Is the following true or false? Here is a question mainly for pitchers/catchers, but everyone should answer anyway. Your opponent is in the batter's box and you are ahead in the count 0 balls and 2 strikes. The next pitch should be a changeup in hopes that they will take it for strike three, or swing and miss.
This is a bit of a subbjective question, as circumstances of the first 2 pitches would dictate the next pitch. If the hitter has squared up the first 2 speed pitches then a change would be a solid option. If said hitter has made late contact then a change is not the way to go. Lots of variables. Are there runners on base? would you rather the hitter pull the ball to 3rd ahead of the runners or be late and hit it to the right side and advance the runners.
False-at least while playing on this lady blues team, we should never throw a changeup when we are ahead in the count 0 balls and 2 strikes. the batter is in a precarious position at 0 and 2, and should be shortening their swing and attempting to hit anything close to the strike zone. by throwing a changeup at this juncture, you are only increasing the probablility that the batter will make contact with the ball. a better option would be to throw a normal velocity pitch (curve, screw, drop) that is significantly out of the strike zone. in other words, we are intentionally going to throw a pitch for a ball; in other words, a waste pitch.