 Pitching
Effective
pitching is vitally important to a baseball team, as
pitching is the key for the defensive team to retiring
batters and runners to hold the other team at bay. A
full game usually involves over one hundred pitches
thrown by each team, and most pitchers begin to tire
before they reach this point. Multiple pitchers are
often needed in a single game, including the starting
pitcher and members of the bullpen (an area where
pitchers warm up before they play). Pitchers are
substituted for one another like any other player (see
below), and the rules do not limit the number of
pitchers that can be used in a game. The pitcher's
weapons are their variation of pitches, the three
variables being accuracy, velocity, and movement. Most
pitchers attempt to master two or more pitches.
The pitcher must keep one foot in contact with the top
or side of the pitcher's rubber (which is on top of the
mound) during the entire pitch, so he cannot take more
than one step forward in delivering the ball.
Nevertheless, the average major-league pitcher can throw
the ball up to ninety miles per hour (145 km/h); a few
pitchers have even exceeded 100 miles per hour (161
km/h). The act of throwing a baseball overhand at high
speed is unnatural to the body and somewhat damaging to
human muscles—pitchers are very susceptible to injuries
and soreness, so baseball teams always have several
pitchers. |
