No Pitcher Is An Island

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

– from MEDITATION XVII, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624) by John Donne

A common mental mistake made by young pitchers is thinking that it is their responsibility to get each batter out. Although a pitcher wields tremendous influence concerning the success of a batter by virtue of being the one pitching the ball, it is not in fact up to the pitcher to get each batter out. A pitcher may get a strikeout, or may actually be so effective on any particular day that the only hit balls by opposing batters are either lazy flies or weak grounders. But it is not actually the pitcher’s responsibility to get each batter out. A pitcher is to throw strikes. It is up to the team to get each batter out.

If you happen to have an overpowering fastball that you can blow by hitters, or a breaking ball that makes batters’ knees buckle, or a deceptively nasty changeup that leaves hitters twisted in the dirt, and thus find yourself striking out many a batter…fantastic. Use your pitches effectively and pitch with confidence. But don’t mistake an ability to strike a batter out with the belief that you need to strike a batter out. Don’t mistake the confidence that you can strike a batter out with the belief that you must strike a batter out.

A pitcher is not on the field by himself. Even a strikeout requires another player. A catcher needs to be there to catch the pitch.

There are two negative consequences that arise for a team when a pitcher believes it is up to him alone to get a batter out. The obvious consequence is that the pitcher himself feels the undue burden and pressure that can arise from the perceived responsibility. In any individual game or specific situation, perhaps a pitcher can shake off the pressure. But the weight on one’s shoulders adds up over time. Unwanted, unnecessary pressure builds. Heart rates go up. Muscles get tense. Mechanics start to suffer. And perhaps in the moment – in a tie ballgame with the go-ahead runner on second – when a pitcher’s best pitch is needed, the quality of that pitch will be negatively affected.

The second consequence, a more nuanced but equally adverse consequence of a pitcher taking on the sole psychological responsibility for getting a batter out, is that fielders begin to believe it too. If explicitly asked, fielders would never acknowledge this fact. But that’s only because they don’t realize it’s happening. It’s subtlety is deceptive.

If a pitcher is feeling confident, so too are the fielders likely to feel confident. If a pitcher is feeling dejected and defeated, so too are the fielders likely to feel dejected and defeated. Fielders feed off a pitcher. If a pitcher assumes sole responsibility for getting a batter out, fielders begin to believe it too. And in that moment when this thought has permeated their minds, fielders almost non-perceptively lose a step on hard hit ground balls. In that moment when this thought has permeated their minds, fielders almost non-perceptively don’t get the best jump on hard hit fly balls. Routine plays no longer look routine. The bounce in a fielder’s step falters. Mental readiness deteriorates.

But in that moment, the fielder doesn’t need to be ready because it is the pitcher’s responsibility to get the batter out, correct? No. “It is our responsibility, the team’s responsibility. And I will do my part.” In that moment, this must be the mentality of the fielder.

A perfect game is arguably the greatest “individual” achievement a pitcher can accomplish. There have been only 21 perfect games thrown in the modern era of major league baseball, the first coming in 1904 pitched by the immortal Cy Young himself. The most recent coming in 2012 by Felix Hernandez. A pitcher must put together a truly magnificent pitching performance to accomplish this feat. But the fielders must be magnificent as well. They too need to be perfect.

In the 21 perfect games in MLB history, the average number of strikeouts per game was about nine. That means on average (in a nine inning game) two-thirds of the outs in each of these perfect games required another fielder to make a play. Pitchers will be remembered for perfect games. Fielders make perfect games possible. Just ask Mark Buerhle, who in 2009 while pitching for the Chicago White Sox threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. I’m certain Buerhle will never forget the play made by center fielder DeWayne Wise in the top of the ninth inning. Check it out here for yourself.

During a game and over the course of a season, a pitcher will throw strikes. And a pitcher will throw balls. A pitcher will have good days. And a pitcher will have not so good days. But no matter the situation, one thing is always true. A pitcher stands by himself on the mound, but he is never alone on the field.