Batter Ox

625ender said:

No thanks on the Ok

Tee placement is hitting 101, but it's rarely done properly.

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Enlighten me 625, how does one properly place the tee?

Does the tee placement get closer to the pitch when practicing inside pitch? farther from the pitcher on outside pitches?

Rolling Hard said:

Enlighten me 625, how does one properly place the tee?

Does the tee placement get closer to the pitch when practicing inside pitch? farther from the pitcher on outside pitches?

Click to expand...

It's pretty basic.

For those that have been around the game they have likely heard coaches/instructors/parents giving advice to "let the ball get deep" for pitches on the 'outside' and to "go out and get the ball" for pitches on the 'inside'. They are demonstrating a knowledge of an 'observer'.

From a hitter's perspective I like to hit every pitch 'deep' ... that is, I like to 'barrel up' or 'get behind' every pitch, regardless of pitch location. To me that is a mental image of catching the ball in an 'L' orientation ....



Basically, the core/torso is used a lot more than most people seem to appreciate.

One should learn to time their torso-twitch to the incoming ball.

For an 'inside' pitch, the torso will 'twitch' earlier in time, and 'get behind the ball' later in the swing.

For an 'outside' pitch, the torso will 'twitch' later in time, and 'get behind the ball' earlier in the swing.

If one understands this notion of 'getting behind the ball', then tee placement becomes second nature.

I understand what you are saying ^^^^^^ but when it is all said and done for inside pitch when the torso will twitch earlier in time and getting behind ball later in the swing the contact point will be more out in front than on and outside pitch ...........


Speaking of twitch, who are or were hitters who have had great twitch? Can you teach twitch? How about this guy and his twitch:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5DFwboTwc4

Rolling Hard said:

I understand what you are saying ^^^^^^ but when it is all said and done for inside pitch when the torso will twitch earlier in time and getting behind ball later in the swing the contact point will be more out in front than on and outside pitch ...........


Speaking of twitch, who are or were hitters who have had great twitch? Can you teach twitch? How about this guy and his twitch:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5DFwboTwc4

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From the perspective of the observer the contact point is much more 'out front' for an 'inside pitch' than for an 'outside pitch'. From the perspective of a batter, the contact point relative to the notion of "getting behind the ball" is relatively similar for 'inside' and 'outside' pitches.

As for the torso-twitch ... it absolutely can be taught ... and I would hope most instructors teach it in some form or another. Below is a paste of a post I recently made elsewhere ... see if it helps.

A lot of good discussion in some posts here about using the core. IMO that is an important topic. Many young developing hitters have a poor sense of using their core. It is one thing to show a young hitter how to use their core … however, let’s face it … the action is fairly ballistic … it’s basically a twitch … and during such a ballistic movement the brain will make use of the muscles that feel tension in launching the swing. Place that tension in the incorrect spots and you'll get incorrect results. If the wrong muscles are 'stretched' at this time, then the result will not be favorable.

It is my belief that it helps to go beyond showing a hitter how to use their core and show a hitter how to prepare to use their core.

Fortunately, the actions of preparing to use the core are much slower and easier to master … and once mastered the ‘twitch’ can take place almost automatically ... a hitter can be more reactionary ... and they can use the act of preparing to use the core as a means of timing the ball. As an example, for me, the first loading to take care of is with the rear hip and glute. That takes place during what some would refer to as a ‘negative move’ … the weighting of the rear leg. This takes place during the ‘timing of the pitcher’ ... it need not be a rushed action ... in fact it is best not to rush this action. For those that embrace the ‘holy grail’, this loading of the rear hip and glute is ‘early and slow’. Next comes the loading of the core. This is a stretch across the lower abdomen and up the rear oblique area … this load has a slight twist … with the result being that the “distance between the rear shoulder and rear hip” will be lengthened, as will the distance along the back between the front shoulder and rear hip (the loading of the core will often pull the lead shoulder down and in … giving an attack angle in the shoulders). For me, this action takes place during the 'move out' ... i.e., during the 'reading of the pitch' ... and is largely attributable to having the "core walk away from the hands". With the loading taken care of, the torso is ready to 'twitch'. For me, during the loading of the rear hip/glute, and the loading of the core, the goal given to the hands and shoulders is one of being loose and uninvolved. I do not want the rear shoulder prematurely loaded … instead I want the rear shoulder to become semi-retracted by being loose and uninvolved during the initial twitch of the torso-engine. That alone changes how the barrel is brought forward … instead of having a push forward, there is instead a ‘loop’ or sending of the barrel around the rear forearm as it advances towards an ‘upright-vee’.

Others mileage may vary ... and I look forward to reading and testing out their input. I am just pointing out that I believe that teaching a loading pattern can help young developing hitters learn to use their torso-engine efficiently.

Rolling Hard said:

Enlighten me 625, how does one properly place the tee?

Does the tee placement get closer to the pitch when practicing inside pitch? farther from the pitcher on outside pitches?

Click to expand...

FFS did a good job of answering for me. Outside pitches are all hit deep, middle hit squared up with your stride foot, and inside pitches are an inch or two in front of the stride foot. Opposite field hits from either inside our outside must be deep.

New buzzword alert!

"Generally hit about 200+ balls before collecting them. Then repeat."

So you do a little tee work, then some front toss and then hit 400+ balls. That's one hell of a lesson. About 21/2 to 3 hrs?

I like your explanation of load. So when is the twitch? Toe touch? Is foot plant the twitch? The abs, obliques, and all the other various core muscle twitch (fire)?

The Difference Between Core and Abs training
Athlete training abs image
Leading on from the previous point I made, I wanted to clarify that there is a big difference between training your core and abs despite the terms being used interchangeably quite often. I used to run a “core class” at a gym I worked in and some people were disappointed that it wasn’t focused around blasting their stomach muscles for half an hour.

Training your abs will definitely perform part of a core training program but the abs are just one set of muscles that make up your entire core. Focusing heavily on just your abdominals leads to imbalances and to be honest, there are other core muscles that have a better carry over to athletic performance.

Endless crunches may work your abdominals but they do very little for strengthening your core as an entire unit.

Core training means that you focus on the entire set of muscles that make up your core and you train them to be strong together. Real strength and power comes when a large group of muscles work in unison with each other.

RH, I do not use "toe touch" as a reference point in my teaching. I find a focus on toe-touch to be unnecessary, and fairly distractive, when you take care of the loading. I've been there and done that.

If your goal is to train the core then consider taking up swimming. Respect the notion of building the athlete first.

Rolling Hard said:

"Generally hit about 200+ balls before collecting them. Then repeat."

So you do a little tee work, then some front toss and then hit 400+ balls. That's one hell of a lesson. About 21/2 to 3 hrs?

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Fairly common to interrupt a lesson once to pick-up balls ... then another ball pickup at the end of the lesson. Figure that not every pitch is a strike ... would estimate that a batter will get in 200+ cuts in an hour.

I'm fairly serious during hitting lessons ... and so are my hitters. Hitters will politely ask if they can grab a water. Generally I prefer them to bring their water into the cage and wait until I need about 30-secs to setup the next station.