How to Improve Pitching Command

The best approach to improving pitching command involves consistently throwing to a specific spot on a target and noting the landing location of the ball. The key to this development lies in utilizing a stationary target, as the absence of movement ensures accountability in each throw. Did you hit the spot or not?

Many pitchers struggle to improve command when throwing to a catcher because the catcher always adjusts the glove for every pitch, leading to a lack of pitcher accountability. It's crucial not only to know whether the intended location was hit, but also to identify the direction of any misses.

Whenever a pitcher throws a ball, they should have an intended location where the ball should land. Whether its throwing to a target, catcher, catch play partner, wall, or anything else, you should have an intended location in mind. This engrains the idea that you need to be accurate with your throws.

To improve pitching command, pitchers often focus on refining several key cues:

1. 1) Improving the consistency of their delivery
2. 2) Maintaining a repeatable release point and feel
3. 3) Keeping a steady head aligned with the target
4. 4) Keeping glove elbow and eyes directed towards the intended target
5. 5) Intensifying focus and intent
6. 6) Mental imaging the flight path of the ball to the target
7. 7) Fostering positive thoughts – thoughts become things
8. 8) Practicing controlled breathing
9. 9) Following completely through to the target
10. 10) Being in control of your body throughout the complete delivery

In order to develop command, a pitcher must have at least control, which is throwing strikes. After being able to throw strikes is when a pitcher can then begin learn to refine accuracy and develop command. A good way to start working on command is by determining if the pitcher is an east/west or a north/south pitcher in terms of their pitch movement. An east/west pitcher, for example a sinker / slider pitcher,  should start by commanding the left and right side of the strike zone. A north/south pitcher, for example a 4 seam Fastball / Curveball pitcher, should start by commanding the top and bottom of the strike zone. After they have mastered those locations, then they can begin to work on further refined locations.

It's recommended to have specific days to work on command, and other days for higher velocity, and for developing pitch movement. Working on each of those separately yields the best results by allowing the pitcher to focus on one skill at a time during development. You should also have a normal bullpen day where the emphasis is on applying the skills they’ve developed together. So each skill has its own development day, and then there is a pitching application day where they put them all together and apply them.

Analyzing miss directions is essential for pinpointing corrective actions necessary for improvement, and then testing if those corrective actions worked. Even if the corrective action doesn’t result in hitting the intended location, being able to see the incremental change in landed location is very useful to knowing how to adjust. If you were working with a catcher, it would almost impossible to see those incremental changes because the catcher is always moving the glove and doesn’t start it in the exact same location.

Repetition, or 'perfect practice,' serves as the bedrock for developing command. Drawing inspiration from Michael Jordan, who, despite facing setbacks like being cut from his high school team, dedicated countless hours to honing his skills. His method involved persistently shooting from one location until successfully making the shot 10 times consecutively. Only after this mastery would he transition to practicing another location. This exemplifies the importance of repetition, intentional focus, and meticulous results measurement as essential elements in the construction of precise command.

Another crucial aspect is defining and measuring what we term as 'good miss' locations. While the primary objective is to land the ball in the intended location, preparing for potential misses is equally essential. By strategically training to miss in designated 'good miss' locations, pitchers ensure that, even in the event of a miss, they are still adhering to the planned execution idea of the pitch.

Consider, for example, defining the intended location as the bottom inside corner for a sinker, with the 'good misses' encompassing the lower shadow zone. Avoiding misses above the intended location is emphasized for sinkers, as these are more vulnerable to being easily hit. Consequently, when a pitcher misses the intended location but lands in a 'good miss' area, they are rewarded for adhering to the strategic placement of their pitch and executing their idea.

Precisely targeting specific locations with the pitch is a common challenge for pitchers, often stemming from a lack of prior command practice. Traditional catch-and-throw sessions with a catcher pose limitations as the glove is almost always moved to catch the ball. Former MLB catcher Brad Ausmus acknowledged on the Pitching Command Show that instances where a catcher doesn't need to move the glove are exceedingly rare. By dedicating time to practice with a fixed target and consistently measuring command results, pitchers can experience a notable and improvement in their command over time.

Employing the stationary target of Command Trakker not only offers a consistent aiming point but also serves as an effective tool for gauging adjustments. For example, when a pitch misses to the left, making subsequent adjustments becomes a measurable process, providing clear visibility into the impact of those corrections. Understanding the specific direction of a miss is necessary to fine-tuning your approach and assessing the effects of the adjustments made.

Executing bullpen sessions with well-defined goals and a purposeful approach is paramount. Each throw should be meticulously planned and measured, as improvement in command requires a systematic evaluation.

The significance of pre-planned and scripted bullpens extends beyond ensuring focus on specific goals and adhering to pitch workloads; it is crucial for measuring results. This emphasis on measurement not only enhances accountability but also becomes an essential catalyst for continuous improvement.

Some will say that no one repeats their delivery exactly the same way. While that may be technically true, but the pitchers with good command repeat their delivery with less variation and are in control of their body the entire time.

Mental imaging, visualizing the trajectory of the ball travelling to its intended destination prior to throwing has been shown to improve command. The importance of mental imaging practice was shown in 1978, D. Mendoza and H. Wichman, did a study called “"Inner" darts: effects of mental practice on performance of dart throwing”.

The study sought to explore the effects of mental rehearsal on the performance of a motor skill, 32 college undergraduates were scored on dart-throwing ability and randomly assigned to one of 4 practice conditions: no-practice controls, mental rehearsal only, mental rehearsal with simulated dart-throwing motor movements, and direct physical practice.

Following 6 days of mental or physical practice by the experimental groups, the performance level on the dart-throwing task was again measured for all subjects. Comparison of improvement showed statistically significant differences between the groups.

Follow-up tests showed that all experimental groups differed significantly from the no-practice group, there were no significant differences between mental practice groups and direct physical practice resulted in improvements significantly higher than any other form of practice.

Using progressively smaller target command areas is an effective strategy for transitioning from control to command. The Command Trakker target facilitates this process by enabling users to select individual squares, providing an ideal platform for command practice.

Additionally, it allows for the selection of strategically beneficial miss locations, called “Good Miss” locations, to emphasize the execution of their “idea” with the pitch even if they miss. The system seamlessly tracks all these elements, providing an automated means to measure and monitor progress.

Some people use strings, where a string is set horizontally at the top and bottom of the strike zone, and then 2 strings are tied to the top horizontal string and bottom horizontal string to set the width of the strike zone. That’s good for working on control, but it’s not command, unless your command area is that big.

Same thing where some will use a tire, and throw inside the tire. That’s good for control again, but it’s not command, unless your command area is the size of the tire.

A stepping stone towards command is of course gaining control, so those are good techniques to develop control so that you can then begin to work on command.

Quality catch play stands as a crucial technique for honing control and command. Precisely directing throws to a partner within the confines of the torso, and maintaining the ball's trajectory between armpits and knees, offers a practical approximation of the strike zone — a foundational step towards control. To elevate this practice into nuanced levels of command, further precision can be achieved by targeting specific areas such as the left armpit, right armpit, right knee, left knee, left belt, right belt, and so forth.

Your catch play partner plays a crucial role in providing valuable feedback on the movement of your pitches. It is beneficial for them to communicate how your pitches appear from the batter's perspective, noting details such as break direction and whether the break occurs late or early in the pitch's trajectory.

On the Pitching Command Show, Bronson Arroyo highlighted another effective method, emphasizing the importance of throwing “soft” while preserving command. His approach involved delivering his fastball to a specific location at full speed (90mph) and then throwing to the same location with much slower with the same fastball pitch (around 83mph).

This deliberate variation not only enhanced his pitch control but also provided a nuanced understanding of the pitch's dynamics. Arroyo credited this method with improving his pitch feel, allowing for a gradual increase in speed, and even fostering the development of distinct pitches from the same initial pitch type.

Another valuable practice is throwing from shorter distances to ease workload and enhance pitch feel. Being closer to the target requires less exertion, allowing for more focused and controlled throwing. By incrementally increasing the distance, you can methodically progress until you reach the standard pitching distance of 60 feet 6 inches.

It's also important to practice from both the stretch and the windup in bullpens. You’re most likely to be pitching from the stretch at least half the time in a game, so you should be practicing from the stretch half the time.

On the Pitching Command Show, Sean Boyle suggests a strategic approach involving Trackman to assess pitch movement. When the focus is not on refining command, Trackman becomes a valuable tool for making adjustments and achieving the desired movement profiles. However, during command-focused sessions or pre-game bullpen sessions, it is recommended to utilize Trackman solely for gaining insight into the current movement profiles of your pitches.

After determining the movement profiles for your pitches, leverage this understanding to anticipate their trajectory when throwing towards an imaginary hoop positioned between your release point and the target location. By aligning your throw with the hoop and allowing the inherent movement to guide the ball, you can effectively navigate the pitch to its intended destination.

A command technique that Sean Boyle talks about is throwing to an imaginary hoop in the air between his release point and the target location. After gauging how his pitches are moving that day, he throws to the hoop and lets the movement carry the ball to the intended location.

Another benefit to throwing to a fixed target like Command Trakker Pro smart pitching target is that it helps create a common language for pitchers, catchers, batters and coaches to describe locations. Most players don’t truly have a real visual idea of the strike zone. They have a rough idea, but not detailed. But after working with Command Trakker for a while, if you were to then remove the target and ask the player where #5 is, he will be able to identify where that imaginary spot is.

Without having ever used the Command Trakker target, when you try to test a pitcher’s command, you’re really measuring his ability to know where an imaginary spot is, and then you’re measuring his ability to hit HIS imaginary spot. That’s not working on command at all.

Engaging in competitive bullpens serves as an excellent means to heighten focus and instill a sense of healthy competition. The utilization of Command Trakker in multiplayer mode introduces a gamified dynamic to bullpen sessions, fostering real competition among groups of pitchers. It addresses the common issue of pitchers going through the motions without deriving meaningful benefits from the bullpen experience.

By incorporating real competition and using Command Trakker to measure results, pitchers can break free from the routine, ensuring a purposeful bullpen that not only sharpens focus but also provides the necessary feedback to gauge and enhance their command proficiency.

Another useful technique to use with Command Trakker in multi-player competition is to allow each player to choose their own command zone that’s used for scoring in the competition. This tells the coach what zones that player is most confident in when in competition.

It also tells you what areas they are not confident in. If you further refine the competition game to use only for example, sliders, then you can systematically know what areas for each of their pitches each player is confident or not confident in. That information is important for their development plan, but also when in a game you’ll know what they can command and where.

Frequently, pitchers go through the motions in bullpen sessions without deriving meaningful benefits or measuring their outcomes. Without assessing the command results, it becomes challenging to enhance pitching command because there is no gauge to determine whether there has been an improvement or decline in performance.

The Command Trakker smart pitching target measures and tracks the intended location, good misses, and miss directions, all automatically.

In the minor leagues, the guys that get promoted tend to have the better stuff , they just overwhelm the lower levels. But once they get to a certain level whether that's in the minor leagues or the big leagues, they each get exposed in certain ways and the only thing that separates them is to be able to command the baseball or sequence the baseball enough that it entices the hitter to do something with it.

Projecting command you’re looking at part mental and part physical if you're looking at a pitcher and trying to determine if they will have command as they get older. You have the delivery working in tandem with the mental side. I think most agree that the key to local locate your pitches is a simple delivery, direct deliveries, certainly repeatable release points. But the pitchers that can locate usually have the ability to intentionally focus or concentrate. Catch play is where it all starts and can you focus for 20 minutes and just focus on making good throws, making every throw count and not having your mind wander.

Like Maddox talked about just making good pitches when he's in trouble, he’s talking about the difference between control and command. When you have the ability to control the baseball, which just means you can throw it inside the Box, you can just throw a strike, you pitch to the strike zone. But when you command the baseball, you have the ability to move it to certain areas of the plate then you have the ability to throw it outside the strike zone when you want to. When you can do that and attack a hitter's weakness, it's gold.

When talking about command, Jim Palmer said you have to follow your front shoulder, that's your steering wheel. You have to turn your front shoulder towards the target and then then you have to keep the rest of your body on the target and look down at target with your eyes. The great Oriole pitching coach George Bamberger taught Palmer when he was in the minor leagues, when they did their side sessions, after you got loose, the first thing that you had to do for George Bamberger was you had to hit down on the way to the glove side. And you had to do that to time up your delivery right, because you can't throw that pitch okay without doing everything correctly.

If you want to be an elite pitcher, you need to have that same kind of attention and focus. Attention to your fundamentals, attention to your delivery, attention to the timing of your delivery, attention to your target.

To be truly Elite, pitchers have used the Command Trakker Pro smart pitching target because if something's important you have to measure it, we've all heard that before. I think that's been the hard thing about command was that it was hard to measure before Command Trakker Pro smart pitching target. That's maybe one reason why velocity has been such a go-to, well it's so easy to measure, you just point a radar gun and you can get feedback on it.

And Trackman and Hawkeye gives us the metrics of a pitch’s movement, it's easy to measure those things. Command is a much harder thing to measure because lot of times in a bullpen setting , it's kind of subjective of “yes, he hit a spot. no, he didn't hit a spot”, and then, but did the catcher do a really good job of moving the glove? Command Trakker Pro smart pitching target eliminates that guesswork and subjectivity.

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