Over the course of a pitcher’s career he may be at various times a starter or a reliever. At the lower levels, relievers are usually the pitchers who are not as talented as the starters. This is why coaches stress the importance of getting to a high school bullpen as soon as possible. Usually, the talent level drops considerably when that occurs.
As players reach the college and professional levels, pitchers often will be guided into either a starter’s role or a
Relief pitchers are a different breed. They also need an important skill set.
reliever’s. The question becomes, what determines who goes in what direction?
The answer usually involves three things: command of the strike zone, having at least two quality pitches, and the ability to field your position. Let’s look at each separately.
Command – although command of the zone is certainly important for any pitcher, it becomes even more important for relievers. Often a reliever will enter the game with runners already on base and thus cannot afford to walk any batters. To be a quality reliever, you MUST throw strikes. Starters can get away with under 65% strikes overall but relievers cannot. Their numbers ideally should be in the 70% strikes range. Especially first pitch strikes.
Two pitches – a reliever only needs two quality pitches to be successful. Because starters will generally be facing hitters multiple times during a game, usually three pitches or more are required to give those hitters multiple looks over the course of the game. However, relievers usually face a hitter once and don’t really need more than two quality pitches. Younger pitchers may be able to get away with just a hard fastball but as kids get older, their ability to hit fastballs improve. Pitchers will need at least one other pitch to get these hitters off their fastball.
Fielding – Relievers usually enter later in games during key situations with runners on base. Fielding bunts and knowing all the bunt plays, holding runners close, backing up bases, covering first base, and other defensive responsibilities become more important for relievers as a result. Being a poor defensive pitcher will usually prevent a guy from ever becoming a quality reliever.
If you are a pitcher and would like to become a better reliever, be sure to work on all three of these areas. If you are a coach in need of a better bullpen, start putting more focus on all three areas in practice and see who seems to do them more often. Those guys may become your best relievers.