'In the Dugout' is a monthly column written by a local youth, travel, high school or collegiate coach about a specific aspect of the game. This month's guest columnists are South Lakes High School head coach Morgan Spencer and Fordham University pitching coach Pat Pinkman, two former left-handed pitchers who write on the development and effectiveness of a left-handed pitcher’s pickoff move.
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Editor's Note:
Pinkman, who played at South Lakes and then at Virginia Tech, and Spencer, who played at Madison High School and then at Greenville College in Illinois, both hold the career records for pickoffs for their respective collegiate programs. Spencer also holds Greenville’s career record for strikeouts, and Pinkman, who picked off a Division I-record 19 batters in 1999 and 48 for his career with the Hokies, was the Atlantic-10 Conference Rookie of the Year in 1998.
Both Pinkman and Spencer had pickoff moves that were so effective, they were deployed by their coaches as weapons in tight games.
On a few occasions while at Virginia Tech, Pinkman was inserted into games with the instructions not to throw a pitch, but to simply pick a runner off first base. This despite base runners being aware of his move, to the point where, as noted later this this editorial, one opposing coach simply told his runners to keep their foot on first base.
Spencer was once called upon the day after pitching by Warhawks coach Mark ‘Pudge’ Gjormand to relieve in a one-run game against Lee. With one out and runners at first and second base, and given instructions not to throw a pitch, he promptly picked the runner off first. The runner at second was then thrown out after breaking to third on the pickoff attempt, thus enabling Spencer to record a save without throwing a pitch.
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Mag: How did you learn the move? And how did learning and perfecting the move help your playing career as a pitcher?
Pinkman: When I was growing up and still playing Little League, my brother, Jeff, who is 2 1/2 years older than me, was learning and using pickoffs on the 90-foot diamond. My Dad was learning all he could about left-handed pickoff moves to teach my brother, and I was naturally “dragged” into the practice sessions. I realized this was something I would need to learn eventually, saw my brother having success picking off runners, and started to see this could be a serious advantage for my game. Once I got a taste of picking runners off, it became a little bit of an obsession. I would constantly practice it, doing dry reps in the mirror, quick toss and quick hands drills for the step off move. It was something I felt could separate me from other pitchers. From there, it evolved and I learned more about how to be more deceptive within the rule book and what base runners were trying to do to counter my ability to hold runners.
Years after I finished playing, I would meet people and they would comment on how they thought that I had the “best pickoff move” they had ever seen. This was very generous and humbling, and very difficult if not impossible to quantify. But when I was playing, I didn’t think at the time, “I wanted to have the greatest move”. It was more about having a weapon that others didn’t so I could give our team a better chance to win. The more outs I got through picks, the harder I made it for them to steal, the harder it would be for them to score the better our chance to win. There is no doubt in my mind that while I recorded a lot of pickoffs, it definitely help reduce the number of runs I gave up and allowed me to pitch deeper into games at times by getting a couple of “free” outs.
Spencer: I was very fortunate to have learned my pickoff move at a very young age. Growing up in Dallas, I never played traditional Little League. I played Pony Baseball, where we essentially played pro rules from the first day of kid pitch. So I learned very quick the importance of controlling the running game. My pitching coach growing up was Mike Bacsik, a former big leaguer with the [Texas] Rangers who was actually a right-handed pitcher. I would go to his house and work on my mechanics, and he spent a lot of time with me on pickoffs. His son, also Mike Bacsik, at the time was a big-time left-handed pitcher at Duncanville High School and the two of us would work quite a bit on our picks. (Side note: Mike Bacsik Jr. played for the Nats and gave up the record-setting home run to Barry Bonds). When I moved to Vienna as a junior in high school, I did some work with Pat and his father, John Pinkman. They helped me tremendously as well to develop my move.
-- Mag: What are lefties able to do to both deceive a base runner and also not draw the ire of an umpire?
Pinkman: It has to look natural and smooth. Inevitably, there will be a situation where an umpire will call a balk even if it is not truly a balk, simply because it looks different. If you are good at it you will catch the runner off guard, sometimes if you’re really good you catch the umpire off guard. Also, know the rule book. I would routinely have conversations with umpires about their interpretation of the rule. If you can speak intelligently about the rules (and know how to bend them), the umpire will think twice about calling a balk because you know what you are doing.
Spencer: I think there are a few things that guys can really do to be deceptive in their move. The first thing that has to happen is it has to look like you normal delivery. That starts with balance. So many guys lean to plate or lean to first, and it’s a dead giveaway. The next thing I focus on is keeping the shoulder square. I have guys focus on taking their glove to home plate, as if they are throwing to the plate. We are always taught to point our glove where we are throwing. Too many lefties take their glove and point it right at first base - again, a dead giveaway to the runner. Lastly, I would focus on mixing up your looks with your head. There’s no real key here, just keep the runners off-balance and try to deceive them with your looks. Of all the things about a pickoff, I honestly think the 45-degree thing is the least important. If you have balance, stay square and fool them with your head. You can step directly at them and they won’t be able to tell until it’s too late.
As for the umpires, if there are three of them, you have to be very careful on the 45-degree stride. If there are two umpires, it doesn’t matter if you step straight to home or straight to first. If the other coach or fans complain enough, they will call a balk. But likely just once!
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Mag: How can the pickoff move be deployed as a weapon to slow or completely shut down an opposing running game?
Pinkman: I can remember a game in college where I picked off a runner and had a history of doing so to this team. The coach was so furious he made the players stand on the base until I delivered the pitch. While it did give me a chuckle and an extreme sense of pride that I could do this to a team, I didn’t realize until later what affect it had on the team’s strategy and ability to win the game. There are only a few ways you can score a runner from first base in one at-bat if he is standing on first base when the pitch is delivered, on a home run, triple, or double, and that would likely take an error if the runner started by standing on the bag. Any other possible way to score the runner would require multiple mistakes or multiple at-bats. When you cut off an artery for a team’s ability to score, you have eliminated the running game, not just controlled it.
Spencer: Obviously, a great pick-off move can get you a number of very big and important outs throughout the course of a game and season. I can think of games, even in college, where I would get an inning or two worth of picks in a game. If I was behind to a good hitter, it allowed me to nibble a bit or throw a breaking ball because I knew I could pick them off first base. Even just the threat of a pickoff can keep a runner closer to the bag and can increase your infield’s chances of turning a double play and decrease the runner’s chances of going first to third on a single. Pitchers that have the ability to throw over when a runner goes on the first move are devastating. Too many guys predetermine when they are going to pick and don’t have the ability to adjust when a guy takes off on first move.
-- Mag: Who has the best left-handed pickoff move you've seen?
Pinkman: For many years, my older brother Jeff was the one I looked up to, he set the standard very high for me and I always challenged myself to have as good a move as him. I can remember a base runner diving back to first base and the pitch was delivered to the plate. Andy Pettitte was a pitcher that consistently had a good move in the big leagues and was known for his move. Going even further back, Terry Mulholland was a pitcher who had a really good quick step off move. I would always watch those guys pitch as often as I could to see how they held runners and used the pick off move.
Spencer: Pat was nasty. I learned a lot from working with and watching Pat. As far as a pro guy, I liked Andy Pettitte quite a bit.
-- Mag: At what age should young pitchers begin to work on a move, and how often should they use it at a young age?
Pinkman: With as young as travel ball starts now there is an urgency to teach pitchers. Both righties and lefties should begin working on moves as early as 9-10 years old. I think it is necessary to teach the proper mechanics, and more importantly, the proper mental tools needed to control the running game as soon as possible. I personally feel when you ask younger and younger teams to learn about taking leads and learning pickoffs, it will help them as they get older. It will make it easier to execute these plays when they get to the 90-foot diamond.
However, I have seen many instances where a pitcher, righty or lefty, has been playing travel ball and using pick offs for 3-5 seasons and has little to no idea about the proper way to pickoff or pitch from the stretch. I think it is imperative to have players play on a transitional field for at least a year to help ease the transition from the Little League game to the big league game. Failure is inherent in our sport, if we throw them into an environment where mistakes are magnified significantly by the increased size of the field, it will be difficult to retain players in those developmental years.
I have had great success getting left-handers to see that a great pickoff move is a huge weapon. However, it is infinitely more difficult to get them to practice consistently enough to make it a permanent staple in their arsenal. The issue with a great pick off move is that it is a skill, you have to sharpen it or you will lose it. Nowadays, with the exceptional quality of video, it is very easy to work with a pitcher and get them to see what they’re doing well and what they need to work on regarding their move. I tell people frequently, there’s no secret to it, just make your pickoff look as much as your delivery - and practice, practice, practice! The more you practice it, the more second nature it will become. The more natural it looks, the more deceptive it will look.
Spencer: As soon as they start pitching they should start working on picks. Most of it is balance anyway, so it’s a great thing to work on. Guys can use it as much as they want. You don’t want to be a “rain delay” on the mound by throwing over too much, but if you can get an out, throw over as much as you want. I like to mix in good moves and bad moves and of course don’t forget to work on the gun-slinger move.
Photos of Spencer courtesy of South Lakes baseball and Pinkman of Fordham athletics
