Taking pitches

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Nov 4, 2015
320
43
Let them swing the bat as much as possible as often as possible at 10u and 12u. Some parents will look at you funny, but as many great players from island countries have said, "No one has ever WALKED off the island. You must HIT your way off the island". DD walked a ton last year in travel ball the first 3 quarters of the season. almost no hits. She worked hard on hitting. Developed a little confidence in her hitting, but had to make more outs to do it. So instead of 1-2 with 5 walks, she would go 2-5 with 2 walks. No one gets playing time in middle and high school because they can walk. I tell my DD that even if she cannot tie her on shoes, if she can hit, she will get to play. Don't swing at bad pitches, but you don't become a great hitter walking. JMHO
 
Jul 3, 2013
438
43
DD cannot ever swing on 3-0 for her HS team.

Times I think it's okay to give the take sign-
To allow a stolen base attempt
Fake bunt/take to see what defense will do
 
Jun 28, 2016
34
6
NJ
One thing I hate about the 3-0 take sign at the lower levels is if it's close at all, the umpire is going to call it a strike. I wish it were true that the strike zone is the same regardless of the situation, but we know it's not true.

I teach my girls to look for a pitch in a certain spot and if it's there, hit it, if it's not, take it. They know not to swing at a ball over their heads or in the dirt, which is sometimes the only way the ump is going to call a 3-0 pitch a ball.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
The answer simply has to be game/situation dependent that's why when people talk about getting a take sign and it being wrong the odds are they are leaving something out. There are general rules but given the right situation you might break them. In my coaching career I can't think of a "always" rule. If there are runners on and my 3-5 hitters are up and its 3-0 I have had them swing plenty. Weak hitter at the bottom of the line up 3-0 if the game isn't meaningful swing away it might be the best pitch of the at bat.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Looking for brutal honesty here. A coach is signaling your dd to "take" pitches more and more. Is it part of an overall game strategy or do they have no faith that dd can hit? Do you consider a player who gets walked a bad hitter?

Is the coach signaling more takes to the whole team, or mainly your DD? If it's just DD, then I'd be suspicious it's a confidence issue, either in her hitting ability or her ability to layoff a bad pitch when she's ahead in the count. If a player is getting more walks than hits, it's probably either a timid hitter, weak hitter or weak league. But many good hitter have a lot of walks because of pitch discipline and the fact that smart pitchers are trying not to give them anything good to hit.

Also, I generally agree with the sentiments expressed here, those about developing hitters and not walkers, etc., but while I think it's wrong to have an automatic take at 3-0, I also think it's wrong to say 'never' give the take at 3-0. There are certain competitive situations (considering the quality of pitcher, hitter, # of runners on base, # in scoring position, whether a base is open, who's on deck, etc.) where it's wise for the coach to call the take. Coach might judge that the odds of getting a hit on the 3-0 pitch are less than the odds of the hitter popping up, tapping out or chasing ball four. Yes, the pitch might be down the middle, but that doesn't guarantee that each and every batter is going to rip it in the gap.
 
Nov 16, 2015
184
18
I am not an advocate for the 3-0 automatic take. It needs to be situational (both game and batter). I'd say my batting average on 3-0 swings was much higher than 3-1 after taking that 3-0 strike. there are some pretty pitches thrown at 3-0.

the older generation seems more on the automatic 3-0 take. Playing a game once where a guy was 2-2 with double and HR. 3rd AB is 3-0 and he swings at hits a home run. One of the older guys on his team was upset that he swung 3-0. Made no sense to me. guy was raking at the time and a great hitter
 
Sep 17, 2009
1,637
83
We beat on pitchers never to throw a fastball down the middle because the results can be disastrous, except for 3-0 when the hitter knows it's a fastball down the middle except they won't swing. Why not let hitter demolish the obvious puff pitch and take the obvious ball?
 
Nov 4, 2015
320
43
I think there is a time and place for taking pitches. All depends on the situation. Just feel that if getting the girls better is the end goal, let them swing. Not a big fan of swinging 3-0 with a girl that is struggling to hit, but up to that point, swing away.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Every coach is going to have a different philosophy concerning this. Personally, while I do agree that this will vary some based on age group, I tend to lean towards allowing my players to hit. However, during hitting lessons we spend a great deal of time talking about situations, counts, and other things. For example, as others have stated, it isn't uncommon for a pitcher to try to groove a pitch on a 3-0 count. Why not take advantage of that? That said, I really don't want the hitter swinging at a pitch in the dirt on 3-0. We will often discuss what a hitter's count is vs what a pitcher's count is. And while we would like our hitters to be able to handle any pitch in the strike zone equally well, the truth is that many hitters have hot zones and cold zones. I do my best to make sure my hitters understand each. If a 3-0 pitch is in your hot zone, I most definitely want you to hurt the ball. But if it is in your cold zone, I would prefer you take strike one, instead of popping up to the 2nd baseman. My focus is that when we get to game time, a take sign isn't necessary because the hitter knows what to do and when to do it.

To answer the OP, it also depends. I have seen coaches that seem to want control of every aspect of the game at every moment. I am not sure that is the case here, but it seems like it may be possible. Personally I am not a fan of that style of coaching. Teach the players what should be done and then let the players play the game.
 
Sep 24, 2013
696
0
Midwest
What if you pop out on a 3-0 pitch that wasn't grooved and "may or may not" be a strike? Then how do you feel?

I say while your ahead in the count your only looking for your pitch. So a 3-0 better be your homerun pitch or your taking it. I don't have to give the take sign for that.
 

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