Article Provided by: The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)Article by: MEGAN BROWN, Asst. Coach, Univ. of Connecticut (now Asst. Coach, Univ. of Akron)If you have been coaching pitchers for longer than 10 minutes, you have no doubt been asked, "When is the best count or situation to throw a changeup?"
Well, the answer is really quite simple. If your pitcher has a great changeup, there is not a bad time to throw one. If her changeup is terrible, there is not a good time to throw one.
FOR THOSE of us who have pitchers who fall somewhere between great and terrible, the first issue to address is getting them closer to the great end of the spectrum. While throwing a pitch too fast or too slow can be an issue, the problem I have most often foundis a pitcher who tips the pitch in her grip or by her motion.
Typically, if it's grip, a base coach sees it or the hitter sees knuckles or an unusually long grip for the pitch. If the tip lies in the motion, the pitcher usually either starts faster than normal and grunts or they slow everything down so much as they release that the fans watching on live stats know a changeup is coming.
The good news is the remedy for these is quite simple. If the third base coach (or first base coach for a lefty) is picking the pitch, just go and stand at third or first, or at the equivalent angle in the bullpen, and call the pitch while your pitcher is throwing at practice. It won't take too long before your pitcher learns to cover her hand with her glove while gripping. You also might want to tell your pitchers to be careful with colorful fingernail polish, as it is much easier to connect the colored dots when picking pitches from a base.
THE NEXT IS tipping to a hitter or slowing down the motion. For this, I do two things. If my pitcher is slowing down her motion, I have her throw her changeup long-distance. Nothing too crazy, just have her start at full distance and then gradually move her catcher back to about base path length. If she is throwing the pitch correctly, she will really have to throw aggressively to get the pitch there. She will also notice that even though she is throwing aggressively and not slowing down, the pitch is still not fast. This helps pitchers who are worried the pitch will be too fast and slow down their motion to make sure they throw it slow.
FOR TIPS to the hitter, I use our catchers and play a game between them and the pitchers. The goal of the game is to accumulate points. The pitcher sequences randomly her fastball and changeup, but does not tell the catcher which she is throwing.
I typically have the catcher alternate setting up inside and outside. If the catcher can call out correctly which pitch the pitcher is throwing before it hits her glove, she gets a point. If not, the pitcher gets a point. First one to 10 points is the winner. You can also use hitters, but I like to use catchers because they notice more about our pitchers than a normal hitter. Either one works great.
Hopefully this will help your pitcher grow closer to great, and you are able to use her changeup effectively in a game.
As far as knowing when to throw a changeup, the most important bit of advice I can give is to really know your pitcher and what she is capable of doing. The best way to determine this is to call pitches during an intersquad scrimmage. Throw an obnoxious amount of changeups.
While your hitters will hate you, it does serve a good purpose for your team. Throw changeups in any count and any situation. It will not take long for you to find out when and to whom your pitcher is confident throwing a changeup. I say confident, because when a game is on the line, you want to call the pitch in which she is most confident.
If that pitch does not line up with the situation, call a timeout. We have all seen the results of a semi-confident pitch: A great celebration by the opposition and a long ride home for us. The key is to know your pitchers and always stay creative in your pitch calling.
Best Times To Make Use Of A Changeup- After a hard-hit foul ball
- After a big swing and miss
- As the first pitch to an aggressive hitter
- 0-1
- 0-2
- 2-0 for a strike – most hitters are looking for a speed strike pitch
- 3-2 for a strike – most hitters are looking for anything but a change-up in that spot
- Call an inside change up to a kid who can't keep a pitch fair. She will be 0-2 in no time and set up for anything
- Used to set up a speed pitch
- 1-1 count to an aggressive hitter
