coaches interfering with players

[PEPPERS]

I remember seeing where in MLB when the first pitch is a strike batting average is below 200, first pitch is a ball batting average is over 300.

I always tell my kids to stride to and be ready to hit ever pitch, you just don’t know when the pitcher is going to make that mistake.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

"For me as a batter hitting third in the lineup, there was one thing that was 95 percent certain: I was going to take the first pitch. Even a strike right down the middle." Ted Williams TSOH Page 48.

He then goes on to talk about how taking the first pitch lets him get a sense of the pitcher's tempo.

 

[marriard]

"For me as a batter hitting third in the lineup, there was one thing that was 95 percent certain: I was going to take the first pitch. Even a strike right down the middle." Ted Williams TSOH Page 48.

He then goes on to talk about how taking the first pitch lets him get a sense of the pitcher's tempo.

If I ever get Ted to play for a team I am coaching I will be happy to let him take the first pitch. However, since he didn't turn up last weekend I am going to continue to coach the based on the current thinking including looking at the numbers over time (and for individual tendencies).

 

[Chris O'Leary]

If I ever get Ted to play for a team I am coaching I will be happy to let him take the first pitch. However, since he didn't turn up last weekend I am going to continue to coach the based on the current thinking including looking at the numbers over time (and for individual tendencies).

That's great.

However, I find it bizarre that people would know that Ted Williams did something in order to get the feel for a pitcher but still think that their kids don't need to do something that Ted Williams felt was essential. I know that everyone thinks their kid is great, but thinking that you kid is more talented than Ted Williams is taking things a bit far IMO.

 

[chinamigarden]

Ted Williams wouldn't swing at that pitch.

Well currently he is in no position to swing at any pitches.

 

[chinamigarden]

That's great.

However, I find it bizarre that people would know that Ted Williams did something in order to get the feel for a pitcher but still think that their kids don't need to do something that Ted Williams felt was essential. I know that everyone thinks their kid is great, but thinking that you kid is more talented than Ted Williams is taking things a bit far IMO.

Its the other way around. No one is as talented as Ted Williams, so no one can allow themselves to let a fastball in their hot zone go by. My dd sings at every pitch she likes. She leads her team in walks, has the least number of strike outs but sees less pitches on average (per at bat) then more then half her team. Thats because she will hit a first pitch if its hittable. If its not, she takes it. At the end of the year her average is higher then Ted Williams ever was, and her on base percentage is magnitudes higher then his.

is it ridiculous for me to say that she is a better hitter then Ted Williams? Her numbers bear that out. But you might argue that she plays a different game with different skill levels then Ted Williams and she could not possibly have the same skill or talent, and therefore it cannot be argued that what she does is better then him. And I would say, thats exactly my point.

 

[marriard]

That's great.

However, I find it bizarre that people would know that Ted Williams did something in order to get the feel for a pitcher but still think that their kids don't need to do something that Ted Williams felt was essential. I know that everyone thinks their kid is great, but thinking that you kid is more talented than Ted Williams is taking things a bit far IMO.

The point is there is multiple approaches and just because it worked for one person (especially one as extremely talented person) does not mean it is for everyone. Sometimes it is like getting dunking advice from Michael Jordan - it just doesn't apply to you.

There is way too much 'one way, only way' in sports coaching. And way too many contradictions from excellent coaches (see the Pitching and Hitting forums here for easy examples). You have to be open to all sorts of approaches and methods to getting results.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Its the other way around. No one is as talented as Ted Williams, so no one can allow themselves to let a fastball in their hot zone go by. My dd sings at every pitch she likes. She leads her team in walks, has the least number of strike outs but sees less pitches on average (per at bat) then more then half her team. Thats because she will hit a first pitch if its hittable. If its not, she takes it. At the end of the year her average is higher then Ted Williams ever was, and her on base percentage is magnitudes higher then his.

is it ridiculous for me to say that she is a better hitter then Ted Williams? Her numbers bear that out. But you might argue that she plays a different game with different skill levels then Ted Williams and she could not possibly have the same skill or talent, and therefore it cannot be argued that what she does is better then him. And I would say, thats exactly my point.

Given the importance of timing to the swing, I teach what Ted Williams said.

IMO you're better off take that first first pitch and then waiting for a mistake, and fouling off pitcher's pitches, like good hitters do.

 

[Jim]

When kids have to take a strike or even if they just have to take the first pitch, they tend to chase out of the zone more often when they are "allowed" to swing.

They end up learning a "not allowed to swing" and an "allowed to swing" approach and mentality. This is not hitting.

The numbers just do not show that the majority of good hitters go up to the plate to take. They take because they see the pitch out of their zone. There are circumstances where the hitter should take a strike but it is not often.

 

[Country Boy]

If we are to take everything the best hitters in MLB do as perfection and the 'model', then shouldn't our daughters all be juicing? It worked for Barry Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, etc after all.

Of course I'm not serious. But it highlights the difference between our players and MLB. Not everything MLB does is right. I don't have a single player that puts in more than a couple hours of practice a week during season. I don't have a single player that watches tape of herself between at bats. I don't have a single player that has a different glove for every position she plays. I don't have a full time hitting coach. Would those things make a difference? Probably.

I appreciate the batter that Ted Williams was. But if his secret of success was as simple as taking the first pitch, why hasn't someone else hit .400 in the last 60 years? There is a lot more to his hitting than taking the first pitch. So just emulating this one strategy is not going to translate to whether your daughter is a good hitter or not. Can it help? Possibly. But then so could spitting, hiking your pants up and grabbing your crotch. After all, many MLB players do those things.

If I buy the exact same groceries that Emeril or Bobby Flay do, does that make me a great chef? Of course not. If I buy different brands, does that make me a bad chef? Of course not. Being a great chef has more to do with what you do with the groceries than what groceries you buy. Hitting is the same thing.