Know When to Throw the Change Up
By: Cindy Bristow
Discover 8 Rules for great times to throw the change up

If your pitcher has a good change up then you need to throw it more and that means you need to know the 8 best times for throwing the changeup.

Throwing the changeup really depends on how good your pitcher's change up is. If it's not very good, then she will have to wait to throw it until she's ahead in the count, which makes it more predictable for the hitter's to anticipate.

But, if she throws a good change up - meaning the speed is good and she has good control of it - then it can be a very effective weapon. Here are some good times to throw the changeup when the pitcher has good control of it:
 

  1. The First Pitch - especially on teams that like to swing first pitch
  2. On Hitter's Counts - 2-1,3-1,3-2,1-0,2-0
  3. After a Big Hitter has Hit a Long Foul Ball - this can really catch a hitter off guard who is probably looking to RIP the ball even harder.
  4. After a Hitter has Fouled Off a Lot of Pitches - hitters often get aggressive after they've fouled off a lot of pitches and this is a good time to fool a hitter.
  5. Anytime a Hitter Looks like They're Going to Really Try and Crush the Ball - if the hitter is not choked up and looks like they have a long swing (or an end-loaded bat) then it's another great opportunity for a changeup.
  6. To Make Your Fastball Look a Lot Faster - the change up can be a great way to make your fastball look a whole lot faster.
  7. As a Way to Alter a Teams Last At-Bats - the more a team hits in a game the more familiar they become with the pitcher so it's always a good idea to either throw different pitch sequences or introduce the change up more often during the latter part of a game.
  8. To Force Poor Hitter's to Wait - poor hitters that tend to get their eight forward too soon will only struggle more having to hit lots of changeups.