The strike zone can be incredibly damaging to a pitcher's development in both game and training situations. That's a pretty controversial thing to say, but there's a reason for saying it. What do I mean by this statement? Well, to answer that question, and to suggest solutions, we have to discuss the role strikes play in pitching, and how pitchers are trained today.
When Strikes are Important
Strikes play at all levels. Sure, velocity gets you in the door, but you're going to have a hard time staying on the mound if you can't throw strikes. Pitchers need outs and you can't get outs without strikes. It seems simple enough, but it's actually much more complicated than that. Believe it or not, there are times when strikes can become a problem, or at least the idea of strikes can be problematic.
When Strikes are Problematic
Strikes become a problem when we start to emphasize their importance over everything else. This can have a major impact on the pitcher's mindset. When we push strikes as inherently more important than anything else, command and movement take an immediate backseat even though they're essential to success. I don't care what you're throwing, if it doesn't have the appropriate combination of velocity and movement, it's going to get hit and it's going to get hit hard. Furthermore, when we constantly push the importance of strikes at the expense of movement and velocity, pitchers start to attribute increased value to strikes, and that's when the psychological effects come into play.
Neurotransmitters and Pitching
When we think about pitching, or baseball in general, we tend to think big picture. Sure, there are conversations about the game within the game, but really, everything is focused on the overall goal of winning. In reality, however, every single pitch provides feedback to the brain. Neurotransmitters have a significant impact on all human behavior, and that includes pitching. This impact is often positive. Today though, I want to focus specifically on how the neurotransmitter dopamine can impact pitching in a negative way.
Dopamine and Pitching
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays an important part in making us feel good (Watson, 2021). While it's just one of several neurotransmitters that contribute to pitching, and all behavior in general, dopamine is extremely influential. Linnet (2014) notes that anticipation plays a significant role in the release of dopamine. While the noted study deals with matters far beyond baseball, the connection to anticipation is important because this is where strikes can become problematic in both training and game settings. Every pitcher knows that throwing a strike will result in positive feedback from their teammates, coaches, and fans. As humans, we want to feel good as often as possible. The anticipation of a positive result, and the subsequent potential release of dopamine, is enough to influence behavior. In that event, a pitcher may start chasing strikes over everything else because they anticipate that positive result.
However, there's even more to this situation. Watson (2021) writes that dopamine also contributes to reinforcement. The positive feedback that follows a thrown strike is a form of positive reinforcement because something (cheers/praise/encouragement) is being added because of the outcome (Scott et al, 2022). Over time, this combination of neurological effects can significantly impact long-term behavior. As pitchers are conditioned to chase positive feedback, they will likely elevate strike percentage in terms of importance, thereby negatively impacting the perceived value of both velocity and movement.
Fixing the Problem During Gameplay
We're never going to stop cheering strikes. Heck, I'm the one writing this and I praise pitchers for throwing strikes. The answer isn't to kill positive feedback; it's to introduce positive feedback for additional actions. Praise the curveball with 18 inches of vertical break that misses below the zone by a couple of inches but doesn't result in a swing. Sure, it's not a strike, but it's a competitive pitch that impacts the chess game that is an at-bat. Praise the fastball that's clearly thrown with significant intent, even if it misses the zone. No, we don't want to praise indiscriminately because our job as coaches is to help players improve. The feedback can't always be positive. However, we can reframe our thinking to consider more outcomes as positive. In short, keep praising strikes, but find other things to be excited about.
Fixing the Problem During Training
In order to fix this issue during games, it comes down to the value placed upon outcomes because you can't remove the strike zone. In training, however, there is no such constraint. We can remove the strike zone at any time, and that's the solution. Simply remove the mechanism that causes the feedback. Now, before you all come for me, I'm not suggesting that we discard the strike zone at all times, just during specific instances. When we do remove the strike zone, whether by turning the mound around, throwing into a net, or some other creative alternative, we also remove the feedback that accompanies a strike and turn it toward something else. We can now place the focus on executing a movement pattern, or creating a new pitch instead of just focusing on throwing a strike, and can simultaneously send appropriate praise in that direction.
When I train pitchers, there is a time (case-by-case basis) where I remove the strike zone. Typically, it's during the first half of the offseason when we're programming improvements to movements patterns and are pursuing velocity, but I also remove the strike zone at times during pitch design sessions, especially when we're trying to chase the absolute limits of a pitch's movement capabilities. However, I'll sometimes remove the strike zone if I notice that a pitcher is departing from their natural movement patterns and is starting to move robotically. My main goal is to create elite movers, force creators, and force stabilizers, not strike throwing machines. One of those creates the other though. I'll let you figure out which is which.
Closing Thoughts
Throwing strikes is important. However, it's important to remember that there's more to pitching than simply throwing strikes. It's our job to recognize the impact that every situation has on our pitchers, and adjust accordingly. In this instance, it's all about changing training methods and doling out praise. Chase all the aspects of pitching equally, and don't fall into the mindset that strikes are the end-all, be-all of pitching.
References
Linnet, J. (2014, March 10). Neurobiological underpinnings of reward anticipation and outcome evaluation in gambling disorder. Frontiers. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00100/full
Scott, H., Jain, A., Cogburn, M. (2022). Behavior modification. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29083709/#:~:text=Thus%2C%20positive%20reinforcement%20occurs%20when,behavior%20more%20likely%20to%20recur.
Watson, S. (2021, July 20). Dopamine: The pathway to pleasure. Harvard Health. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/dopamine-the-pathway-to-pleasure
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