If it drops too low or runs too far inside, well, walking in a run is better than giving up a grand slam. As he winds up to deliver the ball, Karl hopes his decision is a good one. Even though there are five innings left, he knows the pitch could spell the difference between victory and defeat. Though they often appear cool and confident on the mound, major-league pitchers run through a mental obstacle course before each of the roughly 300 pitches that are thrown in every game. As shown in the hypothetical example featuring Scott Karl, the process of pitch selection can be as important as execution and location.
Some pitches sail out of the strike zone and are called balls.
Others run into the hitting zone and are blasted into the bleachers. There are roughly 330 pitchers in the major leagues today and only about seven or eight basic pitches being used. And yet, no two pitchers are alike. Seattle's Randy Johnson and Milwaukee's Doug Jones both throw fastballs. Johnson's travels at about 95 mph.