If control is an issue, teach your kid to throw a zero, down the middle or if he can, tell him to split the inner half of the plate. I say this because, a 12 y/o crowding the plate like that isn't trying to hit the ball, he is trying to draw a walk or get hit. Throw a strike and at worst let him hit the ball and play the odds that 7 out of 10 times he will be put out.
When the guys were talking about moving him they meant establish the inner half as a place where strikes will be thrown and called. The hitter will move back. And on a border line pitch with a guy leaning, more umpires are inclined to call it a strike, because then the hitter backs up and we can see the zone better.
|