Crooked Necks

Have you ever wondered why pitchers don’t focus on hitting or play other positions once they sign a professional contract? I believe it is important when a pitcher plays through little league and high school to really have the opportunity to play a lot of positions. They get the opportunity to gain other baseball skills like fielding the ball correctly, thinking about how other players think in different game situations and so on.

Because most pitchers are tall, you will see many of them play first base, especially lefties of course; if they don’t pitch that game. However there comes a time for a pitcher to be only a pitcher and it makes logical sense. I hope a lot of coaches and parents read this article and think about the ramifications of the pitcher/position player mentality in youth baseball.

Coaches need to understand that youth pitching requires a bit more attention than it has been given. Coaches must understand pitch counts at different age levels more clearly and the amount of position playing each pitcher can do in any given week if their pitch count is high.