I felt the same way. I thought there was a lot of pre-motion going on that could have been toned down and the results would have been just as effective.
What do you think of this pitch?
- Thread starter Eugene Stryke
- Start date
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Here is the problem. You have a linear line drawn on a 2 dimensional illustration depicting what is taking place in a 3-dimensional world. You have a line drawn up and down, depicting a pitch that if forward and back linearly. It can't be done. The ball breaks at a 30-35% angle in the video, and if you draw a straight line from the batter's shoulders, to the point directly across the plate in front of the batter, that line would be about 30-35 degrees. Therefore, her bat angle would match the angle of the pitch.
But you can't illustrate this with any line except that from the shoulder to the ball. All else is an illusion. Also keep in mind that her glove has carried the ball down because she is setting up in the wrong place. I have my catchers give the target at their left thigh on this pitch or a curve so they don't carry it out of the strike zone.
- Jul 26, 2010
- 3,554
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How do you figure? The pitch would have to be at the highest point in the strike zone for the bat to be flat and horizontal, along with the path of a curve ball. Unless the batter is kneeling down, how are they going to have a flat swing plane for a pitch at the bottom of the zone?
That batter is swinging at a low pitch, this makes the swing more akin to a golf swing. The body is tilted over the plate, the bat head is below the waist while the hands remain in line with the belly button. This means the bat angle is about 45 degrees DOWN. This is the same angle that a drop curve breaks at, which was my original point. Please show me a video of a batter swinging at a pitch at their with a horizontal bat plane, and I will eat crow. The fact that this never happens is exactly why a regular curve ball (breaking on a flat plane) is the more effective pitch to throw low in the zone against a RH batter.
-W
Hear, hear! That is a very good analysis.
So right Screwball. This is great for a lefty because it breaks in on a right handed batter. It is like a slider by a RH pitcher to a LH batter, or a slider by a LH pitcher to a RH batter.
For lefties this pitch is more useful because of the number of RH batters. For a RH pitcher it works best against LH batters just as we have been talking about.
- Aug 2, 2011
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Pardon my ignorance here, but isn't it easier for a batter to hit an inside strike than a pitch on the outside corner of the plate? The original pitch looks hard to hit (admittedly with a weak batter) because it just touches the outside part of the plate. Barely even reachable if the hitter isn't right on top of the plate. If the batter were a leftie and she has some bat speed she could jump on the ball and pull it over the fence.
I don't get the "angle" arguments. Wouldn't it be harder for the hitter to hit a ball that is both breaking horizontally and vertically? Any pitch will break down, but it seems to me that the combination of down and out is a great way to get a ground ball to first or second base.
Does the link in Perfect Circle's post of his daughter pitching still work? It is not working for me?
THX
I don't get the "angle" arguments. Wouldn't it be harder for the hitter to hit a ball that is both breaking horizontally and vertically? Any pitch will break down, but it seems to me that the combination of down and out is a great way to get a ground ball to first or second base.
Does the link in Perfect Circle's post of his daughter pitching still work? It is not working for me?
THX
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Not sure why it stopped working on this site...It was....Pictures say a thousand words...a video says a millions...I put it on UT
Converting.wmv - YouTube
Thankz Again...and an explanation in text is 2 dimensional also in this HD-3D environment...The video that started this thread is not HD, and not high speed...but it shows a pitch that was just right for this batter....I have it at: ball breaks 12"-13" drops 9"-11" and 49 mph.... If I was the videotographer we could figure the angles... :{)
http://youtu.be/MY-GKPsjhjk
This kinda drags on and resets, because of the conversation....I spared you that... lol... I know it is not revelant for your point...but to shows what is needed to make that point...I would need to put the pitcher in my tunnel, with all three cameras, including the helment cam :{))
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Yes it is. But its important that everyone remembers that not everyone is right handed and not every pitcher or batter is pitching to someone who is the same hand as themselves.
Eugene is some truth in what you say here. That WAS a perfect pitch and would be difficult to hit. But what we are talking about is THAT pitch in general. Any pitch that follows the bats natural bat path just crawling down the barrel so to speak, is not the perfect pitch selection, though this was a perfect pitch. The same could be said of a high rise ball. This pitch has its moments though. It is great against a LH batter or a slapper. But a ball that drops straight down is more effective in general. A rise-ball with 12-6 vertical movement is better than one that breaks up and out. However, a LH pitcher that could throw that breaking rise up and in on a RH batter would be very effective.
Any pitch below the letters is going to incorporate some tilt, either in the arms, or if below the waist, arms and bat. So that tilt can't match the pitch tilt (down and out) and be most effective. The red line drawn should have been drawn from the batter's shoulders to the the point on the corner where the pitch crossed the plate. That line from the shoulders would have been at 45 degrees and the bend in the pitch at the corner would have been about 35 degrees. That is too similar, only 10 degrees of separation. 90 vs 90 is a lot better (90 degree vertical vs horizontal), and is 90 degrees of separation.
