How come baseball pitchers aren't good hitters?

Question

Why do baseball pitchers rarely get a base hit or homeruns? They all look about the same size as other players so should'nt they be just as good?

Answer 1

Not enough practice.

Answer 2

Baseball is a very selective field with an enormous amount of evolutionary filtering occurring before players reach the majors, the highest level -- grade school, high school, college for many, three or four tiers of minor leagues. Anyone who makes it through all of that, and then succeeds, has a vast amount of talent and is able to use it productively.

Pitchers are selected based upon a totally different set of criteria than hitters/fielders are, and in fact it is a skill set diametrically opposed to hitting -- pitchers need to BEAT hitters at the strike zone. Pitchers achieve the highest level of the sport without any need for hitting skill, and when they do get there and have to swing the bat, they are facing their highly-skilled pitching brethren, other fellows who are so good at beating hitters. So the deck is already stacked, as it were. Only a very few pitchers can hit better than the backup shortstop, but they didn't get to the majors with any need to be good at hitting, because that isn't the role for which they were selected.

Makes Ankiel's story all that more impressive, dunnit?

Answer 3

The answer seems to be in specializing. They need to keep their arm in shape for the massive job of pitching a great game... and hitting and running might injure them somehow in other ways.

Even in Little League, a pitcher's arm is "protected", and they are only allowed to pitch so many balls before they have to stop (70, regardless of how well they are doing).

I think it's like looking after a great asset-- and they don't get the big hitting training that the others do, because they are always training on their throwing...

Answer 4

I don't think hitting is a major priority for pitchers. I think only starting pitchers usually have 2 it; I dunno if relievers or closers need 2 hit if a pinch-hitter ain't available. If u saw 2nite's game, don't b fooled by Matsusaka, a American League pitcher. Hell, I coulda hit that pitch considering where it ended up! I guess some pitchers can get really lucky (as opposed 2 the one who'd b doing the actual pitchin'.)

& u gotta remember those Nike ads where those NL pitchers showed envy for Mark McGwire & started spending thyme in BP. I think Randy Johnson, Chan Ho Park, & two Braves hurlers did those commercials.

Anybody seen Mark?

Answer 5

While other players are practicing hitting, they're practicing pitching. Just like a hitter wouldn't be a good pitcher, a pitcher isn't usually a good hitter.

Answer 6

Babe Ruth was a great pitcher and possibly headed for a hall of fame career. But with a bat in his hand he became more than a legend, more than an icon. Many pitchers have been good and great hitters but none have done it like the Bambino

Answer 7

Once they make it to the pro's, aka: post high school or college, their only goal from the coaches is to 'perfect' their pitches. Still they are all around atheletes, just ALOT less emphasis on hitting, and 98% on pitching. So if you have a pitcher on your team that can hit .200 in the pros, they're considered great "Pitcher-hitters".

Answer 8

While other players practice batting 3 hours a day, pitchers practice pitching 3 hours a day, that's why the suck at batting. Plus, pitchers' arms wear out so they can't be as effective batting since they basically have only 1 arm.

Answer 9

again, what most people said, while position players are taking BP, pitchers are pitching. even in the NL. NL pitchers may take an hour of BP a week.
but here are some damn good hitting pitchers...........
carlos
dontrelle
dice-k

and remember george ruth won 98 games as a pitcher for the BoSox.

Answer 10

Baseball pitchers usually don't practice hitting, they concentrate of pitching. You rarely see pitchers that are muscular but hitters, that's another story.

Answer 11

Pitchers focus on pitching a whole lot more than they focus on batting. If they focused on batting more they'd have less pitching quality.