Why are pitchers poor batters?

Question

I'm a AL fan so I dont see too many NL games but why are most pitchers poor batters? Even pitchers who've spent alot of time in the NL. All of them grow up batting so what happens when they get to the big leagues. Is it simply cause they dont play as many games (altho alot of utility players probably play the same about and still bat well) or something else?

Answer 1

Once in the majors, pitchers and their teams are more concerned with their pitching than their hitting. A pitcher who can hit but isn't a good pitcher won't do much for you.

Therefore, pitchers spend less time on batting practice, etc. than their position players. The pitchers concentrate on holding down the opposition, while the lineup is counted upon to produce offensively.

Answer 2

Pitchers are really only poor batters compared to most position players. Pitchers often hit homeruns, get hits or at least put the bat on the ball. Most of us if we were up there would be waving at the air. That being said pitchers are poor batters because they are selected for the team based on their pitching ability, most pitchers who are really good hitters end up being every day players (Babe Ruth for example) and they are given very little or no time for batting practice, especially when they are on the road.

Answer 3

Not all of them are, but yes, the majority of them have a less than stellar batting average. They have to devote so much time to keeping their arms in perfect condition to pitch well, that they cant afford to take the multiple batting practices like the other players and risk injury. If you notice the older pitchers in the league like smoltz and maddux, they both have pretty good averages for the last few years.

Not only that, but they dont see the amount of at bats the regular hitters do so its harder to maintain a decent average and when they do get up, assuming the guy in front of them got on base, they will generally be told to sacrifice bunt.

Answer 4

Well, just to throw you for a long shot.
A lot of pitchers out there were the best hitters on their high school teams. But once you get into the college and pro levels, the coaches/managers/etc. want them to focus on what they were brought there to do. And that's pitch. If they focused on hitting, they'd have less time to work on their pitching, thus making them less effective at the thing they're getting paid for.
As for your point on Utility players, they can focus on their batting and fielding, unlike pitchers, who need to focus on their main things: pitching, and fielding short grounders and bunts.
Hope that helps explain it better to you.

Answer 5

It's because they mainly focus on training. When you get to college and the Majors/Minors, you're main priority is pitching. You'll spend more time on picthing than anything else. They won't have you practice your swing. Instead, they'll have you working on your stamina, your velocity, and your pitch location. And after a few years in the Majors/Minors, your batting abilities usually rust and you won't be as good. Many high school pitchers bat as well as any other player.

Answer 6

i just laugh at softball lovers answer, i think she should try to hit a 93 mph splitter....have fun and don't break a nail....o yea and use a wooden bat...

most pitchers in the major leagues were probably the most talented player on their teams in high school or college, but once you start to get competitive in college and the mlb, you have to focus solely on your arm....there are so many things you have to maintain consuming hours of your time....you have to keep your body in the right shape for pitching, the mechanics of your delivery, your arm strength, flexibility and durability.....pitching at 80-90+ mph, contorting your arm in a way thats not really natural, makes it hard on your arm to handle it....pitching is really demanding, pitching like an ace is even harder.....

teams don't spend all that money for pitchers to hit, they pay them to pitch....and the better they pitch, the less likely is it needed for them to drive in 100 rbis in the season....they spend probably 90% of their time at practice working on their pitching or conditioning their body for pitching, and 5% of the time practicing bunting and the other 5 messing around in bp....

Answer 7

Never get the BP. No respect.
I am old school
Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson (.400) and tom Seaver used to knock the crap out the ball. They were competeors and wanted to hit homers. Seaver and Koosman used to bet on who would get the most hits and avg in a season.
Yankees Mel Stottelmeyer and Steve Hamilton were actually so good they would pinch hit in late innning games.
That was baseball at its best.

Answer 8

Because pitchers do not spend that much time hitting once they are in the pros. Since teams will rather have them practice pitching since pitchers usually just sacrifice bunt or are pinched hit for. So no reason have them practice hitting that much.....

Answer 9

They usually only play in one of every three or four games or just one or two innings per game. They put all their concentration in training and practice on pitching rather than batting.

Answer 10

Not in Softball most pitchers hit for them self and are just about better then any other hitter on the team some are number 1 hitters on the team.

and for guys well they suck an cant hit and dont even want to try to hit.