Hitting vs Pitching

[Michele1377]

can someone explain why? pitching(fastpitch) is the same, or the differences, as hitting, in regards to the lower half?

I was just trying to help my DD with this tonight. She has great bat speed, and a pretty good upper half when she swingd, but loses a lot of power because she does not use her lower half properly. Her coaches have been trying to break her of some bad habits, and we have been working on doing drills at home. I have never been able get her to grasp the weight transfer from rear leg to front leg, and break her of the squish the bug thing - but tonight, while using wheel chocks in an effort to help her feel the weight shift (and stop the bug squish) I had a moment of clarity and told her follow through on her swing the same way she does when she follows through while pitching - I think that helped her greatly.
I think the hip rotation in pitching is similar to the hip rotation when batting, when it comes to the rear leg anyway. I would love to hear other member's thoughts on this . . .

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I was just trying to help my DD with this tonight. She has great bat speed, and a pretty good upper half when she swingd, but loses a lot of power because she does not use her lower half properly. Her coaches have been trying to break her of some bad habits, and we have been working on doing drills at home. I have never been able get her to grasp the weight transfer from rear leg to front leg, and break her of the squish the bug thing - but tonight, while using wheel chocks in an effort to help her feel the weight shift (and stop the bug squish) I had a moment of clarity and told her follow through on her swing the same way she does when she follows through while pitching - I think that helped her greatly.
I think the hip rotation in pitching is similar to the hip rotation when batting, when it comes to the rear leg anyway. I would love to hear other member's thoughts on this . . .

That moment of clarity has a lot of wisdom in it.

This past weekend I texted a dad of a pitcher that was working on hitting. Told him to have his daughter IR the bat like she would IR her forearm in pitching. They reported back Zepp numbers that were 10mph higher than the day before.

 

[mann]

I was just trying to help my DD with this tonight. She has great bat speed, and a pretty good upper half when she swingd, but loses a lot of power because she does not use her lower half properly. Her coaches have been trying to break her of some bad habits, and we have been working on doing drills at home. I have never been able get her to grasp the weight transfer from rear leg to front leg, and break her of the squish the bug thing - but tonight, while using wheel chocks in an effort to help her feel the weight shift (and stop the bug squish) I had a moment of clarity and told her follow through on her swing the same way she does when she follows through while pitching - I think that helped her greatly.
I think the hip rotation in pitching is similar to the hip rotation when batting, when it comes to the rear leg anyway. I would love to hear other member's thoughts on this . . .

Cool, I used the same comparison, with a pitcher that kept lunging over her front side while batting.
It might just have been a band aid for a larger problem, but it was, good enough for the moment.

 

[mann]

Turn and sidebend.
Thrust turn and side bend. Thrust turn and sidebend. lean into tilt and snf.



so in the windmill the hips open to about 45 degrees, , but what if you wanted to not throw at the catcher, but left field, would you turn the hips more, or have to Jump Towards left field?

as an edit,...... er what? did I write?
how about,,,so in the windmill the hips open to about 45 degrees, , but what if you wanted to not throw at the catcher ,but the on deck circle, , would you turn the hips more, or have to stride towards the on deck circle?

its late but I will try one more time HIP rotation, is the amount or degree of turn as important as I am making it, or is limited rotation fine, with SNF?


sorry.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Turn and sidebend.
Thrust turn and side bend. Thrust turn and sidebend. lean into tilt and snf.



so in the windmill the hips open to about 45 degrees, , but what if you wanted to not throw at the catcher, but left field, would you turn the hips more, or have to Jump Towards left field?

Personally I like to view it as the hips 'closing' to roughly 45-52 degrees. That closure isn't so much about creating a rotation for the upper body, as it is about setting up for an ideal whip. I don't know about you, but if I wanted to pitch a ball to left field then I'd re-align my body such that I faced left-field and then obtain roughly the same 45-52 degree angle in a pitch to left-field. What I wouldn't do is face home plate, stride towards home plate and then rotate more than normal so as to chuck the ball into left-field.

 

[mann]

its late but I will try one more time.... HIP rotation, is the amount or degree of turn as important as I am making it, or is limited rotation fine, with SNF?


In pitching, you have to step towards your target, a little tiny bit goes a long way.

Is blocking your front side the same with hitting? As in stepping towards the pitch. If not, what takes place of the directional component.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

its late but I will try one more time.... HIP rotation, is the amount or degree of turn as important as I am making it, or is limited rotation fine, with SNF?


In pitching, you have to step towards your target, a little tiny bit goes a long way.

Is blocking your front side the same with hitting? As in stepping towards the pitch. If not, what takes place of the directional component.

 

[FP26]

its late but I will try one more time.... HIP rotation, is the amount or degree of turn as important as I am making it, or is limited rotation fine, with SNF?


In pitching, you have to step towards your target, a little tiny bit goes a long way.

Is blocking your front side the same with hitting? As in stepping towards the pitch. If not, what takes place of the directional component.

Mann - The stride starts so early in the sequence that it seems unlikely to me that it changes much based on location. Watch when Miggy's front foot lands as compared to where the ball is at that point in time. Also, look at where Miggy's front foot lands in relationship to the batter's box. I really can't tell much of a difference for these pitches. Now, my view on the stride seems to be a little different than most, so take my post for what it is worth. Some people draw an imaginary line in the batter's box and stride along that. I ask hitter's to stride towards the pitcher's release point. So there would be a very slight difference between striding towards a right hand pitcher vs striding towards a left hand pitcher. But when you consider that the difference between a rightie and a lefty may be 30 inches across and the pitch is coming from 37 or 38 feet away (after the pitcher's stride), there really isn't much of a difference between the two.

 

[mann]

Mann - The stride starts so early in the sequence that it seems unlikely to me that it changes much based on location. Watch when Miggy's front foot lands as compared to where the ball is at that point in time. Also, look at where Miggy's front foot lands in relationship to the batter's box. I really can't tell much of a difference for these pitches. Now, my view on the stride seems to be a little different than most, so take my post for what it is worth. Some people draw an imaginary line in the batter's box and stride along that. I ask hitter's to stride towards the pitcher's release point. So there would be a very slight difference between striding towards a right hand pitcher vs striding towards a left hand pitcher. But when you consider that the difference between a rightie and a lefty may be 30 inches across and the pitch is coming from 37 or 38 feet away (after the pitcher's stride), there really isn't much of a difference between the two.

I agree with all you point out.

If one was to step towards the ball, close up on an outside pitch, or open up on an inside pitch, while the ball is in flight, you will be late.
I can have a plan which MIGHT effect my stride. but in fastpitch I am already settling into my launch position while I am reading the pitch.

Yes five, I get that, now, but the hips will open/turn accordingly, (rotate as needed), based on What?

Am I confusing everyone in what I am trying to get answered?


The directional component to the Swing, is missing in the Windmill pitch.

If it is not the frontside stride, or the amount of opening of the hips, what is it? (directional component)

would Blocking the frontside, by a square planted foot, or woulda more open, or 45 planted, or 90, (step open drill)

allow an easier adjustment for location?

 

[mann]

Mann, see if this helps give you the image of when hip extension occurs in the swing.

Now have him stand in the same place, and move the tee deep and away, then up and in.
Now what?