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Oct 22, 2009
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PA
... a kid that stands there with the bat glued to her shoulder while a meatball sails by.

I've seen coaches instruct their players not to swing at the first pitch either, and then when they are down a strike, tell them "OK, now look for a pitch to drive".:confused:

I guess the one down the middle on the first pitch was too good to swing at!:mad:
 

02Crush

Way past gone
Aug 28, 2011
791
0
The Crazy Train
I've seen coaches instruct their players not to swing at the first pitch either, and then when they are down a strike, tell them "OK, now look for a pitch to drive".:confused:

I guess the one down the middle on the first pitch was too good to swing at!:mad:

What age group was it that you saw this?
 
Oct 22, 2009
1,532
0
PA
What age group was it that you saw this?

I've seen this at 12U and 14U. Every kid has a particular zone where they just kill the ball. If the first pitch you see is in that zone, why not swing at it? What are the chances that a good pitcher is going to throw you another pitch in the same location once you are down in the count? Being selective in swinging at the first pitch strike and being "selective" and always taking the first pitch are not the same thing. Even Ted Williams swung at a first pitch strike when he knew the pitcher was going to groove one!
 

02Crush

Way past gone
Aug 28, 2011
791
0
The Crazy Train
I've seen this at 12U and 14U. Every kid has a particular zone where they just kill the ball. If the first pitch you see is in that zone, why not swing at it? What are the chances that a good pitcher is going to throw you another pitch in the same location once you are down in the count? Being selective in swinging at the first pitch strike and being "selective" and always taking the first pitch are not the same thing. Even Ted Williams swung at a first pitch strike when he knew the pitcher was going to groove one!

I only asked b/c I coach 10U (all 9 year old's) and I have two girls I make watch the first pitch often. Only b/c they would miss it even if it were in their sweet spot. Reason why is b/c they get anxious and take their head out play by looking out to the field while the bat is going through the zone. Making them watch gets them to focus on the ball and then they are ready. I hope to get away from this soon as they develop more as I hate this strategy. But for them it works right now.
 
Oct 22, 2009
1,532
0
PA
Crush, I would agree in your case with 2 young players who are still learning to hit that it is a fine strategy to get them to watch the ball all the way in on the first pitch. I just don't like it as a general strategy. At PONY Nats last July we ran into a team where every batter always took the first pitch. Our pitcher had a field day.
 
Nov 8, 2010
90
6
This is just me but I have never bought into the whole "dont swing at the first pitch" mentality. There may be some situations where (with your leadoff hitter) you want her to see as many pitches as she can, especially if she is facing a very good pitcher that can move the ball. But, even that should be limited. Some of this is baseball thinking creeping into softball but even some baseball players (Frank White included) will laugh at this whole myth of letting the first pitch go by if it is a hittable pitch.
 
May 24, 2011
41
0
Monmouth County NJ
There's a time and place for everything. I would take on first pitch is if I noticed a picther throw consistly outside the zone on the first pitch in order to get the batter to swing. Then I would tell my batters to take the first pitch. Most pitchers are pretty smart and they do what works for them. If the batters are swinging at the first pitch, I wouldn't put it in the strike zone either. Once the pitcher see that it's not working anymore I would give the batter the ok for the first pitch. Or if I noticed a pitcher having control problems I would tell the weaker batters to take. Hopefully the better batters would see if ti's a strike. If a batters average drops by 100 point going down 0-1, I wonder what it is when they go up 1-0.
 

02Crush

Way past gone
Aug 28, 2011
791
0
The Crazy Train
I hate having to make two girls watch the first one but at this age it is the only way to get them to focus intently on the pitch all the way into the zone. I have three others who I encourage to swing on the first one b/c they usually see the best results on the first pitch. It depends on the players right now and what they need to work on. Sometimes it is not about the results but how they are doing something that matters at a young age. If we play for wins we overlook bad habits and other problems and move kids up in age with lessor value as a player. It is amazing how the kids who were awesome at 6 are not so good at 9 and I know this will continue to shift as we grow into the age of 14.
 

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