EP96 – How to Pitch with Runners on 3rd; How to Bounce Back After a Bad Start; Is a Slider Bad for Your Arm?

Learn strategies to pitch with runners on 3rd base – the bases loaded, 2nd & 3rd, and runner on 3rd only. Then, Dan covers how to mentally recover from a bad start. Lastly, does throwing a slider put extra stress on a pitchers’ arm? Is a slider more harmful than a curveball or other pitch types?

To submit a question for the Q&A segment, email a voice recording to Dan at hello@danblewett.com. Want to support the show? Buy a copy of Dear Baseball Gods on Kindle or Paperback, or listen on audiobook. Or, pick up Pitching Isn’t Complicated, his advanced-but-understandable pitching manual.Enroll in one of Coach Dan’s online pitching courses or his mental skills course. Use code BASEBALL GODS to save 20% on any course, just for being a listener.Sign up for Dan’s Email list and get a free pitching checklist, and follow up with him on the interwebs: YouTube Channel | Twitter | Danblewett.com

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Transcript: Dear Baseball Gods Podcast EP96 – How to Pitch with Runners on 3rd; How to Bounce Back After a Bad Start; Is a Slider Bad for Your Arm?

You’re listening to the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett. And on this show, you’ll learn advanced concepts in baseball. Explain simply I’m here to guide you on your baseball journey and help you paddle through. What’s now an ocean of misinformation, guru ism, an overly technical diamond babble.

Welcome back. This is the dear baseball gods podcast. I’m Dan Blewett on today’s show. We’re going to talk about pitching with runners on third base. So we’ll cover all three situations, a runner on third, no one out second. And third base is loaded. In our second segment, we’ll talk about bouncing back after a bad start.

And lastly, we’ll talk about, is a slider bad for your arm? Cause there’s some weird myth about this. I’m not really sure where it comes from. So first let’s talk about pitching with runners on third base. Cause this is I think tough. It’s something that you learn. There’s different approaches to all three different situations.

First off let’s talk about the base is loaded. Number one, the base load, scary. Obviously this changes with the different outbase or the out situations. So if there’s no one out, one out, two out it’s different, however, I’m just gonna talk genuinely cause generally, because I don’t want to talk about every possible out scenario for each of these three.

It’s just going to get overwhelming. So number one, when you have the bases loaded, the biggest thing you have to do is suck it up and throw a pitch, essentially down the middle of the plate on the first pitch. Now, uh, this is scary because obviously, you know that if the guy bangs into the gap, three runs are coming home and your day is maybe over who knows.

But the only way you get out of a basis loaded jam is by getting ahead of the hitter. That’s literally the only way you get out of it. If you fall behind one, Oh, now the hitter is very certain. The fastball’s coming because he knows you don’t want to get it. He knows you don’t want to get to two. Oh, okay.

So he figures, you’re probably gonna take your chances one. Oh, if you missed on the first pitch. So he’s just like, this is great. I’m ahead. The count is basis load. He’s got nowhere to put me if he walks me, he’s behind now. I’m very sure I’m gonna get a fast ball and I’m going to smash it. And now of course, if you fall behind again, Now you’re two.

Oh, that scenario is even more real vise, you know, and of course for 331. So the number one thing you can do is put your pride and your hope to be like nasty on the mound, a side on the first pitch and just have some balls. And ran the pitch down the middle of the plate. And obviously you’re not going to end.

It’s not going to end up down the middle plate most of the time, because it’s, you’re going to miss your spot. Like the, the odds you throw it exactly down the middle in the Mitt on that pitch is slim so that, you know, middle aim to fast balls getting up on the outer half, half, or inner third or whatever, but it gives you the most margin for error to get a strike.

To start to wriggle your way out of the jam. So if you get ahead, Oh one, now you have a chance to get away from the little plate where the damage is going to be done. So you can throw a change up on the outer half. You can throw a fast ball on the outer third. You can start to move the ball away from the middle of the plate and forces header to put the ball play.

Cause now a ground ball might be double play and in the ending, right? So the, the real linchpin of the base is loaded situation. Is getting ahead. It’s the absolute biggest thing you can do. And so, unfortunately, the scariest thing to do, because, you know, fastballs are potentially easier to hit than off-speed stuff, and you got nowhere to put them and you don’t want to see all those runs scored.

So you don’t want to see the ball to go down the middle of the place. You really have to fight your fear in your head and say, you know what? Aiming for the middle right here is good, because it’s going to give me the best chance to have margin for error to get. A strike to get ahead and then I can start to do my stuff.

So really once you get that first pitch out of the way, and especially if you get a strike, now you can start to take a deep breath and start to dig your way out. But until you get ahead, you really don’t have a good chance of digging your way out of the base load situation. So it really just comes down to, and I did this many, many times where I’m out there and I’m like, Please don’t hit this.

Here comes deep breath and boom, and I just Ram a fast ball in there and hope for the best, because ultimately you can only hope for the best one, every pitch that leaves your hand. And it’s just scarier, hoping for the best of the bases loaded, but it really is important to be as middle of the plate as you can, to give yourself a chance to get that first strike.

Cause again, if you don’t get the first strike with the bases, loaded, things are going to get out of hand quickly. Falling behind is the worst thing you can do. Okay, so second and third, now you have a base open. So having a base open means the following. You have a place to put this runner or this hitter.

So walking him does not necessarily hurt you also with one out second. And third is. Actually a pretty good time to accidentally walk somebody. So if you have second and third one out, if you walk him a ground ball, we can either bring the mill. We can either bring the infield in and get the out of the plate, or we can bring the corners in, send that middle infield back, get the double play of instead up the middle.

Um, so if you walk the guy with second and third, you have a chance to get a double play. The NZ inning. With one hour. So that’s a one factor to consider with no one out that’s not true. Uh, but you still have the effect of, if you walk the guy by accident, he’s not going to force in Iran. Right? So that being said, the way you pitch to this guy is going to be different.

When you have a base open, you don’t have to go in, you don’t have to give in to everyone. And so basically what happens is all the. The typical pitch schemes and locations will shift a row back the way I’d say it. So basically we would say are, uh, Oh, Oh. Or if you’re falling behind, you’re going middle. If you’re even counts, you’re going to haves.

If you’re ahead, you go to thirds of plate. If you’re OTU, you’re going to balance an off speed pitch. Are you going to go black of the plate? If you’re. I have you have a basis open or a base open situation like second and third or around third only. Now you’re going to move a roll back. So if you’re behind the count, you don’t go back to the middle.

You might stay on the outer half or our third, if your first pitch of the bat. So of going down the middle, you might go immediately to the outer half or out or third. So you’re basically. Treating every pitch as if it’s an Oh one pitch or a one to pitch until you get to two strikes in general. And once you get to two strikes in general, you’re probably going to treat every pitch like an O to pitch, because you can try to throw him your nastiest stuff.

That’s gonna start in the zone, break out the zone, uh, knowing that if he doesn’t chase after it, then he walks to first base, no harm done. If he does chase after it, he’s going to be out. So it gives you that zero sum outcome where it’s like, all right, First pitch outer third boom. Got strike one Oh one.

So now I’m going to throw him two sliders away on the outer third. If he swings at one of the two I’m in good shape. Boom. It’s one, two. He did it. So now I’m one, two, I’ve got three chances to punch him out. How do I, how do I punch him out with one of these next three pitches before I walk him? So it could be a high, fast ball, slightly above the zone.

It could be curve, ball breaking down or balances on the point of the plate. It could be a change up that starts on the outer, third breaks away, whatever it is, you’re throwing stuff that starts to strike ends a ball, um, the zero sum outcome pitch. And that’s pretty much what you’re looking for. And by zero sum outcome, it means either a swing and a miss.

Or it’s a ball. Like if he swings out, he can’t possibly hit it. If he takes it, it’s certainly going to be a ball. That’s the, kind of the goal for OTU pitches. And when you have a base open, you might throw the ode to quote unquote pitch on one, two on two, two on even three, two, depending on the situation.

So with a runner on third, most of these same rules are going to apply. You just have to give, you don’t have to give into to him. In any sense, like you have a lot less dire situation. You could potentially walk two guys by accident before any run is going to get pushed in. Right. So there’s not a whole lot that changes with a runner on third, but, um, it’s, I’d say it’s an easier situation, obviously because a single won’t play two and only play one.

Um, And you still can serve that all play by accidentally walking in guys. So if it’s first and third, you know, ground ball in the middle and field, if you want out, it’s going to be that six 43 double play and end your inning. So again, you don’t have to be worried so much. Um, and that just allows you to pitch a little bit backwards.

So if you’re too old, maybe you throw them a slider instead of a fastball, because you don’t have to catch up in the count. It doesn’t matter. You can walk him, um, you know, might be three, one. You still throw him a change up. Even 3000 times, you know, if it’s a really dire situation, you might be careful and throw him a change up or whatever your highest percentage for strike secondary pitches.

So. You know, those situations, understanding what a base open does to your pitch selection is one of the fundamental things that most amateur pitchers don’t understand. They keep following the same rules as if it’s a normal situation where when you fall behind the count, you try to catch up in the count by throwing a higher percentage pitch over more of the way the plate, which is typically your fast ball.

That scenario doesn’t apply when you’re in a base open situation where you’re trying to prevent a runner scoring from third base. So, or if you even just had a double guy on second base, there’s still a base open. So in situations like that, you’re not trying to walk anyone. You’re just saying I’m going to throw everything to you.

That’s going to be super difficult to hit. So you’re not getting anything in the center. Third of the plate, you’re going to get breaking balls when you expect fast balls or my fastball is super good. So you’re just going to get fast balls even when you expect them, but they’re going to be on the edges of the plate and good luck hitting them.

That’s pretty much the mindset when you have a base open as compared to other situations again, where when you fall behind, Oh, I’ve got to catch up. So here comes a fastball. That’s not how it works when the games online or when it’s a key run on third base, all that sort of stuff. So hopefully this, uh, this.

Conversation about pitching with arms on third helps because it’s difficult for young players and strategically. There’s a lot of things you can do to increase your odds of getting out of it. Um, if you know what those two

today’s 92nd mindset, let’s talk about bouncing back after a bad start. So unfortunately, one of the rough things about being a. Starting pitcher is, uh, obviously when you don’t have a good outing, you have a lot of time to ruminate on it and it can be tough to sit there and wait and wait, and wait to try to redeem yourself again.

And especially if you have another bad outing, things start to really go downhill quick. Uh, because you know, it’s a situation where. You know, you’re so your confidence can spiral down and get out of control where suddenly it’s like, all right, this is a pattern and I’m not pitching, well, maybe I’m not good.

Maybe I’ve lost it. Maybe I’ve lost the feel for this pitch or that pitch. And I wish I had really good advice for this, but really the big thing is just trying to keep on stick to your routine. But one foot for the other, remind yourself that nothing changes because you had a bad start. Like you’re still the pitcher that you thought you were, um, and that you really just, uh, things are going to be normal.

The next time you go out, there’s always going to be ups and downs, you know, in an ocean there’s always big waves and big valleys. Um, and that’s how a baseball season is. So. When you’re doing that, when you’re going through your season, you’re going through the ups and downs and you have a bad start. You have to, uh, ruminate on it.

Um, that’s just a part of the game. And so you get better at again, sticking to your routine, just getting your work in and like not panicking, finding things to distract. You have some fun, have a social life, um, go through all the good motions to keep yourself from thinking about it too much. And then next time it’s business as usual.

And hopefully you have a good start. Alright, now it’s time for our listener Q and a portion of the show. If you have a question you’d like answered on the show, please email a voice recording to hello@danblewett.com.

Lastly, does a slider hurt a young pitchers arm? So this has been an old, I guess, just a wives’ tale because, uh, we teach kids curve balls, right? That’s like the first breaking ball that most young players will learn, but yet, for some reason there’s a stigma that a slider hurts your arm. There’s not really a big difference anatomically in the way you throw the two, um, And it’s just one of those things where you’re on the opposite side of the ball, where you’re, uh, essentially super donating, both pitches, a curve ball, or a slider.

Um, but it’s not a situation where there’s a significant difference on the arm. Like you’re both essentially exposing the elbow to a little more stress, but then again, neither stress is, um, Exceeding that of the fastball. So the fastball is the most stressful pitch and that’s simply because velocity is tied to it.

So the ESMI has been, um, they’ve proven this, but at the same time, we know that kids that throw. A breaking ball more often, or they report more pain than kids that don’t. So, but as far as one pitcher of the other, there isn’t really a big difference between the slider and the curve ball. I mean, it’s a negligible thing where essentially if you’re going to throw a breaking ball, so be it, um, neither of your breaking balls are more stressful than a fast ball.

And really it’s just coming down to which one. Suits you better. So it’s not good to pick a pitch based on, um, you know, all I’m afraid this one will hurt my arm or this one you should pick the breaking ball. That’s best for you. So if you will lower arm slot, a slider is going to be better. If you have a higher arms arm, lot of curve balls are going to be better, but some players just spin a curve ball, bearing a slider.

Some players spin a slider bone, a curve ball. And if you look around, most players learn a curve ball, but yet more pitchers throw a slider in college and pro ball than they do a curve ball. So it says that, Hey, the way kids are taught curve balls, don’t end up producing into college quality curve balls as well because a lot of kids are getting converted into slider throwers in college.

So there’s something there where. The way we’re teaching them players, or they’re just saying this isn’t I try this pitch for five years and it’s apparently not as good as it needs to be. So my college coach is going to teach me a new on a slider. So. As far as sliders, they don’t hurt a youth players arm any more than any other pitch.

That’s not, that’s just a myth. Um, but the really just the thing is, is this the right pitch for me? Does it fit my repertoires? If it, my arm slot, can I spin it well, can I be good at it? If so, go ahead and learn it. Don’t over, rely on it. Um, I think youth pitchers in general should throw a breaking ball 15% of the time and spend more of their time throwing their fast ball, learned to command it and throwing their change up.

But anyway, is a slider bad for your arm? Not worse than other pitches. So if that’s your pick, then go well, that’s it for today’s episode of dear baseball gods. If you enjoy the show and would like to support me while improving your baseball IQ. By one of my books were enrolled today in an online pitching course, sign up for any of my courses through the links in the show notes and save 20% with code baseball gods, just for being a listener.

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