The corners of the home plate, located on the left and right sides, establish the boundaries of the strike zone by marking its inside and outside edges.
When a pitcher successfully avoids throwing the ball across the middle of the plate and instead delivers pitches that come very close to the edge of the strike zone, it is referred to as “painting the corners.” Ideally, these pitches just graze the edge of the zone, making it difficult for the batter to hit while still being close enough for them to be considered strikes. The pitcher is often compared to an artist delicately using their paintbrush to touch the home plate.
Another term for this technique is “working the corners,” particularly when the pitcher catches the batter off guard by alternating between inside and outside targets.
