How to hit a rise ball?

[julray]

Not if the pitcher likes to throw it and you are looking for it. Moon ball out of the yard. Watch some Florida State or Oklahoma.

Do believe this game is as much mental as physical.

I don't care if you know it's coming or not. It's a pitch that's hard to stay on top of. I'm not saying that you can't get hold of one.. but there is a reason why most coaches will say, it's better to lay off. Most rise balls you see leave the park aren't really rise balls(just a high pitch that most mistake for a rise ball).. or poorly executed ones

 

[clemenslee1]

Like trying to catch lightning in a bottle ... very lucky to intercept a rise ball on some of those swings.

I realize a rise ball or a ball up in the zone are hard to hit, but why is it lucky? Is it because of their mechanics?

 

[Cornbread]

You have to teach posture. I use PVC pipe with a tee. Work the tee height from low to high. Have players slowly rotate and stop at tee maintaining posture and stopping at the tee. Posture taller the higher the pitch. Make sure the angle of the pipe matches the angel of the shoulders. Then we do a two tee drill with a low inside tee with a high outside tee. During the load cal in or out. Player has to adjust posture to the call. In a pinch on rise ball a simply tell hitters to swing over the ball every time

 

[_MIA_]

Most hitters, even the best, struggle on balls up with velocity, riseball or not. If I was facing a good riseball pitcher, until there were two strikes I would just take anything that I recognize as starting off near my letters...heck in softball I might even take that approach with two strikes since I don't think riseballs are meant to be thrown as strikes and I am not sure many pitchers want to throw drops which start off that high and there isn't enough break on other pitch types for those to be called strikes...

Of course that is easier said than done. What good hitters do is minimize the amount of times which they swing at pitches which they have a hard time with because their mechanics (and inherent athletic ability) allow them extra time to recognize these pitches. It isn't that Bonds, Williams, etc didn't have pitches which they had a difficult time with, they were/are just better at not swinging at them...

 

[Westwind]

The most basic advice applies here.

1) Get a good pitch to hit.
2)Put a good swing on it.

I have come to believe that “get in the front of the box and hit it before it rises” is the worst hitting advice ever given.

 

[_MIA_]

The most basic advice applies here.

1) Get a good pitch to hit.
2)Put a good swing on it.

I have come to believe that “get in the front of the box and hit it before it rises” is the worst hitting advice ever given.

I don't like moving around in the box in general. If you need to move up in the box to hit a slower pitcher than something is off with your swing and/or your preparation in the on-deck circle...

 

[BigSkyHi]

Great responses all.

Runner on 3rd, less than 2 outs, rise ball pitcher, looking for something waist up so I can lift it

Why would I ever try to get on top of that pitch?


Low ball pitcher, looking for something I can hit left of the short stop.

 

[clemenslee1]

Great responses all.

Runner on 3rd, less than 2 outs, rise ball pitcher, looking for something waist up so I can lift it

Why would I ever try to get on top of that pitch?


Low ball pitcher, looking for something I can hit left of the short stop.

I don't want to put words in Julrays mouth, so he can correct me if I'm wrong, but it has to do with the way he views the swings, which is down to

 

[TDS]

Great responses all.

Runner on 3rd, less than 2 outs, rise ball pitcher, looking for something waist up so I can lift it

Why would I ever try to get on top of that pitch?


Low ball pitcher, looking for something I can hit left of the short stop.

Folks who have the line drive (down to) pattern and can execute it properly from a leveraged position (Griffey, Trout, Bonds, AP, etc) are attempting to hit the top of the ball..

 

[_MIA_]

Put your PPE on..here it comes