“The best pitch is strike one” (baseball adage)

What’s the best pitch in baseball? A fastball? A slider? A curve?
   
“That’s easy. The best pitch is a strike,” said New York Giants manager Leo Durocher (1905-1991) in 1953. ““The best pitch in baseball is a strike” was cited in 1954. “The best pitch in baseball is Strike One” was cited in 1986.
 
 
18 February 1953, San Antonio (TX)

“They Say in Sports,” pg. 10, col. 2:
LEO DUROCHER, manager of New York Giants when asked what’s the best pitch in baseball: “That’s easy. The best pitch is a strike.”
 
9 June 1954, Iola (KS) Register, “...On Second Thought” by Joe Gilmartin, pg. 8, col. 1:
“The best pitch in baseball is a strike, and I (Bob Mathieson—ed.) concentrate on getting the ball over.”
 
29 April 1963, The Daily Inter Lake (Kalispell, MT), “Fischer’s Best Pitch Is Called a Strike” by United Press International, pg. 4, col. 2:
Hoyt Wilhelm has the knuckle-ball, Smokey the Bear Radatz his fast ball and Luis Arroyo his screwball, but the Kansas City Athletics think their relief ace, Bill Fischer, has the best pitch of all.
 
It’s called a strike.
   
11 May 1986, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), “Brewers’ big bats beat Muskies” by Roy Hinz, sec. 2, pg. 6, col. 1:
“The best pitch in baseball is a strike and to be a winner you have to throw strikes.”
(Bob Humphreys, a Milwaukee Brewer minor league instructor.—ed.)
 
Google News Archive
7 June 1986, The Blade (Toledo, OH), ‘Tribe’s Schrom Superb In Firing 2-Hit Shutout At Angels, 3-0” by John Bergener, pg. 15, col. 3:
“My key is getting ahead of a hitter. I got my slop curveballs over tonight. The best pitch in baseball is Strike One.”
(Ken Schrom.—ed.)
 
Google News Archive
25 April 1990, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY), “A-C Yanks Pound Indians For Fifth Straight Victory” by Bill Palmer, pg. C1, col. 4:
‘He had good velocity and he threw strikes,” said Yankee manager Rick Down. ‘The best pitch in baseball is strike one.”
 
Google News Archive
29 June 2001, Wilmington (NC) Morning Star, “Revisiting the gem that was the Braves’ first no-hitter” by Chuck Carree, pg. 1C, col. 1:
It often has been said that the best pitch is strike one.
 
Twitter
The Softball Clinic
‏@softballclinic
Whats the best pitch in #softball
1) Riseball
2) Change Up
3) CurveBall
4) DropBall
Answer STRIKE ONE is always the best pitch! Get on top!
12:05 AM - 11 Mar 2015
 
Twitter
Don Scott II
‏@tracoachscott2
@WhitleyNathan5 you will do great. “The best pitch in baseball is strike one. ” - Greg Maddox
4:11 PM - 12 Mar 2015