players who seemed perfectly content to take a walk nearly every at bat. There is nothing wrong with this. Don’t Little League coaches always say, “A walk is as good as a hit?” If you saw the movie “Moneyball” you know the value of walks even on the professional level.
I know it can be very frustrating for a pitcher when you keep walking batters. It takes time to learn to throw strikes consistently. It becomes easy to become angry with the batter for not swinging at a close one. I’ve been there. Although it can become maddening, it is the job for the pitchers to throw strikes, not for the batter to swing when it is close. It may not seem like fun to keep taking walks, but it is fun to run the bases, score runs, and win games.
With that said, I now have a word of caution to the players with the bat on their shoulder. The pitching in this league will never be weaker than it is right now. You might be missing out on the opportunity to learn how to hit. When pitchers learn to hit the box, you will be at a disadvantage if you have hardly swung up to this point. Although our mound is a little farther back than some leagues to allow more reaction time for the batters, our strike zone is a little larger to prevent too many walks.
Both Westside Washout pitchers have thrown for five seasons to a smaller zone. They combined to walk only one batter in ten innings, not because the Young Birds are free swingers, but because Devers and Rish are experienced pitchers. Although our team’s batters walked ten times in nine innings, this walk percentage was considerably lower than most games because the Young Birds’ pitchers adapted quickly to the zone. They will perform well against timid batters.
So in summation, do not blame batters when they walk. They are entitled to first base if it is given to them. But I also warn batters that you will struggle when the pitchers improve if you don’t learn to swing now. Although a walk is as good as a hit, a hit is more fun than watching strike three sail past you.