if you're not going to swing at strikes...

[Chris8]

use your on deck time properly and you should be ready for that first pitch. it hurts me to see kids talking through the fence during their on deck time. worse is a coach talking to a player when she is on deck. on deck time is very important. use it wisely.

AMEN....these are opportunities lost. Use it to learn for your time in the box.

 

[Eric F]

If it's not exactly the pitch you want, where you want it, why swing at it?

Scaring hitters into thinking they have to swing at any pitch in the strike zone is going to create a bunch of terrible hitters. They won't bat aggressively; they'll bat defensively. They'll be so worried about taking a strike, which is a completely fine thing to do, that they won't actually go up to the plate with a plan to attack the pitcher.

Yep. With a 0-strike count, I want hitters looking for a pitch in a location they can hit hard. They need to know where that location is, and what that pitch looks like. If it's not there, I have no problem with them taking that pitch for a strike. I do have a problem with batters trying to hit pitches in bad locations on a 0-strike count, resulting in weak contact and an easy out. UNLESS, it's a situation where I just need a ball in play, any way I can get it.

There are worse things than taking strikes. There are worse things than striking out sometimes. There are even worse things than occasionally taking strike three.

Yep. Taking a change-up for strike 3, after swinging and missing at 2 change-ups in the dirt, with runners at 2B and 3B, down by 2 runs, with 2 outs in the last inning. My kid did that.

 

[Bullseye]

We can agree to disagree about this @Bullseye ..not a huge deal.

You said one thing to wasting time. Did i disagree. Nope. Just said that is not the only way to waste time. You are right i'm not talking about mlb. Talking about softball played in the general public. Those mlb references & OK. just dont apply to well to the general public of teams. Obvious facts.
Didnt take 100 years to figure out.

 

[_MIA_]

You said one thing to wasting time. Did i disagree. Nope. Just said that is not the only way to waste time. You are right i'm not talking about mlb. Talking about softball played in the general public. Those mlb references & OK. just dont apply to well to the general public of teams. Obvious facts.
Didnt take 100 years to figure out.

Ok I wasn’t aware we were limiting the discussion to a certain level of play but you win. Nobody outside of OU and MLB takes pitches to extend an inning to give a pitcher a bit more rest.

 

[Bullseye]

You would lose that wager and I gave a specific scenario not just any old time..Now I will say that most of my experience with seeing this is in MLB so perhaps it is less prevalent in fastpitch.

Show me where i disagreed about what you said. Nope didnt happen. I pointed out a fact there are many ways to waste time. Would not expect you to agree on facts. Completly expect you to keep defending yourself irrelavant as that is.

 

[Bullseye]

Ok I wasn’t aware we were limiting the discussion to a certain level of play but you win. Nobody outside of OU and MLB takes pitches to extend an inning to give a pitcher a bit more rest.

Guess what there is conversation beyond you on this website.

 

[Bobby Shirer]

Saying to swing at first pitch strikes is a bit broad.
Are we defining a strike as...

• a fatty- right down the middle?
• in the strike zone?
• anything the umpire might happen to call a strike?

I certainly don't want a player who struggles with a certain pitch or location, to swing at it just because it's a strike.
I prefer my hitters to swing a their pitch. If the pitcher throws that hitter's pitch, then swing away. But don't chase a pitch because it is or might be called a strike.
My dd played against a pitcher who threw nasty pitches until she got to 2 strikes, and then, (we've all seen it happen) she throws a big fat one, right down main street. So my dd took until she had x-2. They never found that ball.

 

[_MIA_]

Guess what there is conversation beyond you on this website.

No way, really? Let me go find that hole in the sand I had my head in and cover it up so I don’t make this mistake again.

 

[Rolling Hard]

If the pitcher is slow and there is little chance of her striking the batter out, I like taking until she throws strike one. I understand getting your timing down in the on deck circle but taking and seeing a pitch seems to help with timing against a slower pitcher.

 

[radness]

If the pitcher is slow and there is little chance of her striking the batter out, I like taking until she throws strike one. I understand getting your timing down in the on deck circle but taking and seeing a pitch seems to help with timing against a slower pitcher.

Slow like annoying slow?! Lol
Like to show bunt'ish and do a turn drive swing or pull back as if to swing and drop a bunt.
Little razzle dazzle
*Pending looking at the defense.
Taking a bunting approach can help with timing. Not saying everyone should bunt. However this is utilized for timing.