Preparation and poise.  Approach and response.  Know what you want to do; know how to do it; know how to react to whatever results. Hitters heed: how you go about your business and how you react to what happens to you both are, theoretically within the boundaries of your control.  What happens to you (results), are not.

Learn the difference – and learn how to manage what you are allowed to manage.  The famous poem by Rudyard Kipling says in part, “If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs…” The poem ends saying, “If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance, yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and – which is more – you’ll be a man, my son!”

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Learn the umpire’s strike zone as early in the game as possible.  The lowest strike, the highest strike, outside limit and inside limit.  Know what he will give you and what he won’t give you.  Most of the time, they will be consistent with their calls.

1. Get ahead of your “pitch count”.  Most often, first pitch strike is important, unless you consciously pitch outside the strike zone (pitch out, “fish” pitch, learning umpires strike zone).
2. Make every effort to get the first out in each inning.  Opposing teams have fewer scoring options with one out and no runner on base.
3. Pitch with efficiency by limiting the number of three ball counts.  In a 7 inning game, your pitch count goal should be about 80-85 pitches, (an average of 12 pitches per inning).  A pitchers strike to ball ratio should be approximately 2:1 (two strikes pitched for every ball). 
4. Pitchers must work at being good fielders.  Good fielding pitchers help their efficiency.
5. Know yourself!  On any given day, know which of your pitches is working most effectively during warm ups. Which of your pitches is not working well during warm ups.  Every pitcher should have 1 or 2 go to “OUT” pitches.  Following your pre-game warm up, it is IMPORTANT to share this information with your catcher and the coach calling pitches.
6. The most effective pitcher, is not necessarily the pitcher who can overpower a hitter.  The most effective pitchers are pitchers who keep hitters off balance (disrupt the hitter’s timing) by changing speeds and pitch location.  Learn to do this well.  You MUST have a “change up” that you can spot locate with consistency.
7. Good pitchers don’t get beat by the bottom half of the opposing team’s line-up.  Don’t give free bases (walks, hit batters, errors, etc.) to the bottom half (7, 8, and 9 hitters) of the opposing team’s line-up , however don’t take them for granite.
8. Good pitchers are able to get a strike out (K) when they need it. Good pitchers don’t give up a lot of home runs because of bad pitches, or POOR PITCH LOCATION.  Minimize the need to make a bad pitch (middle of the plate) by staying ahead of the count.  By being ahead of the count, pitchers can “work” the edges of the strike zone.
9. Be smart!  Think like a pitcher, not a thrower.