Placement in the box

[2ddsplayingball]

One of my DD's coaches is always telling the players to get closer to the plate. "Get on the Line" he will tell the players and more often than not, they either strike out looking, strike out swinging or hit the ball off the handle. I have told my DD's to not move from where they stand. I have taught them full plate coverage with, inside, down the middle and outside pitches without moving closer to the plate.

I cannot understand the coaches theory on why he would want the girls to stand on top of the plate like that. Also, why would you have a girl, swing at the first pitch, then try and bunt the second pitch and then swing away the last pitch. Not sure what is going on there as well.

Any takers.

 

[SBFAMILY]

After more years than I can count, I have seen it all. We teach a neutral placement that you can hit anything within 5" of the strike zone. Sounds like that is what you are teaching. I can PM you if you wish on how Bustos teaches this on her DVD.

 

[nanotech14]

SBfamily, I was thinking the same thing about Bustos set up. What age group are we talking about OP? At the younger ages, some coaches like to squeeze the strike zone at that age and maybe get a free base. Not the best coaching, IMO

 

[David Carter]

While maybe not a problem for your DD a lot of girls don't stand close enough to the plate and the third girl that strikes out on a pitch three or four inches off the outside corner might require girls to get a little closer. On the line is too close but you should probably be alot closer to the front line than the back line of the box as it relates to the plate.

What is the situation, maybe they thought she was weak hitter after she swung away maybe the third baseman backed up a couple steps...I don't always assume the coach is stupid and does not have a reason for what they are doing...after all goodness knows that is no doubt what all the parents are thinking about me.

 

[Country Boy]

With regard to the swing, bunt, swing, I have done this numerous times. Depending on the situation, I will often let some of my better hitters swing on the first strike to see if they can produce. If they don't, then I may very well bunt them on the next pitch to move a runner, etc. Obviously if they fail that, it's probably back to swinging.

Runner on first, nobody out. What do most defenses key up for on the first pitch? A bunt. So if your player is swinging, defense is a little off guard. Second pitch, they are now ready for a swing, and you bunt. Again, just a split second in reaction time can mean a lot.

I also had a fairly large girl that typically hammered the ball, but was a good bunter. Occasionally if she was leading off an inning late in the game, when the other team had seen her several at bats and 3B was back at the grass, I would bunt her late in the count for a hit. She could hit a lot of HR's, but she absolutely beamed when she would get a bunt single. You would think she just won the lottery!

I don't think you were talking about slappers, but there is nothing harder to defend than a slapper than can do it all. My oldest DD was multitalented and she never did the same thing 2 pitches in a row. She loved bunting with 2 strikes because it was the ultimate surprise. So having a player switch things up can be beneficial.

I don't get the placement in the box issue with your coach, but I am not there. Maybe he has several players a little scared of the ball and he needs them to get closer and so he tells everyone? Maybe some of his players think they are 6' tall and really can reach across the plate like a MLB player. Maybe he's an idiot? I think you have done the right thing with your DD's. If they produce, he will probably leave them alone.

 

[CoogansBluff]

While maybe not a problem for your DD a lot of girls don't stand close enough to the plate and the third girl that strikes out on a pitch three or four inches off the outside corner might require girls to get a little closer. On the line is too close but you should probably be alot closer to the front line than the back line of the box as it relates to the plate.

Agreed. The batter's box is the same in 12U as it is for the College World Series, so for some kids to cover the plate with good swing mechanics (not casting), they need to be tight to it. Not saying saying toes on chalk, but am saying that more kids are too far than too close, IMO.

Also, doesn't Bustos teach a method that is based on bat length? Does it also consider arm length? Bustos is 5'8''. What if you're 4'8''?

 

[SBFAMILY]

Yes to both. You can hit a pitch 5" off the plate with her set up. My dd is 5"4" and has Bustos teaches it is the umpires job to call safe and out. She teaches you to decide what you can hit. Many of us have taken a drill that John Tschida has in his Mega hitting on where to stand and how to hit different pitches. He uses the same approach that Bustos uses.

 

[2ddsplayingball]

These girls are all 2nd yr 10u TB. And he tells them all to get closer. They all have hitting coaches and they hesitate when he says to get closer. But, I have also seen the league that a lot of these girls played All-Stars in and they teach the same thing. As for up and back in the box, I teach my girls like most in those situations. But, not on the line.

As for the swing, bunt, swing. He has done this with 2 outs and the slowest runner at bat as well, as the fastest and the best hitter, not sure.

SBFamily, yes, please send the Bustos info.

 

[obbay]

I've heard many a know-it-all coach tell the girls to stand close to the plate, it's one of my pet peeves. It's a one size fits all approach and it doesn't work. Where we play there are seldom chalk lines defining the batters boxes, so crowding the plate isn't obvious unless the toes are touching the plate. even then it's not usually called.

One thing this does at younger ages (like U10) is it draws more HBP because umpires are not willing to call strikes on little girls who are hit by a pitch even though they were in the strike zone. I know of a coach who would do this deliberately to squeeze the pitcher. A 10 YO was pulled after hitting 8 batters, some of which were strikes and some of which included the batter's toes touching the black. I have two DDs, one pitcher, one catcher and I have seen it happen from U7 to U18- batter crowds the plate, hangs into the strike zone, gets hit with little or no effort to avoid and she is awarded 1B. Yes it's supposed to be a strike, but the umpires are human and call them like they see them which usually means ball hits batter = 1B

now that I'm done venting, I have often asked one of these coaches to show me how he wants them to stand at the plate and do a slow swing to demonstrate. I then will take a ball and hold it in the strike zone and ask how a 10 YO (or whatever age) player is supposed to hit a strike in that location. They usually drop the "crowd the plate" crap after that.

A problem I have with my 18yo- she likes to see a lot of pitches and is an excellent two-strike hitter - she strikes out about twice a season. She now has coaches telling her to swing at the first pitch no matter what because it might be the best pitch she sees. I agree that she should learn to do it, but I also think they ought to recognize a unique skill and capitalize on that. Batters popping/grounding out on the first pitch is another pet peeve of mine...

 

[David Carter]

I've heard many a know-it-all coach tell the girls to stand close to the plate, it's one of my pet peeves. It's a one size fits all approach and it doesn't work. Where we play there are seldom chalk lines defining the batters boxes, so crowding the plate isn't obvious unless the toes are touching the plate. even then it's not usually called.

One thing this does at younger ages (like U10) is it draws more HBP because umpires are not willing to call strikes on little girls who are hit by a pitch even though they were in the strike zone. I know of a coach who would do this deliberately to squeeze the pitcher. A 10 YO was pulled after hitting 8 batters, some of which were strikes and some of which included the batter's toes touching the black. I have two DDs, one pitcher, one catcher and I have seen it happen from U7 to U18- batter crowds the plate, hangs into the strike zone, gets hit with little or no effort to avoid and she is awarded 1B. Yes it's supposed to be a strike, but the umpires are human and call them like they see them which usually means ball hits batter = 1B

now that I'm done venting, I have often asked one of these coaches to show me how he wants them to stand at the plate and do a slow swing to demonstrate. I then will take a ball and hold it in the strike zone and ask how a 10 YO (or whatever age) player is supposed to hit a strike in that location. They usually drop the "crowd the plate" crap after that.

A problem I have with my 18yo- she likes to see a lot of pitches and is an excellent two-strike hitter - she strikes out about twice a season. She now has coaches telling her to swing at the first pitch no matter what because it might be the best pitch she sees. I agree that she should learn to do it, but I also think they ought to recognize a unique skill and capitalize on that. Batters popping/grounding out on the first pitch is another pet peeve of mine...

IMO...the exact opposite of you little demonstration can easily prove the point being made, you put your hitter where you think they should be middle of the box or whatever so they don't crowd themselves out of being able to hit that inside pitch and can comfortably turn on it. NOW I will place the ball knee high with the ball an inch or two off the black (pitchers and umpires favorite spot) and you tell me how your 10YO is going to hit that. While not always the case it is my opinion that many more balls are pitched on the outer half than inner half so as a hitter where are you going to position yourself? Granted a smart pitcher will bust you on the inside corner for a strike but that is the chess match we play

As far a first pitch swinging my thought is before two strikes the hitter should be looking for their pitch and not matter what the count (assuming they have the green light from coach) they should be trying to drive that pitch, with two strikes you have to bring in other factors what is the pitchers pattern with two strikes, what is the umpires zone, what is the game situation etc.