The Importance of the fastball

August 22, 2008

Having too many pitches causes too many problems. Your success as a pitcher is riding on your fastball. Ever pitch you throw should be based off your fastball. This is why a slider is effective. This is why a change up is deceiving. If you are in high school and your best pitch is a curveball, your longevity is very limited. Scouts want to see a 1-4 ratio of offspeed pitches to fastballs. They see throwing offspeed pitches like sliders and curveballs at a young age as a sign of high levels of wear and tear on the arm. This is a big mark against you.

My advice to you is take two pitches as far as you can. You will see the best pitchers in the game taking two pitches through high school, college and even low A minor league ball. I know this may be upsetting to you but don’t take it negatively. When you see the improvements you will make as a pitcher when you focus on your fastball and one offspeed pitch you will be pumped.

Where should you go from here?

Start with reading my articles on velocity because these articles are teaching you the perfect delivery for your fastball. There is also a mental leap involved here. The reason a lot of young guys throw many pitches is because they do not have the confidence in their fastball. You must gain this confidence. I didn’t say find this confidence, I said you must gain it. So, set your sights on an explosive fastball and you will earn it. Your mental training starts with visualizing this goal. I want you to see yourself dominating with your fastball. See yourself throwing with perfect mechanics that you read about on this site or watched in the AcePitcher instructional videos. Using these visualizations along with reading and watching the material here you will with no doubt gain a top level fastball. We are here to support you.

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