Turning The Pitcher Around On The First Pitch

Turning the pitcher around on the first pitch simply means, swing as hard as you can at that first pitch. There is nothing complicated here. We are simply gonna try and turn the pitcher around on the first pitch. We want to rattle his cage! We are going to take a shot at knocking his confidence down on the first pitch of the game.

Think about it from a pitchers perspective. You are confident you are going to throw well. You had a great pre-game pen. Your excited and focused! You throw that first pitch of the game and the lead-off man, who usually is up there to set the table, stands all over it.

What does that do to a pitchers mentality? What does it do to his confidence? It is more mentally demoralizing giving up a shot on the 1st pitch of the game then it is on the 4th pitch? Should it be? No. Is it? Yes!

On a number of occasions we have sent our lead off hitter to the plate with the following instruction: Swing as hard as you possibly can at the first pitch. Forget about our approach on count hitting and swing at the first pitch. Think fastball and let it go as hard as you can!

We told our lead-off to forget about reading spin or anything. Just swing hard! If the pitcher starts you out with a curveball or change-up and you are way out in front of it we don't care. You are simply gearing up for a fastball and swinging out of your socks.

Often times we will combine this with our 604 Team Hitting Concept. What it does is help mask the concept of working the pitcher. Truth is on some occasions it works and sometimes it doesn't. It is no different then anything else in life. I am a strong believer however, that the risk is definitely worth the reward.

Is there the possibility that the batter will make an out on a bad pitch because he is looking to be so aggressive? Of course there is but it is worth the risk in hopes you might turn the pitcher around. One out versus a shell shocked pitcher is a trade I will gamble on any day!

The majority of the time we put this on our hitter fouled of the first pitch. He would take such a hard cut he would lose mechanics slightly and just miss. A few times our hitters recognized the pitch as being not even close and took it. There were also a few times where we hammered the first pitch both for hits and outs.

The most notable turning the pitching around on the first pitch came in the 2006 State Championship game. As I noted in another post we did not hit the ball extremely well that year. I moved our top hitter into the lead off spot for that game. The first pitch of the game he sent it over the left field fence. Talk about a tone setter that was it. It was the start we had dreamed of and jump started us to the championship.

In Conclusion

I believe it is well worth it to take a shot now and then at turning around the pitcher on the first pitch. If your are facing a dominant pitcher then taking a shot is in your best interest. The worse thing that can happen is your hitter makes an out. If the pitcher is that dominant then the odds were he was going to make an out anyway.

What most likely happens is the hitter will swing and miss or foul off the pitch. In this case it's 0-1 and your still hitting so not a big deal. But there are times when the baseball gods are smiling down on you and the ball finds the sweet spot on the bat and changes the game almost before it even started! Best of Luck!