Pull Hitter

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

May 15, 2011
126
16
I have a player who seems to pull almost every pitch. Any drills to help correct this problem? Any other suggestions that might help her? Thanks.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
We have a righty batter that has never hit the ball right of 2nd base, IDK it is not the worst thing in the world. She can hit.

I would guess a lot of tee work would help. Set the ball up low, outside and a little bit deep in the zone.
 
Jan 7, 2013
30
6
Jacquie Joseph at Michigan State claims that there is no reason for any fastpitch hitter to ever intentionally pull a pitch.

She preaches a drill in which a tee is setup on the inside corner and the hitter focuses on bringing the hands forward to hit the ball up the middle... she claims this is one of the most imporant drills she utilizes and it's a regular part of her players' tee work.

Not sure I agree with her, but I am certain I'm not the head coach of a Big 10 program :)
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Jacquie Joseph at Michigan State claims that there is no reason for any fastpitch hitter to ever intentionally pull a pitch.

She preaches a drill in which a tee is setup on the inside corner and the hitter focuses on bringing the hands forward to hit the ball up the middle... she claims this is one of the most imporant drills she utilizes and it's a regular part of her players' tee work.

Interesting. 'Intentionally' is probably the key word. Sounds like she's saying the goal of keeping hands inside and extending is the same no matter what. You might pull it, but the intent is to stay inside the ball and maintain hitters box. Kinda like a home run. That's not the intent, but it happens sometimes.

As to the OP, the main culprit is probably casting and/or locked front arm at contact. Tee work that addresses 'inside-out swing' or 'hands inside the ball' is what I'd suggest. Have her show you what she'd look like on contact.
 
Dec 7, 2011
2,368
38
When ya get to the level where pitchers will paint the outside corner AND the batter casts around the ball there, ...THEN it's a problem.

Every batter that I have seen in 14U and below, that had this limitation then, it became a "problem" in 16U and above.

There is a neat version of the good ole batting tee that has multiple stalks that can present the outside pitch but back in the zone where an outside pitch needs to be driven. I would recommend one of those and place two balls on the multi-stalk tee, one in the front of the zone inside and one in the back of the zone outside. Then have the batter listen to you yell ONE or TWO and if it's TWO she must drive the outside ball to right field. (RHB of course)

Good luck - be patient - this can take a while to get into the head of a pull-only-hitter.

(here in my state this alone is the biggest downfall at the HS level. All a pitcher needs to do, to non-A-level-TB batters, is to hit the outside corner, and the worst they will ever get is a "swinging bunt" in the infield. Why can't HS coaches teach good batting in my state?!?!?)
 

redhotcoach

Out on good behavior
May 8, 2009
4,706
38
I have a player who seems to pull almost every pitch. Any drills to help correct this problem? Any other suggestions that might help her? Thanks.

She is probably hitting around the ball. Ideally you would like more of an inside to out bat path. On all the tee hitting she does have her put the ball on the tee with the label or a mark point toward her rear leg area. If toward the pitcher is 12:00, set the mark at about 7:00 and work on a target of slightly inside of the ball. You will always hit the back of the ball, but trying to hit slightly inside, and drive the ball oppo, or up the middle could help if she swings around the ball.

Anymore, a vid would be needed to see exactly what she is doing.
 
Oct 14, 2008
667
16
Help her understand where the trigger is to be pulled and contact made. set the tee deeper in the zone or work a ton on outside hitting off a tee.
 
Dec 28, 2008
389
0
Girls are instructed at a very young age ... hit the ball to the left side because that 5 year old can't possibly throw you out. A lot of that has to do with the fact that most girls have terrible swings so when they hit it to the left side the bat has more rotational speed and is "ripped" while the balls they hit to the right side of the field have little speed and are dribblers. That pull hitting mentality starts becoming engrained in their heads.

When I start working with new students one of the first things I do is give them the mental incentive to want to hit the ball hard to the right side. We talk about how a shot down the left field line to the fence (not over) more than likely ends up as a double because she isn't going to challenge the SS arm on the relay throw. She's only 60 feet away and has a cannon. However the same hit to the right field line will more than likely go for a triple. 2B arm usually isn't as strong, and she seldom practices a 120 foot+ throw. If she is off target a little girl has third. If she is off target and 3B doesn't make the catch she goes home. Once I get them to believe that, then they "want to learn to hit it hard to the right side."

The key is getting them to WANT TO. The drills are the easy part.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,477
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top