It's Baseball 101 for Angels pitchers: Just throw strikes
Some philosophies of pitching are so obvious that it’s easy to take them for granted.
The Angels are trying to change that.
One of the major points of emphasis for Angels pitchers this spring has been the most fundamental skill, something that every kid is told the first time he steps on a mound.
Throw the ball over the plate.
“It sounds like Baseball 101,” Angels first-year pitching coach Barry Enright said. “Even in our messaging early on, I said this is Little League baseball, something we were taught throughout our entire lives. It’s just kind of more of a reminder. We want to make it a staple.”
Veteran left-hander Tyler Anderson concedes that there’s nothing revolutionary about pitchers throwing strikes. The difference?
“Now we’re talking about it,” Anderson said.
Adds left-hander Patrick Sandoval: “I think it’s just something that gets forgotten. It’s so obvious: you want to throw strikes. Sometimes you forget to talk about it. You talk about your delivery or pitch sequencing or whatever it may be. I think it’s just having the constant reminder, kind of a mantra: Let’s get strike one.”
The idea was borne out of Enright’s preparation for his interview for this job. He was studying the data from the 2023 Angels pitching staff to figure out what went wrong.
He saw that the Angels were fifth in the majors in whiff percentage, which indicated the pitchers had plenty of raw stuff to get the job done.
The problems were too many of those whiffs were coming when the pitchers were behind in the count, so they still weren’t finishing off hitters. They still had more pitches to throw, and eventually they would give up a hit.
Even worse, they’d issue a walk.
Angels pitchers were 28th in the majors in walks per nine innings. They were 22nd in first-pitch strikes. They were 20th in pitches per plate appearance.
All of that leads to bad outcomes. The more pitches a pitcher throws, the sooner he has to come out of the game. More relievers have
TEMPE, ARIZ. >>
Angels pitcher Reid Detmers, on the team’s mantra of tossing strikes: “It’s just throwing what you have over the plate, and not trying to throw the nastiest pitch every time.”
to pitch more often, which ultimately makes them less effective.
Manager Ron Washington, who also trusts himself to make his players better defensively, is all about getting the ball in play as quickly as possible.
“I want to get to two strikes quick and then make something happen, and not getting into 3-2 counts,” Washington said.
The way the Angels are going about all of this is by discussing it every day. They also post a chart on the clubhouse wall showing the percentage of strikes each pitcher throws on the first pitch and on a 1-1 count.
“Your average hitter, if it’s 2-1, is an All-star,” Anderson said. “And he’s probably not in the league with his average on 1-2.”
Last year, major league hitters had a .619 OPS after 0-1, and an .826 OPS after 1-0. It was .503 after 1-2, and .793 after 2-1.
“Your thoughts tend to be what you listen to and what you read, so what we’re trying to do is just have our thoughts be a little bit more on those fundamentals of pitching,” left-hander Matt Moore said. “It’s early, just a couple weeks we’ve been working on it, but we’re trying to keep it at the forefront of our minds so that’s who we are.”
Through the first 18 games, the Angels rank 11th in the majors with a 4.22 ERA, and fourth among the 15 teams that train in the more hitter-friendly Cactus
League. They are fifth in the majors in walks per nine innings.
“There’s definitely a big emphasis on it,” left-hander Reid Detmers said. “First day camp we had a meeting about throwing strikes. Not walking guys. And being around the zone. So every bullpen you are working on filling up the zone. And I think it’s translating for most for the most part. A lot of guys are pitching really well. Not a whole lot of walks.”
Detmers said in particular the focus has shifted away from the actual characteristics of the pitch — the velocity or the break — and more on getting it in the strike zone.
“It’s just throwing what you have over the plate, and not trying to throw the nastiest pitch every time,” Detmers said. “That’s really it.”
Enright said Angels pitchers are not going to expand the zone so much with two strikes, in an effort to get the strikeout, that they end up throwing non-competitive pitches and working the count full.
On Sunday, right-hander Chase Silseth had only two strikeouts in four innings and he was “pouting,” Enright said, calling himself “just a contact pitcher now.”
Enright pointed out that he’d instead been efficiently getting outs. He did it so well that he had to go down to the bullpen after his four innings because he hadn’t reached his scheduled pitch count in getting those 12 outs.
“Your strikeouts will come,” Enright told him. “You’ve got plenty of stuff. You’re getting weak contact. You get four innings on 46 pitches, and all of the sudden you’re getting into the seventh and eighth inning. Five and dive is out of here.”
Also
Although right-handers José Soriano and Andrew Wantz are still being stretched out as starters, and doing so in big league exhibition games, Washington said they aren’t currently candidates to open the season in the big league rotation, unless there is an injury among the top five. The starters will be Sandoval, Detmers, Anderson, Silseth and righthander Griffin Canning. The order is still to be determined, including who will start on Opening Day, Washington said . ...
The Angels sent down outfielders Jordyn Adams and Jason Martin, infielder Kyren Paris and right-handers Caden Dana and Victor Mederos . ...
Right-hander Robert Stephenson (shoulder) said he is feeling “pretty good” and “moving in the right direction.” Stephenson said he’s expecting to throw another bullpen session later this week. He isn’t sure how soon he’ll be able to pitch in an exhibition game, but it’s “definitely possible” that he’ll get enough innings to be ready. “I’m not exactly sure of the timetable at the moment, but that’s the plan, to be ready for Opening Day,” he said.
Here are the first IE Varsity baseball rankings for 2024.
Records through Sunday 1. CORONA (3-1)
The Panthers reached the championship game of the Prep Baseball California Tournament.
2. SAN DIMAS (7-2)
The Saints opened up the season by posting back-toback victories over Norco and Aquinas.
3. NORCO (7-1)
The Cougars kick off Big VIII League play this week with a three-game series against Norco.
4. GREAT OAK (7-1)
The Wolfpack won seven straight to start off the season before a 1-0loss to San Juan Hills.
5. CENTENNIAL (6-1)
The Huskies begin Big VIII League play with a series against Rimpau Avenue rival Santiago.
6. AQUINAS (5-1)
The Falcons scored a 7-2win over Ontario Christian in Ambassador League action last week.
7. PALOMA VALLEY (9-0)
The Wildcats beat Riverside Poly at Moreno Valley to remained undefeated in the Ivy League.
8. VISTA MURRIETA (4-2)
The Broncos head to Etiwanda for their final tune-up game before Southwestern League begins.
9. ARLINGTON (8-1)
The Lions pulled out a pair of tight battles against King and Rancho Cucamonga last week.
10. SUMMIT (8-3)
The Skyhawks have important Sunkist League game against Bloomington and Kaiser this week.
Teams on the bubble (in alphabetical order):
Cajon (5-3), Chaparral (6-1), Chino Hills (7-2-1), Etiwanda (24), Murrieta Mesa (7-0), Murrieta Valley (6-1), Redlands East Valley (6-3), Santiago (6-3), Tahquitz (6-0-1), Yucaipa (6-3).
Records Sunday 1. NORCO (8-2)
2. MURRIETA MESA (12-2)
3. RIVERSIDE POLY (16-1-1)
4. ROOSEVELT (5-3)
5. BEAUMONT (6-1)
6. GREAT OAK (2-3-1)
7. VALLEY VIEW (5-0-1)
8. CHINO HILLS (5-6)
9. AYALA (8-3)
10. TEMESCAL CANYON (9-4)
— Eric-paul Johnson
Here are the first IE Varsity softball rankings for 2024.
The Cougars reached the finals of the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions earlier this month.
The Rams have scored 18runs per game through the first three Southwestern League contests.
The Bears won all five games at the Kick Off the Season showcase event in Las Vegas last week.
The Mustangs have already picked up notable wins over Beaumont and Great Oak this season.
The Cougars have won six consecutive games since dropping their season opener to Roosevelt.
The Wolfpack are hosting a big Southwestern League game against Murrieta Mesa on Thursday.
The Eagles are in the midst of a long break and open Ivy League play next week against Heritage.
The Huskies lost four straight to open the season but also have posted wins over Norco and Ayala.
The Bulldogs opened Palomares League play last week with victories over Glendora and Bonita.
The Titans won the Stu Penter Classic and also recorded a victory over Murrieta Mesa this season.
Teams on the bubble (in alphabetical order):
Aquinas (17-0), Bonita (8-4), Cajon (3-5-1), Etiwanda (12-2), Ganesha (3-0), Hemet (9-1), King (7-5), Liberty (5-4), Santiago (6-4), Vista Murrieta (4-3).
— Eric-paul Johnson