Quote:
Originally Posted by Manny A
And most good softball pitchers are going after the corners at the knees, so I don't get to judge too many pitches at top of the zone to begin with.
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The majority of good softball pitchers will pitch to their strength and/or the situation as the game dictates. For many of them, that may not include corners at the knees.
When I pitched, I worked the top of the zone with a lazy rise/curve ball. I wasn't good enough to spin it fast enough to get a pure rise with lots of movement.
Tie game, late inning, runner on first with no outs, most coaches will have batters other than 3 through 5 bunting. This typically calls for the pitcher to throw to the top of the zone to try to induce a pop up.
Slow batter runner at bat with a runner on first base would call for drop balls to try and get the ground ball for a chance at a double play.
Not all pitchers can command every type of pitch. They're probably comfortable with their fastball and one other pitch that moves, and maybe 7% of the time, a change up.
Even HS varsity pitchers aren't all accomplished hurlers. Every once in a while I come across one that has electric "stuff". It's a work in progress for most. A few years back, the pitching distance was changed from 40 to 43 feet. I think part of that was due to simply speed. Good fastball pitchers were dominating the game. When the distance was pushed back, I think dominant pitchers now need a mix of speed and ball movement.