baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

, inside pitching is a tactic used by

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

s. It involves throwing a pitch close to the batter to make it more difficult to swing their bat, and result in making less solid contact, known as "jamming the hitter." Pitchers with good control are usually more likely to pitch effectively on the inside. It is possible to be effective at disrupting the hitter while also being in the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's k ...

. When employed correctly, this can result in making a hitter hit pop flys or weak ground balls; also, rarely, it causes them to break bats. Depending on the exact height, location, and/or type of pitch, it can result in a

brushback pitch In baseball, a brushback pitch is a pitch–usually a fastball–thrown high and inside the strike zone to intimidate the batter away from the plate on subsequent pitches. It differs from the beanball in that the intent is not to hit the batter ...

, or, in the case of a badly controlled pitch, a

hit batter In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

. Despite the dangers that it poses to batters, it is a common and legal tactic.

References

Baseball pitching {{baseball-stub