What is it so hard to throw strikes?

Question

I am no professional and I should probably not to pass judgement to MLB players.

But after watching Charlie Morton’s game last night, it makes me wonder what it is so hard about throwing strikes.

He did throw a lot of strikes yesterday and he was very fine but in his previous starts, he had absolutely no command and falling behind and waiting the opposing team to crash his fastball. I would understand Chuck James or JoJo Reyes is pitching around because they are afraid to get hit but Charlie obviously has superior stuff but all that wasted if he does not throw strikes.

In my opinion, a pitcher just need to throw 1 strike before he got in a situation that he was forced to throw strikes, like 1-3 or 2-3. If you don’t have an unbelievable stuff, you are just doomed if are in that situation all the time. I also believe every MLB pitchers and managers know that. Why is it so hard to throw that strike?

Sorry about the Braves examples because I am a Braves fan. Feel free to throw in any kind of answers you want.

Answer 1

mayb its hard cause u sux?

think of that nxt time

Answer 2

wow i feel bad for you these guys are harsh!!

Personally as a pitcher i almost enjoy anwering this question just because the average joe (no offense) truely does not understand what it is like to pitch.

personally i would say that throwing a strike 8 times out of ten is very similarly looked at as the long jump, have you ever noticed that when the jumpers leap they have to leap in a certain zone.  And yet though these people have practiced for thier whole life they still fault constantly especially the younger you get.  

It is not so much a question of strike or ball but these guys are trying to get as close to perfect as possible which means pushing the limits and they are doing it at unthinkable speeds under great pressure.  So yes though some pitchers do have control issues they tend to come back stronger becase they dont try to do so much the next time.

Hope this is helpful

Answer 3

i am a pitcher myself, i'm trying out for my college team next spring, and well, i can sympathize. sometimes you just can't find the strike zone. you miss with a couple pitches, then you come close with one that you think is a strike but the ump calls it a ball since you haven't been in the zone much. and it can snowball a little on you. a lot of times the pitcher is trying to be too perfect. sometimes you just gotta throw it in the zone and let them hit it. the hitter still has to do his job too.

Answer 4

Clearly you don't know much about baseball from the premise of your question and from the way you stated counts.  Regardless of what casual baseball fans might think, it is not the pitcher's job to throw strikes.  It is a pitcher's job to get a hitter out.  That being said, there are scouting reports, tendency reports, all kinds of reports that dictate how a pitcher will pitch to a hitter. These reports might very well say "don't throw this guy a strike." Many hitters are succeptible to chasing pitches out of the strike zone, so why throw one right down the middle?  That's one reason.

Secondly, it is not as easy as it looks to throw a ball in a desired location consistently. This requires a lot of mechanics and motions to fall together, and sometimes a pitcher just can't get them together.

Thirdly, I assume when you say 1-3 and 2-3 that you actually mean 3-1 and 3-2. These again are situations where a strike is not necessarily in order unless of course the bases are loaded. A 3-1 count is a prime hitter's count. Meaning the hitter is looking for one pitch in one spot on which he will give his best swing. Most pitchers do not want to throw that one pitch. On a 3-2 count, a hitter is more likely to chase a pitch out of the strike zone which they will either miss, or hit on the ground to an infielder. Sometimes they show discipline and don't swing, and they get a walk. That happens oh well. The point is you have a lot to learn about baseball obviously if you are asking such a question.  

Answer 5

I think that a big part of the reason is because  of the current size of the strike zone

Following expansion the powers that be decided that one of the ways that they  could get the casual fan into the ballpark was to simplify  the game by encouraging offense

To that end they:

Brought in the fences

Lowered the mound

Made the strike-zone the size of a postage stamp

Here's  a neat link that I  found which gives an historical perspective on the shrinking strike-zone

Could you imagine calling one of today's hot headed ballplayers out on a pitch that was just under his armpits ?

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/ump...

Answer 6

It is difficult to control a ball that sized from as far as they are and as hard as they are throwing it. Not many pitchers your the maddeux way and use perfect control. Everyone is about throwing hard even to sacrafice control.  

Answer 7

I too am a Braves fan.  They have gotten so bad i thought you were talking about some kids from your little league team.

Throwing strikes at their level is not that hard.  They can put the ball where they want, and sometimes, that means a rib cage.

The problem is that a strike is easy to hit so they try to avoid and want to nibble at the corners.  However, by keeping hitters off balance, they can throw strikes and be effective.

Braves are terrible and need lots of help!

Answer 8

Lots of times, pitchers get too "cute" and try to paint the corners a little too much.  This happens more and more the higher the level/league they're pitching in because hitters get better and better at hitting pitches that catch a big chunk of the strike zone.  MLB (and most college) pitchers find out quickly that throwing at a high velocity right down the middle of the plate isn't enough to get the ball past hitters any more.  

When pitchers get too concerned with hitting the corners, sometimes they'll inadvertantly alter their mechanics trying to hit specific spots just off the plate.  Once a pitcher's basic mechanics get out of whack, their control goes away too.      

Answer 9

it is difficult because of the speed they are throwing plus the different types of pitches they are throwing.

and next time you want to complain about something know what you are talking about if someone has the count 1-3 or 2-3 that is a strikeout seeing as the strikes are second i think you meant 3-1 or 3-2.