In the game of baseball, the pitcher is the person who throws the ball from the pitcher's mound towards the catcher to begin a play
. The main goal of the pitcher is to deliver the ball with a throw to the catcher without the batter being able to hit it. The ball is thrown in such a way that the batter either can't hit the ball in the strike zone or when he is to swing the bat out of the strike zone. The consequences of the batter could either be a strike or a ball.
Most of the actions in a baseball game centers on the pitcher for the team in the defensive side. The pitcher's abilities will greatly influence the game and will often tell the winner if the team succeeds.
There are only two pitching legal positions which are known as the windup or the stretch. These positions can be used at any time but usually, the windup is used when the bases are unoccupied and the stretch is used when runners are on the bases. Each position has procedures to be followed.
Pitchers from each team are chosen in some sequence and order, the choosing greatly depends upon the situation of the game. The pitcher and the catcher must have full coordination through systemic hand signals which is also part of the team's strategy. Pitchers and catchers in the team are considered as one unit and are then known as the battery.
The pitcher should always keep his foot in the pitcher's mound on a pitcher's rubber. The distance of the pitcher's mound from the home base is sixty feet and six inches. The pitcher then throws the ball with any legal style that he could possibly foster to the catcher who is stationed behind the home plate and whose main responsibility is to catch the ball. The batter on the other hand stands at the batter's box on one side of the home plate to attempt to hit the ball safely into fair play.
Pitchers follow a general rule in pitching but they may be classified according to their functions and skills. A starter is the starting pitcher who throws the first pitch to the first batter and must consider gaining as many innings as possible. Following the starter would be the relief pitcher. This pitcher comes in after the starter is removed due to injury and or fatigue. The relief pitchers or relievers can then be classified as closers, middle relief pitchers, set-up pitchers, and long relievers, all of them have different skills to contribute to the team's success.