You see odd things even in college ball. Mrek can certainly be right about pitching at that level. It depends on the area of the country, and also that particular team and player. But at the DI level you don't see too many seriously technically flawed slappers. They want to hit to the left side, and their mechanics are established to enhance that possibility. It has been proposed that you pitch them that way and play them that way. Well why not pitch them to their weakness and play them straight up or to the right side? They have one HUGE hole in their swings when executed properly, and that is INSIDE! And inside at the knees is almost impossible to reach. So rather than allowing them to put pressure on their defense, why not just sit them down or force a weak ground ball to the 1st baseman.
Think of this scenario: You have a runner at 3rd base. You have a slapper with good mechanics, front foot pointed at the SS at time of contact, you pitch her outside and put pressure on the defense, look back - throw to first, runner going home, hold the ball, then the runner tries to steal second base. It spells potential trouble. Instead, I pitch her primarily inside with speed, change-ups away, whatever, if she hits that inside pitch you have either a short throw to first by the 2nd baseman, or the 1st baseman fields the ball and runs up to tag the batter-baserunner, holding the runner at 3rd without a throw. Which would you prefer?
I have seen batters with extremely closed stances, or they set up extremely open, and then step into an extremely closed stance (back foot is a foot further from the strike zone). And where do I see them get pitched? They have a huge hole in their swing, and that is the inside corner. Just like a slapper the bat is already returning, climbing, to the front shoulder deep in the strike zone, rising over the ball before they can reach the pitch out in front. And yet I see college coaches pitch them away.
There is another habit that drives me crazy. I used to see Stacey Nelson do this. She threw screwballs to left-handed batters and slappers in the zone! What pitch can a slapper judge better as to perceived location than a pitch they are looking at, at an angle? You can judge a pitch from the side better than you can at the plate. Why? The angle! And you see a lot of college pitchers that think the screwball is a great pitch against lefties. Well perhaps it is, OUT OF the zone. I know at least one person is going to hammer me on this, but it is the natural consequence of physics.
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