Slap Hitters

[Bernie]

Yepsome pitchers don't put in more time to be hitters because they work on pitching which maybe enough for them. Generally, Some people don't put in as much time as others. However there are pitchers who put in the time for both and can hit and are good at it!

Simply goes back to how much time is a switch hitter willing to put in!

It's not the time spent in many cases. Its just that some kids are much more athletic and have much better hand/eye coordination. Some can learn in 30 minutes what some kids will never learn.

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[Nuwin]

My wife has a STRONG power slap. It hurts. Wait, what were we talking about again?

 

[BucketDud]

Like several said above, often the dying breath of a softball player is when they're told "you should try slapping" as a response to the fact that she's not hitting well from the right side. So they spend a few years trying slapping, are often given a spot near the top of the order, and that doesn't go well.

I watched a coach turn a girl around because he felt like the lineup needed more diversity. Found the smallest girl who wasn't great hitter, but also wasn't very fast. She got really good at chopping ground balls to left side which resulted in about .100 average with no walks.

Unlikely she will get faster, but defenses will definitely get better making it harder for her. But hey we got another slapper and she got to hit at top of the lineup.

 

[RADcatcher]

Triple threat means: 1) bunt, 2) slap, and 3) hit

We all agree that's what it means?

Heres another Multi-threat

And honestly, I kind of expect any and all slappers to be able to do all three. Perhaps that's unfair of me. The most vague, perhaps, is "hit". Does that mean they aren't doing the leg crossover don't step out of the box thing? Just batting like a traditional lefty? Or does it mean that they can drive the ball to the gaps, even hit HRs at times?

Our slappers have power and drive the ball often. In fact, they do that more than dinks and bloops and certainly more than bunts. Perhaps they are just slappers and not triple threats.

But yes, they are fast.

Personally, I think the term slapper is best. It accurately describes what I'm going to see in their at bat.

Other goofy terms I've heard:

Power Slap
Chop Slap
Slappy McSlaps-a-lot
Half Slap
Caffeine-free Half Slap
Soft Slap

Haa mix it, Half-caff slap

 

[RADcatcher]

It's not the time spent in many cases. Its just that some kids are much more athletic and have much better hand/eye coordination. Some can learn in 30 minutes what some kids will never learn.

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Sure , some learn quicker and some are more coordinated.
And then there is the value of
Consistent Continued Training
+Time put into it = greater positive result.

Simply sharing about what I think is the importance of time spent training.

There can be an underlying unfortunate downside to those that are more natural athletes... that sometimes, Because they produce good results at younger ages, may not see the usefulness of putting in added training time , then don't grow past they're youth natural ability. Vs students of the game Who learn, train and stick with it. just saying sometimes students of the game can surpass the natural athlete. Time put into training can be the most critical factor.

 

[Vertigo]

Sure , some learn quicker and some are more coordinated.
And then there is the value of
Consistent Continued Training
+Time put into it = greater positive result.

Simply sharing about what I think is the importance of time spent training.

There can be an underlying unfortunate downside to those that are more natural athletes... that sometimes, Because they produce good results at younger ages, may not see the usefulness of putting in added training time , then don't grow past they're youth natural ability. Vs students of the game Who learn, train and stick with it. just saying sometimes students of the game can surpass the natural athlete. Time put into training can be the most critical factor.

I think some players can be more than one-dimensional. They can be and are very good at different facets of the game. They are able to put the time and training in for each facet that works for them, individually, to be able to meet their goals, as well as the team’s goals. Even players who are one-dimensional - one might hit exceptionally well even though they might not spend as much time on hitting as their teammate. Just because you do repetitive things over and over doesn’t necessarily make you better than the person that does not. Some people can hit for 2 hours 7
days a week and may never be exceptional at it. It’s just how things go.

I’m not saying younger players who switch to the left side to become slappers should keep hitting from the right side. It usually does not work in their favor. In my DD’s case it did. She was 15 when she started slapping so all those years hitting from the right side (and being decent at it) stayed ingrained in her muscle memory. She does not have to spend as much time hitting reps from the right that she does from the left to be utilized in games the way she is.

Let’s face it, my kid isn’t going out there and facing Jordy Bahl-caliber pitching. She plays D3 and can handle that pitching just fine from both sides of the plate thanks in part that she played TB at a decent level.

 

[benjey]

It's not that, I don't think. It's that we watch slappers do badly so often. We don't like our players to ground out every single at bat. Slapping simply doesn't work for many slappers - that's what we don't like.

Like several said above, often the dying breath of a softball player is when they're told "you should try slapping" as a response to the fact that she's not hitting well from the right side. So they spend a few years trying slapping, are often given a spot near the top of the order, and that doesn't go well.

That said, we have two on our team who do great. We/I appreciate those that do it well.

I was at a Carolina-dook game last year and Carolina was down by two, bottom of seventh, one out and a runner on first. Girl tries a drag bunt and it's fouled back. I'm thinking to myself "what on Earth are you doing?". Next pitch, same thing.

Turns out the girl was standing on first base before the pitcher even fielded the ball. My jaw was on the floor. I've never seen someone that fast. And with that kind of speed (and results), just get the ball in play.

My comment was definitely not directed at you or really any one specific poster but I found DFP when my DD was 10, she is now a soph in college so I have been around a long time even though I only occasionally post and I can tell you the baseball guy who doesn't like slapping because it shouldn't be part of the game has been an undercurrent to every thread on slapping over the years.

Yes there are bad slappers but guess what there are also bad hitters who swing away. The bottom line is in any sport you will have something like a normal bell curve distribution of abilities. It seems the bad slappers, for some here, stain all slappers with a fairly broad brush yet the same is not true for traditional hitters.

 

[Hillhouse]

I am frequently asked if men's fastpitch has slap hitters. I bow my head and just sigh out loud. Yes, we have uniforms and everything!!

The guy who is practically credited with being the godfather of slapping was a man named Chad Corchran. He was originally from California somewhere and was an incredible shortstop. He played near flawless defense, the kind of player who you wondered "How did this guy not make it in MLB??" It goes to show you how good those players in MLB actually are, even on teams like Oakland. There's some guys who I just can't understand how they didn't make it to MLB. It goes to show you that skills in softball don't always translate to baseball, and vice versa.

Anyway, Corky was slapping as far back as the late 1970's, I wasn't even born until 1972. (I'm 51 for all of you doing the math at home!!!). Slapping took off in the '80's and while there's less of it today in the men's FP world, there's less of EVERYTHING in the men's FP world these days. Corky is the type of guy who probably wouldn't take credit for introducing slapping if he did create it. I'm not saying he did invent the artform, I'm just saying he's the guy that most recognize as the first of the kind.

A former opponent and teammate in Seattle named Bill Boyer was the biggest "triple threat" I've ever seen. You had no ide if he'd bunt (lightning fast), slap, or take you out of the yard with the long ball. Boyer is on almost everyone's Mt. Rushmore of all time greats.

Both Corky and Boyer are in nearly every Hall of Fame. And the ones they aren't in, they should be.

I'm so jealous of RAD, where she grew up, the teams, games, and players she'd have got to watch back then. California, particularly SO CAL, was once the country, possibly North America's, hotbed for men's FP softball back in the day. Today there's not a lot left there. The top team that remained in CA eventually merged teams and sponsorship with my old team from New York. Kind of a weird combo for sure but, it's worked as they've won 6 or 7 Nationals (I was on 3 of those teams luckily!) and 3 World championships (I didn't get any of those but finished 2nd place 3 separate times, ugh). Anyway, I bet RAD got to see Corky play there at some point.

 

[RADcatcher]

I am frequently asked if men's fastpitch has slap hitters. I bow my head and just sigh out loud. Yes, we have uniforms and everything!!

way to own it Mr B.!

Slapping took off in the '80's and while there's less of it today in the men's FP world, there's less of EVERYTHING in the men's FP world these days. Corky is the type of guy who probably wouldn't take credit for introducing slapping if he did create it. I'm not saying he did invent the artform, I'm just saying he's the guy that most recognize as the first of the kind.

A former opponent and teammate in Seattle named Bill Boyer was the biggest "triple threat" I've ever seen. You had no ide if he'd bunt (lightning fast), slap, or take you out of the yard with the long ball. Boyer is on almost everyone's Mt. Rushmore of all time greats.

Both Corky and Boyer are in nearly every Hall of Fame. And the ones they aren't in, they should be.

I'm so jealous of RAD, where she grew up, the teams, games, and players she'd have got to watch back then. California, particularly SO CAL, was once the country, possibly North America's, hotbed for men's FP softball back in the day. Today there's not a lot left there. The top team that remained in CA eventually merged teams and sponsorship with my old team from New York. Kind of a weird combo for sure but, it's worked as they've won 6 or 7 Nationals (I was on 3 of those teams luckily!) and 3 World championships (I didn't get any of those but finished 2nd place 3 separate times, ugh). Anyway, I bet RAD got to see Corky play there at some point.

We had slappers back in travel ball.
Late 70's Starting to show what it is about. Remember this from college
imagine this, actually have a college game taped on VHS that was played on TV from back in the '80s. The announcers were commenting about 'Look at what Lefty slappers are doing now with their footwork and attacking the ball.'
If I remember correctly they actually comment 'look to see this as being part of the game within fastpitch.'
The game was Long Beach State versus University of Arizona. They had two Lefty triple threats in the first half of the lineup. We had one.

 

[benjey]

I am frequently asked if men's fastpitch has slap hitters. I bow my head and just sigh out loud. Yes, we have uniforms and everything!!

The guy who is practically credited with being the godfather of slapping was a man named Chad Corchran. He was originally from California somewhere and was an incredible shortstop. He played near flawless defense, the kind of player who you wondered "How did this guy not make it in MLB??" It goes to show you how good those players in MLB actually are, even on teams like Oakland. There's some guys who I just can't understand how they didn't make it to MLB. It goes to show you that skills in softball don't always translate to baseball, and vice versa.

Anyway, Corky was slapping as far back as the late 1970's, I wasn't even born until 1972. (I'm 51 for all of you doing the math at home!!!). Slapping took off in the '80's and while there's less of it today in the men's FP world, there's less of EVERYTHING in the men's FP world these days. Corky is the type of guy who probably wouldn't take credit for introducing slapping if he did create it. I'm not saying he did invent the artform, I'm just saying he's the guy that most recognize as the first of the kind.

A former opponent and teammate in Seattle named Bill Boyer was the biggest "triple threat" I've ever seen. You had no ide if he'd bunt (lightning fast), slap, or take you out of the yard with the long ball. Boyer is on almost everyone's Mt. Rushmore of all time greats.

Both Corky and Boyer are in nearly every Hall of Fame. And the ones they aren't in, they should be.

I'm so jealous of RAD, where she grew up, the teams, games, and players she'd have got to watch back then. California, particularly SO CAL, was once the country, possibly North America's, hotbed for men's FP softball back in the day. Today there's not a lot left there. The top team that remained in CA eventually merged teams and sponsorship with my old team from New York. Kind of a weird combo for sure but, it's worked as they've won 6 or 7 Nationals (I was on 3 of those teams luckily!) and 3 World championships (I didn't get any of those but finished 2nd place 3 separate times, ugh). Anyway, I bet RAD got to see Corky play there at some point.

Bill this can't be true. Men can't slap. Slapping only worked when girls didn't play defense and throw well enough to defend it. Good defense like how they play it in baseball eliminates slapping. Changing the rules in a way that contradicts every other rule in the sport has nothing to do with it.