Clint McGill - Baseball Notes
Pitch Tipping: The 8 Dead Giveaway Pitcher Tells To Look For To Know What The Pitcher Is Throwing
Clint McGill is a former professional baseball player with the Houston Astros Organization and founder of Baseball Notes. He is also the Host of The Youth Baseball Summit and the Baseball Notes Podcast, and also the creator of The Bulletproof Hitter mental training program and The MISSILE Method Bat Speed program.
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Summary and Action Plan below
SESSION SUMMARY
The glove. This is the obvious one. Pitchers will often fan their glove wide when they’re digging to grab a secondary pitch (one they don’t throw as often) while keeping it still when throwing a primary pitch (usually a fastball). It’s really helpful to know what a pitcher holds in his grip while he’s on the mound waiting for his sign from the catcher. That way when he has a lot of digging you know something else is coming. Note: often a guy will hold his most complicated grip in his glove to start because it’s less movement to switch to a fastball. And if he starts with the fast ball, he’s gotta dig!
Also don’t forget to look straight through his glove if he has an open web. You may not be able to see his exact grip but you should definitely be able to see movement on whether he’s changing grips.
2. Elbow. If a pitcher isn’t mindful of tipping his pitch (and most young guys aren’t), then they can do a “chicken wing” movement with their elbow when they dig in….like bring their elbow up more level with their shoulder in extreme cases, or some guys will pump it just a little bit.
3. Eyes. I don’t know why but I love spotting this one. Some pitchers will simply look right into their glove on off speed pitches to make sure they have the grip they want. It’s great when they use their whole head and you can see the bill of his cap drop, but sometimes it’s just his eyes that peek down into his glove. Dead giveaway that he’s about to throw something that he doesn’t throw as often.
4. Timing. Sometimes pitchers get into such a rhythm that they just get their sign and go. Get their sign and go. Get their sign and go. But when an off speed pitch is called, they get their sign - slight pause - and go. Whether he’s taking his time while he regrips or is just mentally processing the new task, be mindful of how quickly he starts his motion once he nods yes for his sign.
5. Finger out. I LOVED it when a pitcher had his finger out of his glove. It’s like a dog that wags it’s tail when it’s happy, pitchers just can’t control it (usually). So many guys it’s the same: the finger taps while gripping one pitch, and doesn’t tap for another. If you see a pitcher with his finger outside of his glove and you’re not watching what his finger is doing you are missing out!
6. Windup. Look for general changes in his windup, like glove placement and glove angle. Go to the 6 minute mark to watch an example of a future cy young winner that I faced who TELEGRAPHED his pitches during his windup….and still won National Player of the Week - too funny :)
7. Fast Slow, Slow Fast. Kudos to Shawn Green for sharing this in his (awesome) book The Way of Baseball. Many pitchers will slow their delivery when throwing a fastball, in an attempt (whether it’s conscious or subconsciously) to lull the hitter to sleep. Conversely, that same pitcher - hoping to speed up the hitter’s timing - will quicken his delivery when throwing an off speed pitch.
8. Ball in the hand. This is looking at the grip after the pitcher separates from his glove. This is challenging because of how quick it is before release point, but often if you pay attention you can simply see that the pitcher is using a different grip (lots of fingers, a raised finger/knuckle, that sort of thing). This wasn’t my favorite tell simply because i was about to start loading at this point, but a few times I’ve spotted this from on deck and was able to use it at the plate.
Tips: 1) Don’t lean on this with 2 strikes. It’s wise (recommended even) to sell out early in the count when you think you know what is coming, but with 2 strikes you can’t bank on a tell. Must just compete. 2) Don’t over think it. If you’re having a hard time deciphering if a guy is tipping or not, it’s sometimes better to just let it go. Too much thought at the plate can be a problem even before you mix in reading the pitcher, so be mindful of not obsessing about it.
That said, If you can pick up a pitcher’s tell it can be a fantastic edge for a hitter...Imagine if a pitcher throw a 1-1 breaking ball off of the plate. If you chase it because you were fooled you’re now looking 1-2 vs a 2-1 count...huge difference.
ACTION PLAN
Just pay attention! But I’ll be more specific: Pay attention *when you’re not hitting*. Picking up tells almost always happens by someone in the dugout. Some of the best teams I’ve played on are the ones where guys who weren’t in the lineup that day were still trying to make themselves useful and finding the pitchers tell. Early on in high school I didn’t play a ton and this is something I did just for fun and to stay busy. And it wasn’t my intention but let me tell you, coaches LOVE players who do this, especially when they’re on the bench. And I’m not recommending being a kiss-up, but it’s *never* a bad thing to have some brownie points with the people who make decisions about your playing time and future :)
So go out and watch pitchers while they’re on the mound. The next time you’re playing a game or in an intrasquad, find something. Look at his glove, see how much he wiggles it when he grips the ball, or if his finger is outside of his glove in particular. Every pitcher has a tell...go find it!