How the Strike Zone Actually Works

[@DanBlewett]

What other pitching strategy questions do you have? Leave a comment 👇

[@itouchgrass713]

Pitching combination like the fastball change-up combo.

[@chiefs260]

Do's and don'ts of pitch selection to same handedness such as "don't throw changeups to same handedness".

[@tag1123]

I love how in depth and involved your videos are. I always wanted to play baseball more professionally, but I never really had the right instruction to get me to pay more acute attention to the way my body was moving or how to identify pitches and what to look for. This is really great insight, and it makes me want to try to join an adult league.

[@judilenz3281]

Great info, I use your advice as a Wiffleball pitcher. 😊

[@braden9221]

I am catcher and practice a lot and during practice I do very good I do blocking, receiving, and etc really good. but during games I get nervous then it looks like I have never picked up a baseball, Any tips to control nervousness

[@dijondanish]

thanks Dan! your video has helped a lot with some answers to questions I was seeking. What is the best approach for a pitcher after they’ve thrown a first pitch strike and then moved outside for strike 2 but missed and know the count is 1-1. Do they move back in to try and get ahead again? thanks

[@DanBlewett]

basically, yes - getting to 1-2 is a very, very important thing. so you'd probably go back to the outer half looking to get to 1-2 with a strike.

[@dijondanish]

@@DanBlewett Thanks Dan!

[@dijondanish]

@@DanBlewett and in a 1-2 count and after throwing 3 fastballs, would offspeed be a good approach?

[@Midwest-FieldOps]

Great explanation! Thank you. Do you have a similar strategy video for batting?

[@DanBlewett]

Not yet! but good idea thank you

[@randstokes5048]

I am a pitcher who is 16 years old I don’t understand how I’m probably one of the best pitchers on the team in the bullpen but once I go against live batters I get nervous an I lose my command I throw harder than anyone on my team I was doing very good in warmups yesterday but then I went against live batters an I couldn’t hit my spots an I was walking an hitting batters I’m now very nervous because I don’t know what was going on an if I don’t fix it the same thing will happen this Tuesday because I have to pitch again

[@DanBlewett]

I wrote a book on mindset, confidence and dealing with pressure. It's awesome. I'd suggest reading it - it'll help you 100%. Check it out here: a.co/d/bfT3BnH

[@ethanhickle2929]

Hey man I was the same way a couple of years ago in high school. My suggestions are to 1. realize that you are a good pitcher it’s only when you get into your head that you mess up. 2. Ask you coach to face more love batters in practice or have someone stand in the box for you bullpens 3. When pitching focus on a pitching mechanic of yours. I.E where your front foot lands, the exact spot you want to hit with you pitch, and/or what the ball feels like coming out of your hand. Give your brain lots of other things to think of while you’re pitching a masterpiece! 4. Find a way to relax on the mound. I’d tell myself jokes or just make myself smile or laugh (it’s a good way to make the hitter think your crazy lol) 5. Tell your catcher if you start thinking to much to help loosen you up. My catcher would come out to the mound to tell me jokes if I was stressing and now I do that when coaching my pitchers. 6. Tell you coach how you like to be encouraged when on the mound. What gets you fired up? What relaxes you? What gets you focus? 7. Most importantly pitching is about pitching and that’s all you want to be thinking about once you agree to your sign it’s all about pitching just think about how you want to deliver the ball.

[@-MichaelMunoz-]

Just watch the movie, "Rookie of the Year" as the character Chet Steadman (Gary Busey) is trying to calm down Henry Rowengartner when he starts to throw wild pitches. "Have to." The scene essentially ends up being gibberish between players that leaves Henry confused and perplexed as to what Chet was talking about. It consumed his worry and settled him down in the end. Henry threw strikes after that. Get creative!

[@eduard3948]

I’m more impressed by the 9:30 minute on your knees

[@DanBlewett]

i filmed a bunch of these squatting videos on the same day...outtakes were me standing up, waddling around like an old man for a minute while my legs regained feeling

[@joeymerrell8585]

I coach my 10u boys to work the corners. Once they find the spots, try and work it. No breaking pitches at this age. Off speed down the pipe is the only time we want to go down the middle. We work on form and control at this age vs velocity. They have a tendency to get wild if they try and throw hard at this age.

[@DanBlewett]

consider re-defining their location goals. 10 year olds dont have the command to pitch to the corners as much as most are being instructed to do so. College pitchers fall behind when pitching to the corners too much.

[@nofurtherwest3474]

Random ques - but is sidearm bad for arm? My kid is 9 and he started pitching sidearm on his own and some coaches say that will destroy his arm when he's older.

[@DanBlewett]

no, his coaches dont know what theyre talking about

[@iand716]

How fast did you throw your pitches when you were in the pros

[@DanBlewett]

92-94

[@VegasGuy1975]

Question: would you characterize the role of the pitcher as someone who is essentially moving a sliding scale of risk between the batter and pitcher? I explained it that way to my son and it seems like it’s sinking in, but now I’m not so certain it’s the right way to explain it. It seems more like a group of scales based on your good/better/best pitch based on the count. More like Baseball Algebra. Your thoughts?

[@DanBlewett]

Yes. It's a lot like Annie Duke's thoughts in her book, Thinking in Bets - it's educated guesses of risk, reward and expected outcomes and constraints. I've mocked up a video on this but it gets pretty complex pretty quick and may be a little too deep down the rabbit hole

[@VegasGuy1975]

@@DanBlewett one of these days is like to watch that video. Rabbit holes can be interesting.

[@daniellee1051]

Hello, this is Daniel from Gyrospeed. We made a mini speed gun that shows the ball's speed whenever throw the ball. Please let me know if you want to give it a try!

[@DanBlewett]

not interested

[@kennyb2357]

Remember the strike zone is three dimensional. Like a cube.

[@DanBlewett]

it's really not important to remember that