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great pitcher? or great defense?

What's on your mind?

by Hinky » Tue Jan 16, 2018 7:42 am

Weak pitcher/strong defense
Or
Strong pitcher/weak defense
which would you rather have
on the field at todays game...
Lets say for discussion both teams hit equally.
of course everyone wants to have a great pitching staff. however I pick defense. errors lose games. even with multiple strikeouts in a game still have to deal with a lot of hits. IMO...You?
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by GIMNEPIWO » Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:22 am

Spazsdad wrote:If you really had a great pitcher you wouldn’t have to worry about “ a lot of hits”
Any decent pitcher should have a WHIP around 1. Tough to lose a game only allowing one base runner an inning


Devils advocate :evil: Combine that one base hit with an error, a bunt and a stolen base and that team scores 1 time each inning ... Not gonna lose many games if you can score once an inning.

A buddy of mine coached American Legion ball for years . .. He had a great pitcher and his team never got to polish their defense ... I forget why but that pitcher was not available in the finals and they got crushed. Even good defensive players need to see the ball enough in games to keep their skills polished ... I'd have to go with the weaker pitcher and the stronger defense because if the right fielder gets injured, I still have 8 others and a bench ... If the pitcher gets injured, I've got nothing.
"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, the strength of the wolf is the pack" Rudyard Kipling
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by Chin Music » Tue Jan 16, 2018 5:09 pm

My .02
I’m with Spaz. Strong pitcher /pitching should be able to overcome some miscues. Maybe 3-4 errors per game? If my defense looks like we should playing under a circus tent too often I need to put someone else in charge of player personnel.
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by Hinky » Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:38 am

of course everyone wants a great pitcher .are you saying all colleges have the greatest pitcher? different levels of pitching are spread throughout the colleges.
obviously we can see the ones with better performance. Another equation how many great pitchers do you think there are in travel ball let's say 12u and up.
I see that there are a lot more average pitchers . then there are great pitcher per the amount of teams.
so great pitcher 5 to 10 strikeouts in a game... and
great pitchers still walk batters
and hit by pitch occurs...
Weak defense will still be responsible for getting the majority of the outs.
colleges are trying to recruit the best players for all positions and that includes pitchers.
Last edited by Hinky on Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by Chin Music » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:17 am

Hink ur portrayal that defense with a strong pitcher is as if they can’t make any plays. Even at 12u they make most the routine plays.
Strong pitching neutralizes strong hitting. IMO
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by Sam » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:30 am

I would take the great pitcher and work on defensive skills during practices. Marked improvement may be gained if the kids are coached well.
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by Hinky » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:32 am

( this discussion is the game you are playing today,)
Weak defense, how many things can go wrong? basic grounders make it through the infield. Pop fly balls dropped. Overthrows. Passed ball catcher. stolen bases
catcher horrible pop time. Tag and drop the ball.
bad relay from The Outfield. not able to field a bunt and get the out.
not just talking about college ball talking about softball...
As We Know Anything Can Happen out on the softball field. pitchers can control the game to an extent, yikes when defense falls apart.
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by eddiez577 » Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:08 am

Better defense and good/ average pitching. I teach the pitchers to pitch to contact, weak contact that is. By telling the pitchers to just pitch strikes with moving pitches and hitting corners, some of the burden of pitching is offset by knowing that the defense has their back. That makes the pitchers more relaxed and work on just throwing strikes, and not gas themselves trying to strike out every batter. That also makes the fielders ready at every pitch and not expect the pitcher to do all the work.
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by eclipse09 » Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:25 am

What about the catcher? A great pitcher needs a strong catcher. Are you saying weak defense includes a weak catcher? If that is the case then weak pitcher/great defense.
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by GIMNEPIWO » Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:49 am

eclipse09 wrote:What about the catcher? A great pitcher needs a strong catcher. Are you saying weak defense includes a weak catcher? If that is the case then weak pitcher/great defense.


The way I see it, a catcher plays defense ... The OP didn't say a strong battery and weak defense.
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