Climbing the Ladder is an idiomatic expression used in Baseball to describe a consecutive successful tactic done by the pitcher out of the strike zone. This is doe when the fielder makes an unexpected high jump, so he can successfully catch a high line drive. This jump looks as if the player is climbing through an invisible ladder just to catch the ball. To top it all, the batter has to look "in his eyes", which means the high fastball is located near the batter's eye level. If it's above the strike zone, then the ball would be so difficult to hit or to be swung off.
How to Successfully Climb the Ladder
To be a successful pitcher, this means the player has to willingly and patiently learn about effective pitching sequences. This sequence is composed of a series of pitches, where they have to make the batter vulnerable for their advantage. The batter should master how to change speeds and locations, so it would be easier for them to target a strikeout. When changing locations, the pitcher has to throw the fastball in the middle of the plate, while with changing speeds, the player has to either go for a slow curve, a fastball, or something that may cause an off-speed pitch to deceive the batter.
What Happens After Climbing the Ladder?
Most of the time, climbing the ladder involves a lot of deception, so they could throw the fastball higher than the strike zone. It would be difficult for the other team to see the fastball when they're up in the zone. This is generally effective when the fastball hitter can chase the pitches within and outside the strike zone. Two situations are being followed: Inside to Outside and Outside to Inside. The Inside to Outside shows how the pitcher can throw the pitch on the outside corner, while the Outside to Inside it the complete opposite.
To Throw Outside the Strike Zone
An effective pitcher must know how to throw the pitch outside the strike zone at a higher success rate. For beginners, it would be difficult to learn the consistency of putting the ball in the strike zone. The pitcher should have great control so that he can create an absolute advantage against the other team. This would be effective when the batter has two consecutive strikes.
