How Accurate are Baseball Pitchers?

If you have attended a little league game recently, you will likely notice that the pitchers walk plenty of hitters as they try to get used to pitching in live game action. As baseball pitchers get older and more coordinated, you will see fewer walks due to improvement in muscle memory and coordination. And as players advance up to College, minor leagues, and major leagues, typically accuracy is nearly pinpoint. How accurate are baseball pitchers?

Baseball pitchers at the major league level are very accurate and on average walk only around 3 batters per 9 innings pitched. Major League Pitchers are very skilled and have created exceptional muscle memory to hit spots and be very accurate.

5 Reasons Pitchers are so Accurate:

Dedicated pitching practice

When pitchers get into high school, they often have a designated Pitching coach that they work with at practice each day.

Because pitching is such an important part of the game, pitchers perform pitching drills day after day to develop their craft.

Muscle Memory

With all of that practice comes improved muscle memory that helps pitchers repeat their pitching deliveries time and again.

Pitchers practice their delivery often in what is known as “dry pitching drills” that allow them to concentrate on their pitching delivery in a concentrated manner without throwing a baseball.

 Here is a good video of one of the games top lefties, Clayton Kershaw, performing dry drills:

Strong lower half

Another feature most of the game’s most accurate pitchers have is that they have a very strong lower half of their body.

Having strong legs helps provide stability and balance throughout the pitching windup, which allows for pitchers to deliver the ball with a consistent release point.

Pitchers sometimes will show up to 100 pitches a game, so their legs will get plenty of exercise performing the same delivery time and again.

If a pitcher’s legs are weak, as the game goes on it becomes difficult to repeat their delivery and that is typically when they begin to walk hitters and have control issues.

Mental Focus

The best pitchers have the ability to block out noise and focus on the catcher’s mitt with ignoring the chaos around him.

Pitchers have to manage runners during the game and also have the other team trying to distract them with noises from the dugout and they also have short memories.

Pitchers that don’t have the best mental toughness have a tough time getting past a bad inning or letting give up home runs affect them.

The best pitchers focus on the upcoming pitch and control what they can control.

Flexibility

Another feature that most casual fans don’t realize pitchers have is that they are very flexible and can repeat their deliveries time and again due to great flexibility and athleticism.

Pitchers stride down the mound while maintaining balance on their back leg and utilize leverage to throw the ball with the velocity at a target.

Having flexibility in your throwing arm, hips, and the lower half is extremely important to developing a consistent pitching delivery.

Who is the most accurate pitcher of all time?

Almost all of the pitchers with the best walk rates in baseball history played before 1920 when there was a much lower strikeout rate and the style of play was much different during the dead ball era.

The best walk rates for modern-day players are:

• Josh Tomlin: 1.29 BB/9 in 1067 innings
• Dan Quisenberry 1.39 BB/9 in 1043 innings
• Bob Tewksbury 1.45 BB/9 in 1807 innings

Here is a list of the Pitchers with the lowest walk rate in Major League History:

Pitcher	Walk Rate Per Nine Innings	Innings Pitched
Candy Cummings	.47	2149.2
Tommy Bond	.47	3628.2
Al Spalding	.51	2886
Cherokee Fisher	.54	1326
Jim Devlin	.57	1405
George Zettlein	.59	2176
George  Bradley	.60	2940

In the minor leagues, you will likely see a higher walk rate as pitchers are still trying to refine their craft. 

How accurate are college baseball pitchers?

College pitchers walk an average of around 4 hitters per 9 innings and the walk rate will rise with each level you go down in college baseball.

At the Power 5 division level, many pitchers are good enough to be drafted by professional clubs and you will see lower walk rates than Division 2, 3, or NAIA baseball.

In smaller colleges, walk rates will be higher as the athleticism drops from level to level due to the athleticism dropping as you go down to lower levels.

The better the athletes, the better the walk rate is typically what you will see if you attend games at different levels.

How often do pitchers hit their spots?

Hitting spots for pitchers is difficult to measure since “A spot” can be referred to as a strike by some people and to others, it means when a pitcher hits the catcher’s glove with the ball without having to move their glove.

The best pitchers have the ability to spot the baseball on multiple planes in the strike zone.

So they can throw a low and away fastball for a strike, an up and in fastball for a strike to jam a hitter and locate other popular pitches like a backdoor breaking ball. 

HItting spots is a commonly used baseball lingo that some people use to describe a pitcher that is locating pitches on both sides of the plate and taking advantage of hitters’ weaknesses with certain pitches.

Some pitchers can throw strikes but if they can’t locate within the strike zone that will likely have a high propensity to be hit by the other team unless they have overpowering velocity.

Greg MaddUx was one of the best pitchers of all time that had the ability to spot pitchers. Here are a few of his highlights:

How are pitchers so accurate?

Pitchers are so accurate because they practice every day on their craft which helps them create muscle memory for when they pitch in games.

Similar to a golfer who takes hundreds of swings each day to create a consistent swing, a pitcher does a variety of drills and exercises so that they can have a consistent delivery and release point.

How do you improve pitching accuracy?

The best way to improve pitching accuracy is to practice throwing to a target through a mix of bullpen sessions, drills from flat ground, and performing dry drills where you work on repeating your delivery.

Pitching is a feel sport so the hard work you put in practice will pay off and you will notice your accuracy improving over time.

What are the mechanics of pitching?

“Mechanics” is the phrase commonly used to describe a pitching motion which is a coordinated series of movements a pitcher uses to help generate momentum to throw the ball to the catcher.

The best pitchers have pitching mechanics that are repeatable which means that the motion they use to throw the ball looks exactly the same for each pitch.

How do you pitch step by step?

Different pitching mechanics are recommended for different ages due to the strength and coordination players have at different levels.

For little league pitching, the most important thing is to try and get pitchers to a balance point so they can throw the ball toward the catcher without losing their release point.

In little league, this could mean taking a smaller step back during the wind-up and not lifting the knee as high. 

As players get older, strength and flexibility come into play so that pitchers can explode down the mound with as much velocity on the ball as possible. 

Here is a good video breakdown of good mechanics for little league pitchers:

Conclusion

The most accurate baseball pitchers put in the work in practice so when they get to the game it is second nature. They practice hitting targets, whether it’s their catching partners glove in different spots, their catcher, a net, or a 9 pocket. There are many drills to help with accuracy, and a lot comes down to practice and ability.

Pitching is a sport that is a blend of skill and athleticism and with hard work and good coaching you can improve your pitching accuracy over time.