Adjusting Stance in Batters Box

I find myself agreeing with you again. Very true.

MLB mechanics can be the long term goal, but today's goal is to be more efficient and effective today than you were yesterday.

Well said, Mark. It never hurts to shoot for the ideal, but we all need to be realistic as well.

The other thing to keep in mind is for MLB hitters, it's their job. They spend as much time at that job (or more) than we do at ours. They have to in order to earn more money, win more accolades, etc. The girls we coach mostly play for fun. Some are trying to earn scholarships, but they're still not putting in the amount of time MLB players do. Nor should they, in my opinion. All of that makes a difference.

d28mill said:

The pithcher in our area is going to Oklahoma and she throws in the upper 60's with great control and she has great movement also. It's just when I see the girls make contact it is all down first base line either fould or fare. Very few can get around on her and those that do are late. From the reply's it seems more think not to move. On the other hand it can't hurt to move them back because they don't get the bat on the bal as it is. You think that would mess with them too much.

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I'm just curious, sounds like the pitcher you are describing is in our District in
Northern , Ky. Are you talking about K. A. from Ryle. If so you are right she is
special.

If they are taking the ball down the first base line, the swing is late. It is a timing issue. The batters haven't become elite hitters, but are facing an elite pitcher.

I imagine that the pitcher is taking private lessons, but the batters are not. They may not even be taking any swings other than at practice, while the pitcher is working every day.

If the batter moves back in the box, it has such a miniscule effect that it can't possibly help. Plus, she is just going to throw you a different pitch if you are moving around.

Get your batters working with a specific program (instead of willy nilly) and have them hit off of the tee and using front toss, every day and all winter long.

I believe that 'up' in box vs 'back' in the box can make a significant difference. The batter's box is 7 ft long, the average stride is somewhere around 3 ft long, so there can be as much a 4 ft difference from up to back. This works out to about an 11% difference which is equivalent to the difference between a 60 mph fastball and a 66 mph fastball. If you want to get a feel for this set a ball on a tee in the middle of strike zone in a position where the hitter can drive it up the middle right over the pitcher's mound. Then move the hitter up a foot closer to the mound and see what happens. Move them up another foot and you can really see the effect. As to whether or not this accurately mimics what happens when swinging against live pitching is up for discussion. Opinions on the effect vary according to when one believes the swing is triggered/launched. Let's say that the swing is triggered when the ball is a set distance out of the pitcher's hand, say 20 ft. In this case up or back in box will effect whether you have more time or less time (plus or minus around 20%) get the bat to the contact point, obviously back gives you more time. But let's say that you believe that the swing is triggered when the ball is a set distance from the hitter, say 15 ft. In this case up or back effects the amount of time that the hitter has to recognize the pitch, somewhere around 20% more. So either way back in box is an advantage in most cases, you get more time to get the bat to contact or more time to recognize the pitch. The one argument that I hear all the time for up in box which I think is bogus is to 'hit the pitch before it breaks'. Once aerodynamics take effect the break on the ball is consistent, it's not like the ball travels 30 ft and breaks in the last 5 ft before the plate.