A strike right out of your hand

Ever notice that some pitchers get a lot of check swings and some do 
not?  This has a lot to do with how the ball looks to the batter shortly 
after leaving the pitcher’s hand.  For some pitchers, especially those
 with

good movement on the ball, a pitch leaves the hand looking like a 
strike but then moves out of the strike zone as it gets closer to the
 plate.  Because of the timing involved in hitting a baseball, many
 batters react to the early strike by starting their swings.  Of course,
 once a batter’s hands start to move forward they become very difficult
 to stop. 


If you are a pitcher, it is important to keep tinkering with your
 pitches and grips in order to improve your pitches to the point where
 they all look like a strike right out of your hand.  After that, your
 movement takes the balls either to the corners or out of the zone
 completely.  Easier said than done but it is certainly worth working on 
in practice.  Check swings will increase if you do.
 

A great way for pitchers to work on this is to ask your catcher how the 
ball looks coming out of your hand.  He has the same view as the hitter 
so he’ll know.  Also ask batters to stand in when you throw bullpen 
sessions.  Their feedback on what they see is extremely valuable.