#1 aspect of hitting not being taught

[RichK]

Hitting Science I agree with you. What you'll find in fast pitch is that a strong girl with composite bat and 200 foot fence can hit their fair share of home runs by simply squaring up the ball, regardless of swing mechanics. You can't do that in baseball, especially when you get to wood/BBCOR. While most on this site are pushing toward mechanics for the FP swing as similar as possible to high-level MLB swing, and rightfully so, fastpitch has more room for error. You simply don't see girls suddenly struggle in their high school years as you do boys that have to adjust their mechanics to bats that take the "air" out of swings that used to work when they could use aluminum/composite.

 

[2bucketdad]

IMO there are some things that separate the really good hitters from everyone else and I'm not so sure that some of them can be taught. IMO if you look at the best hitters at each level in baseball or softball the way they see the ball seperates many, the ok to good hitters see the ball and where the ball has been, but the best hitters have the ability to see the ball and and know where the ball is going to be, and the eyes can be brained but thought process that allows this is probably much harder to train...the second IMO is intent to hit the ball hard. I recently watched a 14 year old girl at a showcase hit the first pitch of her first at bat, an inside pitch 275, the pitching coach called out to the pitcher sorry my bad we wont do that again, the next at bat for this young lady the first pitch was an outside pitch and she hit that one 250 plus, the pitching coach told the pitcher we will just walk her from now on...after the game the coach asked the player how she hits the ball like that and she responded "I don't sweat that fence at 200' I'm swinging for the big fence behind it!" and I just don't know if that can be taught?

 

[2bucketdad]

Let me also say there are plenty of kids with beautiful swings that can't hit there way out of a wet paper bag and plenty of kids with jacked up swings that hit the ball hard and often.

 

[redhotcoach]

imo there are some things that separate the really good hitters from everyone else and i'm not so sure that some of them can be taught. Imo if you look at the best hitters at each level in baseball or softball the way they see the ball seperates many, the ok to good hitters see the ball and where the ball has been, but the best hitters have the ability to see the ball and and know where the ball is going to be, and the eyes can be brained but thought process that allows this is probably much harder to train...the second imo is intent to hit the ball hard. I recently watched a 14 year old girl at a showcase hit the first pitch of her first at bat, an inside pitch 275, the pitching coach called out to the pitcher sorry my bad we wont do that again, the next at bat for this young lady the first pitch was an outside pitch and she hit that one 250 plus, the pitching coach told the pitcher we will just walk her from now on...after the game the coach asked the player how she hits the ball like that and she responded "i don't sweat that fence at 200' i'm swinging for the big fence behind it!" and i just don't know if that can be taught?

^^^^^^true that!!!!!!

 

[nanotech14]

The lesson I had learned from dd last year about her hitting. I use to tell her so much before she would go up to bat, do this, don't do this, it was just to much. 2bucketdad in his post said it well. My dd is a big Dustin Pedroia fan and Meg Bush fan, but Pedroia was in a TV commercial and he said laser show. I know it sounds funny to some, but last year when dd was going up to bat, I would just look at her and say "laser show". She had never hit better then she did last year, she batted 3rd the whole TB season. The HC was allways happy to see her get up to bat. DD just would go up there and swing, with violence.She missed this whole season and I'm just wondering if next year, she will be able to tab into that violence at the bat.

 

[HittingScience]

The lesson I had learned from dd last year about her hitting. I use to tell her so much before she would go up to bat, do this, don't do this, it was just to much. 2bucketdad in his post said it well. My dd is a big Dustin Pedroia fan and Meg Bush fan, but Pedroia was in a TV commercial and he said laser show. I know it sounds funny to some, but last year when dd was going up to bat, I would just look at her and say "laser show". She had never hit better then she did last year, she batted 3rd the whole TB season. The HC was allways happy to see her get up to bat. DD just would go up there and swing, with violence.She missed this whole season and I'm just wondering if next year, she will be able to tab into that violence at the bat.

I like what you are saying. I think being careful is overrated. Hit the heck out of the ball. Become the best hitter you can be.

 

[oswegoponysoftball]

Goingdeep.... your right on the money. I will take it one step further and say the mental approach to the game is not being taught.

 

[shockcoach]

My current number 1 source to hitting, (pitching too).

Toilets, Bricks, Fish Hooks and PRIDE: | Brian Cain

Just got my copy in the mail today. VERY good read. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[redhotcoach]

Just got my copy in the mail today. VERY good read. Thanks for the heads-up!

Your welcome. "Heads Up Baseball" that is mentioned in the book is another good on. I have it on audible and listened to it on my commute everyday.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I think a large number of coaches teaching hitting today are trying to minimize movement and incorporate what they might think are short compact swings. I think aluminum bats had a lot to do with this. It's too careful. All these coaches want is contact with the ball(let the metal do the work, so to speak). But in baseball with the new bats - hitting power and run production are way down in the HS and college ranks. I am rambling now, but I think it is a critical part of a high level swing and it needs to be taught, particularly in baseball, if a player truly wants to take his hitting to its highest level. I am beginning to learn more about FP, but FP might not have the same issues.

Hitting Science I agree with you. What you'll find in fast pitch is that a strong girl with composite bat and 200 foot fence can hit their fair share of home runs by simply squaring up the ball, regardless of swing mechanics. You can't do that in baseball, especially when you get to wood/BBCOR. While most on this site are pushing toward mechanics for the FP swing as similar as possible to high-level MLB swing, and rightfully so, fastpitch has more room for error. You simply don't see girls suddenly struggle in their high school years as you do boys that have to adjust their mechanics to bats that take the "air" out of swings that used to work when they could use aluminum/composite.

Very thought-provoking. I appreciate these posts.

My team did 'team hitting' last winter, and the hitting coach (ex-Div I player) and my assistant saw eye-to-eye on hitting philosophy and mechanics, so I had little influence here (other than the fact that I was the head coach. )

But IMO, the instruction was a very basic approach to hitting. Coach felt that hips do not need to lead shoulders and hands. It was load onto the back foot, then go to the ball. She didn't see great value in 'walking away from the hands' or coil. Coach discouraged ever having the back elbow pointing straight backward. She didn't say it was wrong, just that it will make it hard to get the elbow to slot quickly enough. I showed my assistant's DD a photo of MLB hitters with belt buckle & shoe laces toward pitcher, and she was convinced that had to be wrong, that you should never be that 'open'. The instructor demonstrated point-of-contact with belt buckle toward the second baseman.

All that said, many students have worked with this instructor and become pretty good hitters. I'm not here to bash her. I wonder if there's this school of thought that all these advanced mechanics and moving parts aren't worth it initially, if ever for some girls, and as Rich said, ''What you'll find in fast pitch is that a strong girl with composite bat and 200 foot fence can hit their fair share of home runs by simply squaring up the ball, regardless of swing mechanics.''