Where to stand in the batters box?

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Oct 19, 2009
1,277
38
beyond the fences
We have our girls forward in the box for slow pitchers, and back in the box
for fast pitchers. 'back' is defined where ever they are comfortable, we do not ask them
to get as close to the catcher as possible, this is not a 'comfort zone' especially when
the 'footholes' are near the plate
 
Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
This works in baseball, but softball is a bit different.

I like hitters back but not all the way back.

P.S. Some people advocate setting up forward to catch balls before they break, which doesn't actually work.

During the regional, super regionals and WCWS there were teams that would make adjustments by repositioning in the batter's box. By in large the thought process was to move 'up' in the batter's box for pitchers either throwing a large percentage of 'screw balls', 'curve balls', or both. Contrary to what one poster wrote here, moving up in the box puts you at 'more' of a disadvantage to a 'rise ball'.
 
Oct 12, 2009
1,465
0
We have our girls forward in the box for slow pitchers, and back in the box
for fast pitchers. 'back' is defined where ever they are comfortable, we do not ask them
to get as close to the catcher as possible, this is not a 'comfort zone' especially when
the 'footholes' are near the plate

I also do this based on the speed of the pitcher.
 
Oct 12, 2009
1,465
0
During the regional, super regionals and WCWS there were teams that would make adjustments by repositioning in the batter's box. By in large the thought process was to move 'up' in the batter's box for pitchers either throwing a large percentage of 'screw balls', 'curve balls', or both. Contrary to what one poster wrote here, moving up in the box puts you at 'more' of a disadvantage to a 'rise ball'.

This logic is flawed because break is actually progressive, not late.

All you're doing is making yourself vulnerable to hard stuff.
 
Oct 12, 2009
1,465
0
Chris- I would like to hear more about this. I thought any pitches with movement (up, down, in or out) tended to break at the last minute so that standing way up in the box would minimize the amount of movement that you have to deal with. Is this not true or does the shortened reaction time due to the shortened distance not make that kind of adjustment worthwhile?

It's a myth that you can hit a ball before it breaks.

This just makes you vulnerable to hard stuff.
 
Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
This logic is flawed because break is actually progressive, not late.

All you're doing is making yourself vulnerable to hard stuff.

I said nothing about a curve-ball or screw-ball breaking late. I agree that the movement is continuous.

It is true that if you can handle the speed, and if the pitcher primarily attacks inside/outside (screw/curve), then being further up in the box can place the hitter at an advantage.
 
Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
Let's put it this way ... if my pitcher comes at you with 'heat' that forces your batters deep in the box, then I'm going to launch an attack of curve-balls and screw-balls. For a RH hitter deep in the box, a curve-ball that nicks the front edge of the plate will have the ball 'outside & off the plate' at 'contact'. Likewise, for a screw-ball they will be jammed ... and if the batter doesn't have a "tight HPP" then they are extremely easy prey. Because they are deep in the box I will alter my pitch strategy and use less rise-balls ... and will be using them more as setup pitches when I do use them. I can do this, because with a pitcher that hits their spots with a curve-ball and screw-ball, then we can tear up hitters that are deep in the box.

If a batter is way up in the box, then my attack strategy is different and I lean more towards rise-balls thrown as strikes. My best pitched games (including 'perfect games') have come about when opposing teams responded to rise-balls by moving up in the box.

I can't stress enough the importance of having pitchers that can accurately hit their spots. As in real estate ... location, location, location!!
 
Last edited:
Oct 23, 2009
967
0
Los Angeles
Nobody has mentioned that moving up in the box will "open up" the field more for the batter to put the ball in play. For example, when we teach a batter to bunt, we have her move all the way up in the box so the chances of her putting the ball in play is greater since she has a maximum angle (a little greater than 90 degrees of fair territory) to lay down the bunt. Why won't this same rationale apply to batting using a regular stance and hitting away. If the batter is way back in the box, she may be diminishing the amount of fair territory for a hit down the 3rd and 1st base lines (e.g. balls will be hit foul down the lines instead of fair if she was up in the box)?

The second issue I have with the batter too deep in the box is the umpire will frequently call low strikes based on the position of home plate and not the batter. Sometimes when our batters are at the back line of the box, a low strike is almost unhittable for the batter but still called a strike.

Lastly, we have a coach who wants the batter, especially with two strikes, to take a stance with her toes right on the line (closest to home plate as possible). Do you think this is an effective approach? My thought is that its too close because a) it leaves the batter vulnerable to the inside pitch; and b) disrupts their normal position/stance (i.e. comfort zone).
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
Amy is correct. Anyone that teaches moving back and forth in the box will destroy the swing DNA. If I'm calling the pitches I will own your hitter. I played a coach that had everyone up in the box. After 17 K's , I think they leaned a lesson. We ( Bustos) teaches like Amy posted. Now do we bait a pitcher and dance with her , yes. I have my dd do this all the time. She will stand close to the plate and set the pitcher up to throw her inside and when she is in the K position she will adjust back to hit that pitch. Teach young kid s a neutral position, don't move them around. Read many of hitters posts on the Barry Bonds Drill and you get an idea of why we do that drill. When they get good enough they can bait the pitcher.
 
Last edited:
Oct 23, 2009
967
0
Los Angeles
I teach this. Lay the bat across the back of the plate at the back corner, before the plate becomes a triangle.

The end of the bat touches the outside of the plate. The knob of the bat extends into the batter's box. Put your front foot so that the knob touches your toes. The back foot is a couple of feet behind this, what I normally call shoulder width apart.

That should put you "even up" and your swing should reach the outside of the plate. Even if you have a 28 inch bat, you need to reach the outside of the plate with your swing.

I do not encourage players to move up and back in the box, depending on the speed of the pitcher nor do I have them change to a lighter bat.

Ok, now let's say you ask the batter to bunt during the at-bat. From your position described above, do you have the batter move all the way up in the box AND as close to home plate as possible? With our 8U bunters, they never seem to get the bat out far enough across the plate and are vulnerable to the outside, strike pitch?
 

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