I think the up in box it to hit breaking pitches before they hit their max breaking point.
Plate hitting position opinions?
- Thread starter BillyB
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radness
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- Dec 13, 2019
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Off speed is off speed no matter where batter stands.
The height, trajectory and location is what should be considered.
The height, trajectory and location is what should be considered.
Yes, but a drop or rise pitch is in a completely different world, with two more feet to break deep in the box. All I was trying to state. I also clearly understand that you'd have to do deep in box when hitter is borderline on straight gas coming in.
radness
Possibilities & Opportunities!
- Dec 13, 2019
- 7,270
- 113
Add curve to that!
Was commenting to the previous poster about off speed.
Simply because movement versus off speed are two separate elements.
Agreed
- Jan 3, 2022
- 6
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Girls should never move in the box. You should have a set spot and stick with it. Girls need to be taught from an early age to adjust starting early or waiting on pitches. Moving in the box doesn’t teach the timing needed with swing mechanics. Good hitters never move in the box.
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Not about moving in the box...Just plate position philosophy coaches go by and teach in general, and reasons why. Up to stay ahead of max breaking pitches angle, or deep for a little longer look.
DD is an aggressive hitter with a quick trigger. She sets up consistently forward in the box, Back foot near front of plate. This works for her because she can drive fastballs to the opposite field and pull changeups within a consistent balanced stance. Occasionally she gets fooled by a really good change, but can often still get a piece of it. At the HS Level (we are in SoCal), many pitchers have excellent command of several pitches with good/great velocity, the deeper in the box you set up the more effective their variety of pitches becomes, breaking balls move more, speed differences are more pronounced, etc. We may be talking about fractions of an inch, but that could be the difference between a deep fly out and an HR, or a foul tip to stay alive and a swing and a miss. What we see a lot of are the girls who lack confidence backing up in the box to get more time to figure a pitch out, but those milliseconds aren't enough for any additional meaningful mental process, it is still Good?=Swing Bad?=Hold, and good hitters can do that from anywhere in the box.
On a completely different note that nobody has discussed, there are a lot of lefty's in our area that broadcast their intentions by where they set up: Front of the box? Sneaky Bunt, Back of the box? Slap, Middle? Traditional swing, and sometimes you can see all three in the same at bat. It makes the defense's work a lot easier if they know a bunt is coming or not. Some righties do it as well.
On a completely different note that nobody has discussed, there are a lot of lefty's in our area that broadcast their intentions by where they set up: Front of the box? Sneaky Bunt, Back of the box? Slap, Middle? Traditional swing, and sometimes you can see all three in the same at bat. It makes the defense's work a lot easier if they know a bunt is coming or not. Some righties do it as well.
Science has shown that 'late break' exists only in relation to how much bullet spin a pitch has. A 'pure' curve, rise or drop does not experience a sudden increase in Magnus Force out in front of the plate. Anyone who plays golf can testify to this. A 'slice' or 'hook' doesn't go out for 200yds and then suddenly veer to one side, the curve is parabolic. However break is cumulative, if you turn your steering wheel in one direction and keep it there the further you get from your starting point the more deviation you have from your initial trajectory. So moving up or back in the box means that you are hitting the ball at a different point in it's 'curving' trajectory, not before or after it 'breaks'. In terms of the contact zone one way to visualize this is with a front toss setup. The hitter is at the plate lined up with the pitcher's rubber, but the coach drags the screen a few feet to the SS side and pitches balls at an angle over the plate, this represents a righthander's curveball.
