Location, Location, Location
New York Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson offers some insights into his philosophy at the New York Times. Fascinating stuff:
Peterson says pitchers usually agree that the four biggest elements leading to success are movement, location, velocity and change of speed. The trick is in which order to rate them.
Peterson’s goal is to get his pitchers to appreciate that location comes first. Then comes change of speed and movement, with velocity bringing up the rear. That ranking comes as a surprise to some pitchers, Peterson said, because they have had years of receiving their most positive feedback for throwing hard.
Peterson raises a good point about the premium placed on velocity when evaluating amateur pitchers. The general thought is that if a kid possesses the ability to throw hard, he can learn the nuances of pitching later. (Robbie Beckett would disagree, but I digress.)
He goes on to cite Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, and Orlando Hernandez as examples of pitchers who rely on hitting their spots for success. Here in San Diego, we’ve got guys like Trevor Hoffman, Greg Maddux, and David Wells who do the same. Hoffman, in particular, is a marvel to watch because batters generally know what’s coming and they still can’t hit him.
Peterson’s task is a challenging one. He has to convince kids who have relied on and been rewarded for their ability to throw hard that location is the primary determinant of success from this point forward. In other words, what got them noticed initially isn’t necessarily what’s going to give them staying power.
If Peterson can’t convince these kids that hitting their spots is more important than lighting up the radar guns, then big-league hitters surely will. I know which one I’d rather learn from.
Tags: baseball, mlb, new_york_mets, rick_peterson, sportsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Strategy
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