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Beginner’s Guide to Calling Pitches

By Ken Krause, Fastpitch Lane, 08/06/18, 12:00PM PDT

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Start low and out. Most hitters don’t like that pitch and will let it go by for a free strike. “When in doubt, throw low and out.”

This came up recently when the mom of one of my students asked me for a little help in learning how to call pitches for her daughter. Makayla worked very hard through the off-season, pre-season and then the season itself to learn to throw a good, reliable fastball, a strong change and the beginnings of a drop ball.

The thing is, knowing how to throw those pitches isn’t enough. You also need to know when. Sarah wanted to use the pitches strategically but wasn’t sure how. Now, you can search for fastpitch pitch calling guides on the Internet, but most of them assume much older, more experienced pitchers with a variety of pitches at their disposal.