What's up, Coach Dan Blewett, I'm a former pro pitcher in today's video,
we're going to cover the best locations to throw your slider.
So if you've just learned how to throw a great slider
and you're excited about spin it in the zone, getting some punch outs,
well, the location that you throw it to is going to, it's going to matter a lot.
So lots of times, parents and players, they think my son slider needs to
improve is not very good. He can't get hitters out of it.
A lot of times it's because the locations that they throw it
to or the lack of command that they have of the slider in general.
Then the next step is this video, which is going to teach you again
how to throw your slider depending on the count,
where to throw it and why it matters.
Let's start with
Ohio and behind location, so if you're behind the counter
is a picture that means, oh, 12, two or 303121 and 32 is like an even count.
Then the location that you're going to want to throw your slider is down
the middle of the plate.
So but we have to kind of explain that when you're throwing it down
the middle of the plate, your ending locations is what we're talking about.
And that means where the pitch
is going to cross the plate and be caught by the catcher.
So in my overlay here,
I'll put a green dot for starting location and a blue dot for ending location.
But sliders typically have like seven or twelve inches of break,
something like that. So they're going to look something like this.
They're going to have a one to seven or a two to eight kind of tilt.
And so if you want to throw your slider where it ends up down the middle,
then you would need to start it effectively over here.
So what you would do as a pitcher is you'd find your visual focal point,
which means you're going to lock your eyes on a piece of the catcher's body.
So probably like my left shoulder here.
And that's where you're going to start your slider
knowing that if you started there, that's the initial trajectory
of the initial path .
That implies that when it does, it's seven inches, eight inches of break.
It goes from initial trajectory
to the end point that you want it.
That's how you target date in.
So when you're throwing your slider or a curveball, this works for them.
You know, both pitchers just the same.
You have to learn where you're starting.
Focal point is where your starting point is, and that's going to be some location
on the catcher's body.
So if you want to end up here,
you just need to say, OK, my slider always breaks this amount
and generally this sort of direction this this tilt and everyone's
a little bit different, so you have to understand your own.
So I know it's going to break like this.
So therefore, if I want to start here, I got to start it there.
If I want to ended up here, I have to start it here.
If I want to end up here, I have to start it here.
That's how you you use your eyes to target your slider.
All right. So back to the first location.
So the first location is going to be a called strike,
and this is basically just aiming down the middle of the plate so that it ends up
in the center and at the bottom of the kneecap.
Now, if you could help it,
you would never throw a pitch that ends up down the middle.
But you make this the center of the plate
or down the middle, your focus so that you have more margin for error.
If you're trying to throw your slider down the middle
and you missed by six inches, it's still a strike.
If you miss by six inches this way, it still strike you missed by six inches up.
It's still a strike.
And on the first pitch or when you're behind, that's all that really matters.
If hitters swing it the first bit and they swing it a slider or a curveball.
They're dumb and they've done you a favor.
When hitters swing at first pitch
breaking balls, they typically are out or they miss or whatever.
So it's a good result, and you'll have to be perfect
when you're behind or it's the first pitch of the at bat.
So that's why you would choose to throw it down the middle on the first pitch.
Is it maximize your chance of getting that called strike?
And obviously, if you're two or 31,
you want to catch up on that count and you need that strike as well.
The next location is on the bottom border on the outside corner.
So this is going to be a borderline ball or strike.
And the reason we want to throw a borderline ball or strike is
when we want the at bat to end, but we're ahead in the count.
So what I mean by that is when you're oh, one or 12,
you want the a bat over with you.
It's either a two pitch out or a four pitch out.
And when you can end it back quickly like that, it saves your pitch count.
You get through, you're running faster than you can pitch again the next day
if you're a reliever or or soon thereafter, depending on your rest.
Or you can get three more innings as a starter.
So being thrifty with your pitch count
and not trying to strike everyone out is important.
So when you're 02, you can try for a strikeout, which we'll cover in a second.
But when you're one to one, if you miss, you're starting to drag the iPad out.
Now it's 11, or now it's 22, and now you're going to have throw
a minimum of five pitches if you're 22.
So when you're, oh, one or 12, you're ahead.
But let's not get greedy and let's look for weak contact
and trying to end the bat. That's the goal.
So what this means is you're going to need to start
your slider for the middle of the strike zone
knowing that your intended end point is on the outside corner.
And again, if you nail your spot low and away,
they can't necessarily take it because they might get called out on strikes.
It might be a called strike three.
And so because of that, they're going to probably swing most of the time
knowing that it's not going in the dirt or it's not way off the plate.
And so when they put that slider in play, how often are they going to hit this?
Very hard, very infrequently?
So they're probably going to bat
a buck 50 against sliders, throw in that spot, if not lower.
And so when you throw that oh, one or 12 slider right here,
eight and a half times out of ten , the at bats over
and you've gotten what you wanted, you got an out, right?
So that's important to understand.
The last location is a strikeout slider.
So this is a little bit different than a curveball
because you're not as much going
to balance your sliders as they might just go completely out of the strike zone
because of your lateral break.
So this depends a little more on the shape of your break.
So our overall overlay to different types right here.
one that's a little more lateral
and one that's a little more up and down like Brad Lidge through an amazing
up and down slider that had a little more of this than that.
And so because sliders don't have as much vertical break as a curveball does.
You've got to pitch down the strike zone.
I want to cover this before we finish up this last location.
If you're always up in the zone with your slider.
Or with your fastball and then your sliders are always low.
They're not going to look the same very often.
So when you throw a slider?
Sure, you can elevate fastballs sometimes, but you have to kind of live and breathe
pitching down in the zone because that's what's going to mask your slider.
If every fastball is down here
and now you throw a slider that starts down there as well, and then it's zig
zag out of the strike zone.
Hitters are going to swing at that
a lot of the time because fastballs always look down.
And now sliders always look like low
fastballs, too, so they just peel off in different directions.
That's how your slider becomes really effective.
But if all your fastballs are up here because you can't get the ball down
and your sliders are always down the bottom of the strike zone,
they're not going to look the same.
Hitters are going to see fastball up and hit fastballs up.
And when they see the pitch go down, they're going to take it
because they're going to know it's a slider.
So to be a really effective pitcher with a slider,
you have to play the game, which means pitching down the zone.
And now if I'm always down the zone
and now I throw the slider that starts here and ends up here,
I'm going to get hitters to swing and miss that all day, and I'm going out.
I'm going to make that team's life miserable.
But again, if you're throwing your fastball up here,
this is not going to look like this strikeout slider that's thrown down there.
So depending on the shape of your slider, it might break into the dirt
right before the end from the plate or on the point of the plate back here.
But in general, your slider can have a little more air under it.
So what this means is that your slider
and you're not going to get as many swinging misses.
On sliders thrown in the actual dirt.
You're going to get most of your swing and misses throwing your slider
in the square, that this that these players.
So you're going to get a lot of swings and misses
when your slider bounces off the plate itself
hits the point of the plate or equivalent in this box.
Back here, curve balls will still get a lot of swings
and misses back here because a more vertical break
sliders are going to have to be thrown a little bit deeper
because they're vertical break is not as significant.
But when you throw a slider
on the outside part of the plate, it's going to break out here
pretty far out, and that's going to get swings and misses as well.
So a little bit of a difference on the
on the strikeout slider versus the strikeout curveball, but again,
taking the preliminary steps of being really didn't
diligent and learning how to throw a slider properly
the way the pros do, which I have a video link to that in the description below
that's going to make your location much more consistent.
So if you want to say, OK,
I want more strikeouts, I want to get guys to swing and miss.
I want to get guys to ground out on one or 12.
Well, when you throw your curb your slider properly
and consistently, then you can start to rely on it.
OK, I know that's going to break this amount every time.
So now I can take my visual focal point and I can dial my slider in
and start it in different locations
when I need to throw it in different locations. OK.
So hopefully today's video helps obviously having a great slider
that has sharp break and all that is very important.
But the execution of the pitch
where you locate it is just as important as the quality of the pitch itself.
All right. Thanks again for watching.
I'm coach Dan Blewett and I'll see you in the next video.