Another Hitting Expert

PEPPERS said:

I remember going to see the Chattanooga Lookouts play years ago with my dad and mom, I must have been around 9 YO. We sat in front of a guy who claimed to be a scout for The Cincinnati Reds who was there scouting some of the players. He evaluated a number of the players swings and told the guy setting with him what he saw as an flaws in the players swing and what they needed to work on to get to the majors. I hung on every word he said. It was around midnight when we got home after the game. The first thing I did was to grab my bat get in front of the porch light and tried some of the things I heard the guy talk about I must have been out there an hour or longer until mom figured out where I was and made me come in.

I don't know if the guy new what he was talking about, but I never made it to the majors.

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CoachRichSoftball said:

Even the best players out there don't know what they don't know. True story:

A coaching colleague of mine went to one of those events at Disney's Wide World of Sports where they have Hall of Famers mingling in the crowd and meeting and greeting the visitors. My colleague brought his 11 year old daughter over so she could meet one of these great baseball players. She introduced herself and told him that she was a softball player. Though the girl was a catcher, the player had been a pitcher and immediately went on a rant about how softball coaches have no idea how to train young pitchers, and softball pitchers should be on a strict pitch count, and are all horribly overused and will all burn out their arms by the time they get to college. When he was done preaching, my colleague thanked him for his time and told him what a pleasure it was to meet him in person. After they walked away, his 11yo DD asked him, "Dad, who was that?" He told her, "That was Whitey Ford, a Hall of Fame pitcher for the Yankees." She thought about that for a moment, then told him, "I don't think Whitey Ford knows anything about softball."

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Cannonball said:

Under the heading of just when you think you have seen it all, wait a minute and ... We are hosting regional play in our state tournament and so, tonight was a game that did not involve my team. We had a great practice in our cages but had to get out so the other two teams could use the cages. We have two cages for softball. We went and did some other work on our JV field and then went to watch this game. We made it to the varsity diamond in, I think the beginning of the 2nd inning. Our girls put their bags in our storage room and sat in the bleachers. I set my chair up and the HC came and sat next to me. We had a hitting expert in the stands and he wasn't bashful about saying so. This guy was bragging about how good he was as a hitting coach and giving commentary on each girl's swing. Of course, he could fix every player's swing. Among the things this expert said is that it is apparent that these girls in the game have been taught a softball swing. He teaches the MLB Swing but, and I know many of you are shocked to hear this, most hitting coaches don't know how to coach the MLB Swing. He uses video and no one uses video when coaching the girls in softball. The HC asked me at one point who that guy thought he was. I just laughed and said, that is an expert. I knew he would get around to my players and at the end of the 3rd inning/beginning of the 4th, he did. I don't think he liked what he was told when everything that he said was debunked by my hitters. Again, I've seen a lot but I have never seen anyone be this obnoxious in the stands during a game.

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STRIKE3 said:

Good stuff CB. Can't wait for you to tell him YOU are the hitting expert. However, part of the fun of being the expert is to keep that your secret until you have to play the card. Have learned a ton from your posts over the years and this poor guy is setting himself up and has no idea who he is dealing with. Keep us posted!

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Cannonball said:

Strike3, I am an ex expert. I was once an expert and an idiot. While still probably both, the extent has lessened. I was once a member of those who participated in the "hitting wars." It wasn't pleasant. My child was a target. I learned a lot and the #1 thing I learned is that all of these various gurus have some good stuff but no one has it all figured out. Now, I work with my hitters doing what I believe is best for them and they are having success. That is enough for me. I no longer have to be "right" when it comes to these various discussions on hitting. BTW, thanks for the compliment and as an aside, I am retiring next year and continually ask my wife to consider moving to Texas. We have Quarter Horses and there is no place better than Texas for horses. JMHO!

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