Both Sides of the Plate: A Coach's Guide to Fastball Command

Every coach has watched a pitcher who can throw strikes get hammered anyway. The reason is almost always the same: he throws strikes down the middle. A fastball over the heart of the plate is the most-hit pitch in the game, and a fastball on either edge is one of the hardest to square up. The skill that separates the two is command — not just throwing strikes, but throwing the fastball to the half of the plate you choose, on demand. This guide covers why that matters and how the half-plate fastball command bullpen builds it.

Command beats velocity

The best command pitcher in modern history said it better than any coach could. Greg Maddux, asked how he handles trouble, put it plainly:

"When they're in a jam, a lot of pitchers try to throw harder. Me, I try to locate better." — Greg Maddux (source)

That is the entire philosophy of this drill. Locating better means owning both halves of the plate, because a pitcher who can only work one side gives the hitter half the plate to eliminate. When you can run the fastball to the glove-side edge and the arm-side edge with equal confidence, the hitter has to honor the whole zone — and that is when a 0-mph velocity bump turns into a strikeout.

Glove side and arm side: two different feels

It helps pitchers to understand that the two halves are not just mirror images — they feel different to throw. For a right-handed pitcher, the glove side is the first-base half and the arm side is the third-base half. Glove-side fastballs let a pitcher feel extension and see the ball finish straight through the target, which makes that side a great place to start. Arm-side fastballs, by contrast, tend to carry natural run and sink, so the cue is to start the ball at the edge and let it work toward the corner rather than aiming it at the corner from the middle. Teaching both feels — finish it on the glove side, let it run on the arm side — is what makes both-sides command real instead of a coin flip.

Structure the bullpen — don't just throw it

The single biggest upgrade most pitchers can make is to stop throwing aimless bullpens. Command is built by throwing with intent to a called location and then grading the result. A structured fastball command pen does exactly that: a set number of pitches to the glove-side edge, a set number to the arm-side edge, and a block of alternating pitches where the catcher calls the side late so the pitcher has to switch on demand. Driveline's command work is built on the same idea of measuring intended location, not just balls and strikes — as their trainer notes, a simple tracker "gave insight to who actually threw the ball to the intended location as well as strike percentage" (source).

The scoring in this drill is the youth version of that tracker: 2 points for the target edge, 1 for the correct half, 0 for the wrong half or out of the zone. The number tells the pitcher and coach exactly which side and which height leak, so practice targets the real weakness instead of the comfortable strength.

Why both-sides command prevents runs

This is run-prevention work as much as command work. A pitcher who lives on the edges generates weak contact, foul balls, and called strikes; a pitcher who drifts to the middle gives up the hard contact that turns into extra-base hits and crooked numbers. Commanding both halves also lets a pitcher set up sequences — show the arm-side edge, then come back glove side — which is how you steal strike one and finish at-bats without your best stuff. The result is fewer barrels, fewer walks chasing the corner, and shorter innings.

Age-appropriateness

The physical load here is low — it is a normal-effort bullpen, not max-effort or plyo work — so the limiter is skill, not age. A pitcher should already be able to throw consistent strikes before chasing the edges; for first-year arms, build the strike-throwing foundation first (a repeatable release point and easy-effort target work) and layer edge command on top once strikes are reliable. From there it suits intermediate youth pitchers through high school and showcase-age arms, where hitting your spots is what scouts actually want to see. Because it is regular-effort throwing, fold the pitch count into the day's plan rather than adding a full command pen on top of a full bullpen.

How it fits

Use it as the command portion of a normal bullpen day, in-season to stay sharp and off-season to build the skill, and as showcase prep where command is the separator. A typical dose is 2-3 blocks of 12 pitches with a running score kept across sessions so improvement is visible. Full setup, scoring, and the four-quadrant progression are on the drill page.

The takeaway

Strikes keep you in the game; commanding both halves of the plate gets hitters out. Teach the two feels — finish it glove side, let it run arm side — structure the bullpen around called locations, and score every pitch so the misses have nowhere to hide. Do that consistently and your pitcher stops surviving the strike zone and starts controlling it, the Maddux way: when the game gets hard, locate better.

Sources

• Location: The Importance of Commanding Your Fastball — BetterPitching.com on fastball location, the Maddux quote, and why edges beat the middle.
• Implementing Command Training Into Team Practice — Driveline Baseball on tracking intended location and strike percentage.
• Pitching Drills for Command and Control - Fastball Patterns — Baseball Tutorials on commanding the fastball to spots and patterns.
• Step by Step Guide to Pitching a Controlled Bullpen — on structuring a bullpen around called locations.
• What is a Bullpen Session? — Sports Scouters on bullpen structure and command work.