Is slapping still useful

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Jun 14, 2018
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DD ('07 12U) is a faster left handed player who has just started back into hitting lessons. The person she is going to is a very good instructor and came highly recommended. DD talked with him about slap hitting and he told her that it was becoming a thing of the past.

What are the thoughts on this in the group?
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
IMO unless she has 2.8 or less home to first then it's not worth it. I know a ton of people will disagree but that's what I think
My DD is a pitcher and she loves slappers..
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
The vast majority of college teams I have seen the past few weeks have had slappers in the line up - often more than one. Not everyone can hit the ball over the fence.

I do agree with BT3100 though. You have to be genuinely fast to be really effective.
 
Apr 26, 2015
704
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Honestly what she really wants is to be a triple threat. Not just a slapper. DD can slap (soft slap, hard slap and power slap - which will hit the fence), she can bunt, and she can hit away. You want to keep the defense on their toes. DD is fast but maybe not "elite" fast. She runs just under 3.0.

I hear a lot of people trying to turn lefties into slappers because they aren't hitting well. IMO that is not going to fix anything. It took DD a long time to become a proficient slapper. She has always been a consistent contact hitter. Not a power hitter, but she was good at hitting the gaps. When she was learning to slap she couldn't both slap and hit. Too may differences in her mechanics. Now she is able to work both for the most part. She has grown some and can now hit the fence pretty regularly when she hits, but every once in a while she loves to mix it up and drop a little bunt or soft slap. She does have to figure out the pitcher though...slow pitching is not good for a slapper (at least in DD's case).

DD's HS team had 7 lefties in their lineup. 5 could both slap and hit and their lead off was the fastest girl I have ever seen. She could drop a bunt right at the pitchers feet and still be safe. I think used properly slapping is still very useful.
 
May 17, 2012
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To say that you have to be sub 3.0 to slap is absurd. Imagine telling a kid you aren't going to teach them bunting because they can't run a sub 3.0.

EVERYONE should learn the mechanics of slapping in 8u - 12u.
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
I don't know if it's "a thing of the past", but I don't really see it that much in the older HS age groups my DD now plays in, and we see some of the better teams in our region. The very few girls that I know who do it spend so much time on it that their regular hitting suffers, and they're known as something of a one-trick-pony. I totally disagree that every kid should learn how to slap...it's hard to do well and requires lots of focused practice. Even for someone fast, I think more has to go right than just putting solid bat on ball or laying down a good bunt. For a faster kid who isn't a HR hitter, I'd be training them to hit line drives into the gaps and being able to put a bunt down in every conceivable way.
 
Last edited:
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
Teaching someone the mechanics of slapping and getting them to be able to slap does not take a lot of time. Not only does this give hitters another option offensively (even if they never use it in a game) it makes them better defensively (defending the slap).

The reality is that the majority of kids at the younger levels will always be average to below average hitters. You can say that they are wasting time (on slapping) and should be focusing hitting line drives and bunts but the reality is that a majority of kids will never be good at those things. Why not give them the opportunity to see if slapping could be their niche?
 
Jul 14, 2018
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I have noticed that the batting average category, which was dominated by lefty slappers once upon a time, has given way to righties. This is happening in MLB as well (not the slapping, but righties winning batting titles -- Betts, Altuve, Cabrera). The top five hitters in the NCAA right now are all righties (Courtney Cashman, Sara Jubas, Danielle Rocheleau, Mia Davidson, and Max Ortega). I tend to think that the modern approach to an eliptical swing and a focus on launch angles have given righties more of a lefty-style swing, which has resulted in an overall shift away from the days when lefties were always at the top of the batting average lists.

NCAA softball records are tough to research, but I think the last slapper to win the batting title was Oregon's Courtney Ceo in 2014. The rule change in 2018 about having no part of the foot outside of the box was a blow to slappers as well (Mike Candrea on the impact).

I attended an infield defense seminar given by Tim Walton a few years ago. When asked about defending the slap he laughed and said the only defense is to get the next batter out. That might have been because Karen Weekly was in the room :) I think it's still an important -- and unique -- part of the game and isn't going anywhere. It just might not be the ticket to a .500 BA that it once was.
 
Apr 26, 2015
704
43
Teaching someone the mechanics of slapping and getting them to be able to slap does not take a lot of time. Not only does this give hitters another option offensively (even if they never use it in a game) it makes them better defensively (defending the slap).

The reality is that the majority of kids at the younger levels will always be average to below average hitters. You can say that they are wasting time (on slapping) and should be focusing hitting line drives and bunts but the reality is that a majority of kids will never be good at those things. Why not give them the opportunity to see if slapping could be their niche?

I have to respectfully disagree with this part. (I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of your post though!)

It has taken DD years to become an effective slapper. It did not take long to make her a good bunter - but a true slapper took a long time. There is so much more to it than just laying down a little drag bunt. When she was fully focused on learning to slap we had to put her hitting on the back burner. She couldn't do both because the mechanics are definitely different. For a while she only slapped (or bunted), but within the past year or two she has been able to separate things and has become an effective slapper, bunter and hitter. Slappers have to be smart too...they have to be able to read the defense and know where and what kind of slap to use. DD's coaches (both HS and TB) pretty much let her make the call when she's up to bat. They rarely tell her what to do when batting unless they need something very specific. It has been fun to watch the evolution (if not completely frustrating at times).
 

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