HOW DOES PITCHING WORK?

HOW ARE DIFFERENT PITCHES THROWN?

ARE THERE ANY ILLEGAL PITCHES?

ARE THERE STRIKEOUTS AND WALKS?

WHAT IS A STRIKE?

BAT POSITION

WHAT IS A BALL?

WHO CALLS BALLS AND STRIKES?

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO KEEP COUNT OF BALLS AND STRIKES?

HOW DOES PITCHING WORK?
The baseball is released in the pitching pipe by the pitching team. A baseball that is released in the exact center of the pitching pipe will usually be a strike.

HOW ARE DIFFERENT PITCHES THROWN?
The baseball can be released at different places in the pitching pipe and spun in different ways. This results in an unlimited number of pitches that can be thrown by the pitcher. With practice, pitchers can improve their control and deliver the pitch they want for different situations. A pitcher does this to try to outsmart the batter and to disrupt the timing of the batter’s swing. 
Try this: Place your index finger under the pitching pipe and then balance the ball under your thumb in the pipe. Now squeeze the ball in different ways and with differing pressure to make the ball change its speed and spin. Move the ball to different places in the pipe, such as high on the inside wall and learn the result. For more information and pitching videos visit the Pitching page.

ARE THERE ANY ILLEGAL PITCHES?
Yes! A pitched baseball can take any path inside the pitching pipe, but it must roll along the entire surface of the felt field after exiting the pipe. Sometimes pitches thrown very hard can bounce to the plate. A pitch that does not roll across the surface of the field once leaving the pitching pipe is immediately ruled “dead” and a ball is charged to the pitcher. A dead ball cannot be put into play by a batter. Spit balls or placement of any foreign substance on the ball is not allowed.

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ARE THERE STRIKEOUTS AND WALKS?
Yes. The batter can choose not to swing! If a pitcher gets three strikes on a batter before four pitches have been called balls, the batter has been struck out. If a batter gets four balls before being struck out, the batter earns a  walk and is awarded first base.

WHAT IS A STRIKE?
Simply put, a strike is a pitch that travels across home plate.  Just like in baseball, there are three kinds of strikes: a called strike, a swinging strike, and a foul strike.

• CALLED STRIKE  If the profile of the baseball crosses any part of home plate and the batter does not swing, the pitch is a called strike. (Imagine a bright light shining directly above the baseball. The shadow it casts down is its profile.) 
• SWINGING STRIKE  If a batter swings, the bat travels past the upper-right tip of home plate, and the bat misses the baseball, it’s ruled a swinging strike. 
• FOUL STRIKE  Every foul ball is counted as a foul strike, unless the batter already has two strikes. Batters may foul off as many pitches as they like after they have two strikes.

BAT POSITION
Before every pitch is thrown, the batter must position the bat parallel to the pitching pipe and behind home plate in the 6 o’clock position. Otherwise, the batter could allow every pitched strike to become a foul ball by resting the bat across the plate before every pitch. If the batting assembly is installed correctly, the bat should rest at the 6 o’clock position when the batting rod is pushed all the way into the game base from the home plate side. If this is not the case, check your installation instructions and reinstall the batting assembly.

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WHAT IS A BALL?
A pitch is ruled a ball if the baseball exits the pitching pipe and:

• does not reach home plate,
• rolls past home plate without its profile crossing over home plate,
• hits the bat without the batter moving the bat, or
• hits anything before crossing home plate.

WHO CALLS BALLS AND STRIKES?
If no umpire is present, the pitcher makes the final call on ball or strike. Arguing over balls and strikes is a part of baseball. Remember, there is no crying in baseball. Work it out. No lasers and no instant replay, either.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO KEEP COUNT OF BALLS AND STRIKES?
The pitcher generally calls out “the count” before every pitch. As in, “three and two” or “one and one,” where the first number is the number of balls and the second is the number of strikes for the current at bat. The count is reset for each at bat.

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