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CardSharp I think you're mistaken. Most pitchers at the collegiate level that have a real opportunity to go pro would NOT be playing any other position and would rarely hit unless they were freakishly good. The risk for injury is too high.

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This is wrong. And second of all college coaches couldn't careless about "risk of injury" whatever that means. And lastly, there isn't a higher risk of injury--the reason it isn't done "always" is b/c to be able to hit or pitch each individual skill takes hours and hours of practice to perfect every day and it is actually really hard to be a two-way player b/c usually one skill suffers and sometimes both suffer a little. Coaches would rather a player concentrate wholly on one skill.

With that said, most pitchers in the big leagues are extremely athletic w/ exceptional hand eye coordination etc. Even guys that don't look like it will surprise you, I have seen some big league pitchers on a basketball court (weren't supposed to be) that looked like they could have played in the frickin' D league and they were overweight and old...they could also hit. Pitching is an athletic movement is what you need to remember, you also need to understand that pitching and hitting correlate w/ each other mechanically so it is also believable that one can do both well b/c all the key positions a hitter HAS to get in to hit a pitcher HAS to get in to pitch.

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darko, did you ever play college baseball? College coaches DO worry about injuring a stud pitcher. It's ridiculous that you're even arguing that they don't. A pitcher playing the field puts more strain on the arm, and there is ALWAYS a chance for a fluke injury.

Given your second statement I think its highly unlikely that you ever played on a baseball field past the H.S. level. Pitchers go in a cycle based on when they are expected to pitch against live hitting, whether that be in an actual game or simply a simulated game with teammates. Sure on the 1 day out of 5 you are pitching in a game you will not have a chance to hone your skills at the plate. The other 4 days there is PLENTY of time to work on your hitting if one was so inclined. I'll go in to more detail if you really don't believe me, but anybody who has played at that level should realize that there is PLENTY of time for a pitcher to work on his hitting.

I agree with the majority of your second paragraph. Most pitchers are very good athletes and have great muscle memory.