Ask AI: Why are pitchers notoriously bad at batting?

Pitchers are notoriously bad at batting primarily because of specialization and lack of focus on hitting during their development and professional careers. Here’s a breakdown of the main reasons: 1. **Specialized Training**: Most pitchers spend the vast majority of their time learning how to pitch—developing different pitches, improving mechanics, and building arm strength. Hitting is secondary or even ignored in comparison. 2. **Lack of Practice**: In both the minor leagues and Major League Baseball, pitchers usually don’t take as many batting practice reps as position players. As a result, their batting skills don’t develop to the same level. 3. **Physical Toll**: Pitching is physically demanding, often requiring the pitcher’s full attention to condition their arm and body. Practicing hitting could detract from the rest and recovery they need to maintain pitching effectiveness. 4. **Designated Hitter (DH) Rule**: In leagues (like the American League) that use the DH, pitchers rarely bat at all, so there is little incentive for them to hone their hitting skills. Even in the National League, until the universal DH was adopted in 2022, offensive expectations for pitchers were always low. 5. **Development Path**: By the time athletes reach higher levels of baseball, players have usually been funneled into “pitcher” or “position player” roles. College and professional teams prioritize developing the best pitching arms, not their bats. 6. **Elite Opposition**: The quality of pitching in professional leagues is extremely high. Pitchers, who are not practiced hitters, must face specialists who have been honing their craft exclusively for years, making their task even harder. **In summary:** Pitchers are bad hitters because the game and its developmental systems are designed for them to focus almost all their attention and effort on pitching, not hitting. As a result, their offensive skills lag far behind those of position players.

Pitchers are notoriously bad at batting for several reasons: 1. **Specialization in Pitching**: Pitchers typically focus the majority of their training and practice on improving their pitching skills. Their primary role on the team is to prevent the opposing team from scoring runs, so they spend most of their time mastering different types of pitches, control, and strategies to get batters out. 2. **Limited Batting Practice**: Because they specialize in pitching, pitchers generally get fewer opportunities to practice hitting compared to position players. The limited practice time means their batting mechanics and overall hitting skills are often underdeveloped. 3. **Injury Risk**: Teams may also limit a pitcher's batting practice to reduce the risk of injury. Batting, especially at the professional level, can be physically demanding and pose a risk of injuries such as oblique strains, hand injuries, or getting hit by pitches. 4. **Pitcher Batting Order**: In many leagues, pitchers are typically placed at the bottom of the batting order, usually hitting in the 9th spot. This positioning reflects the expectation that they are weaker hitters and often leads to fewer opportunities to hit, further reducing their experience and performance at the plate. 5. **The Designated Hitter Rule**: In some leagues, like the American League in Major League Baseball (MLB) until 2022, there is a designated hitter (DH) rule that allows teams to use a player specifically for batting in place of the pitcher. This rule reduces the need for pitchers to develop strong hitting skills since they rarely get to bat in games. 6. **Historical Focus**: Historically, the development pathways for pitchers have always heavily emphasized their pitching prowess over hitting skills. By the time they reach the professional level, it is challenging to significantly improve their batting ability due to the years of focused pitching training. In essence, the roles and responsibilities of pitchers in baseball prioritize their effectiveness on the mound, leaving less time and need for them to develop their batting skills.