Hitting the Change Up

[julray]

Kids that uncoil (open their hips) too early during the stride are susceptible to missing off-speed pitches.

Good point.. what about who don't uncoil too early? They could still be susceptible to off speed pitches if not patient enough to wait on the pitch. For simplicity sake, let's say we have a kid whose sequence is perfect, they can still be beaten by a change up

 

[rdbass]

I know, if getting a change up that much you should be sitting on it, expecting it and reacting to the fastball.

If 'sitting'/guessing on a change up, I don't think a hitter can 'react' to a fastball. Better off not swinging.

 

[rdbass]

BTW, my DD says she recognizes the change right at release.. so it's not a matter of not seeing the pitch.. it seems more of a patience type issue.

Are you sure that your DD isn't a 'lunger' and a change up just makes this flaw more glaring.

A hitter needs to understand what this gif shows Bonds being able to do.......If not sure what it 'shows' , just ask.

 

[Cornbread]

Never change the tempo of the stride! Start early and stride slow. This is the key to hitting the changeup. When you have good tempo, ride your back leg forward and maintain resistance with hands as long as possible, you have more time to read the ball.

 

[julray]

If 'sitting'/guessing on a change up, I don't think a hitter can 'react' to a fastball. Better off not swinging.

If a pitcher is throwing the change up 50% of the time, the I see no reason to sit. However I guess this would be a band aid fix

 

[_MIA_]

Who said they are lousy?

Me...

If a pitch which is almost 50% the speed of the fastball was so effective why don't we see it at the highest level of hitting (and that isn't college/Olympic softball..sorry). Also that Fernandez change is nowhere near El Duque's eephus pitch in terms of difference in speed between fastball and changeup...

I will be blunt, if your team cannot hit changeups it is because their mechanics don't allow them to wait long enough to decide to swing. The longer you can wait to launch, the longer the amount of time you can recognize the pitch, the better chance you have at hitting a changeup. If you need to "cheat" to be able to catch up to a fastball you have no chance. Fix the mechanics.

 

[TDS]

Hitters with a balanced movement pattern can move out fb and sit off-speed in baseball.. I assume the same in softball but since I never played I can't verify

 

[julray]

Are you sure that your DD isn't a 'lunger' and a change up just makes this flaw more glaring.

A hitter needs to understand what this gif shows Bonds being able to do.......If not sure what it 'shows' , just ask.

She could be a lunger, that's quite possible, I didn't think so. So could everybody else on her team. Looks like Bonds is able to stride forward, but also resists with is backside to make him able to adapt to any pitch speed. If I am wrong, can you please let me know and explain why

 

[julray]

Me...

If a pitch which is almost 50% the speed of the fastball was so effective why don't we see it at the highest level of hitting (and that isn't college/Olympic softball..sorry). Also that Fernandez change is nowhere near El Duque's eephus pitch in terms of difference in speed between fastball and changeup...

I will be blunt, if your team cannot hit changeups it is because their mechanics don't allow them to wait long enough to decide to swing. The longer you can wait to launch, the longer the amount of time you can recognize the pitch, the better chance you have at hitting a changeup. If you need to "cheat" to be able to catch up to a fastball you have no chance. Fix the mechanics.

You are getting stuck in a rabbit hole here pattar, my point being is I believe in softball the change up has a greater variance in speed when compared to baseball. I used the El Duque's pitch has an extreme.

I don't mind bluntness, that's fine with me. I'm just not sure it's all mechanics. The amount of time you wait is all relative to the speed of the pitch. If I have an extremely quick bat I can wait longer to hit the heater... I would have to wait longer to hit the change up. What you said is not lost on me though, I understand the more time you have to see the pitch, the longer you have to decide when to swing the bat. My DD is saying she see's the change up right out of the picthers hands, my verbal queue of "you need to have more patience", or "sit on it when you recognize it's a change up" seems not to be working. This is why I am looking for a more practical approach, ie drills that help hitting change ups

 

[julray]

Hitters with a balanced movement pattern can move out fb and sit off-speed in baseball.. I assume the same in softball but since I never played I can't verify

That makes sense, just like the Bonds gif. I am yet to see a good off speed hitter in Softball who can also hit the heater(NCAA might be an exception). That doesn't mean I've never seen a change up destroyed, my DD got a double on a change up she ripped down the line(this was in a US tournament this weekend, rubber at 43 feet) this weekend, but her % of hitting the change up is very low. Every kid I see seems to struggle hitting a good change up from a girl who can throw heat as well