Orel Hershiser's Theory of Pitching
Doug Cecil, Dallas Connection, Spring, 1995, p. 1
In his book, Men at Work, George F. Will takes a close look at four baseball players. One of those examined is Orel Hershiser (of Dodgers fame), who talks about his philosophy of pitching.
"There are two theories of pitching," Hershiser says. "One is that you try to convince the batter that a particular pitch is coming and you throw something different. The other theory, that you don't hear as much, but that I use, is that if the batter expects a particular pitch, you throw it, but you throw it in a place where he can't hit it." That is: Know what a batter wants or expects and throw the ball almost there. If he is a highball hitter, throw it a bit too high. His eagerness will prevent him from laying off it, but it will be hard to hit well.
Isn't that the way the enemy works in our life? He knows just what kind of pitch that we are a sucker for and then throws it our way. But, it is just a little higher or just a little bit more outside than where we like it, and most likely we will bite on it every time. After all, it looks so good. It feels so right.
