Chris Bosio, Don Cooper Talk Pitching, Share Classic Stories
(CBS) Two of the most respected pitching coaches in all of baseball stress a most basic principle of the game for their hurlers: throw more strikes.
That's what leads to success, and the inability to do so is also what leads to more headaches for pitching coaches. As the Crosstown Classic continues, Don Cooper of the White Sox and Chris Bosio of the Cubs joined Mully and Hanley in studio Wednesday morning to share their thoughts on the craft.
"I'm constantly in search of more strikes with all of the guys' pitches, no matter what it is," Cooper said. "Some guys might be good at one or two, and we might have to shore up three and four. But I'm looking for more and more strikes from my guys.
"Listen, the best pitchers I've seen and/or had, forget about stuff, forget about the mechanics or anything like that, they're important, don't get me wrong ... how you dominate is by throwing it over."
Having been a pitcher himself, Bosio knows this can all be easier said than done. He recalled a classic story from his playing days.
"I'm pitching in old Tiger Stadium," Bosio said. "Bill Schroeder, the color guy for the Brewers, is my catcher, and Kirk gibson's coming up. I'm a young, hard-throwing kid, led a couple leagues in strikeouts. First pitch ... he swings through it. I look up: 95. Billy looks at me, no sign, just kind of waves his hand like, 'Come on big boy.' And I gave it everything I had and I let it go, and I see Gibson swing, make contact and I remember going, 'Oh, that bat bent a little bit.' And I look in the upper deck and I see everybody getting up on their feet, and all of a sudden they put their arms down and they look up. That thing went over the roof. And Bill Schroeder comes out and he goes, 'Man, you just didn't get that ball in on him.' I go, 'What do you mean? He pulled it, didn't he?'
"The ball landed across the street in the lumber yard."
Listen to their full interview below.