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[FiveFrameSwing]

You are getting confused here... a riseball is a ball that rises. Rise balls rise at different angles depending on the pitchers delivery and release point. A good pitcher can throw a rise ball for a strike that does not rise or drop.. starts just above knees and remains on plane.. why can they do this? Because of the back spin applied. A good pitcher can also throw a rise ball that rises slightly for a strike, they can also throw it for a strike out pitch out of the zone. Will a rise thrown for a strike have less rise than one thrown head high.. of course, that's just dumb. What's to disagree with here? No different than curve ball thrown for a strike vs one thrown in the dirt..

Where is the confusion in what you are responding to ... "Sounds like you may be about to agree that a riseball, thrown for a 'called strike', will not be 'rising' as it crosses the plate".

Are you disagreeing with the 'blue' above ... because if you are, then you are wrong ... and if you are not disagreeing then there is no 'confusion' on my part.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Of course the barrel starts above the ball.. and initially it is swung down.. does it need to be leveled off to successfully (consistently) get behind a riseball type pitch in the strike zone.. does it need to be swung on a slight upward plane to successfully get behind a pitch hurled by a baseball pitcher?

I see many young developing hitters. A somewhat common flaw is an over emphasis on trying to swing upwards into impact and not understanding that the 'swing' is actually a 'swing'.

Seriously ... understand 'release'. Perhaps for you, understanding 'autopilot' would help.

 

[Cannonball]

But you do teach them how to hit a riseball which you previously mentioned. Hands flat swing fast.. I believe it was. Would you ask a baseball player to swing this way?

Yes for an up and in fastball in the zone.

I find these discussions really interesting to see how others view the swing and what they teach. I wish there was more what they teach and drills.

 

[Cannonball]

Slightly upward, not getting behind the ball. Notice the shoulder plane. Her timing wasn't perfect, so she didn't intersect the ball. If her swing path was more level, she would of been behind the ball better and possibly got a piece of it.

Had my hitter swung at that pitch, I would not be happy. That pitch, imo, is a ball.

 

[_MIA_]

???

Are we still discussing this action here?

Not really....

 

[julray]

Where is the confusion in what you are responding to ... "Sounds like you may be about to agree that a riseball, thrown for a 'called strike', will not be 'rising' as it crosses the plate".

Are you disagreeing with the 'blue' above ... because if you are, then you are wrong ... and if you are not disagreeing then there is no 'confusion' on my part.

This argument is becoming circular.. I already stated

"Will a rise thrown for a strike have less rise than one thrown head high.. of course, that's just dumb. What's to disagree with here? No different than curve ball thrown for a strike vs one thrown in the dirt.."

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Not really....

Good. I was reading comments that I thought were associated with this GIF and scratching my head.

 

[Cannonball]

I see many young developing hitters. A somewhat common flaw is an over emphasis on trying to swing upwards into impact and not understanding that the 'swing' is actually a 'swing'.

Seriously ... understand 'release'. Perhaps for you, understanding 'autopilot' would help.

That is why I don't really talk much about swing up or swing down. In fact, I rarely talk about that. Instead, I simply want them to be able to adjust to balls in the zone and not out of the zone. In teaching the mechanics I teach and since I emphasis pitches in all locations, the hitter learns to adjust per ball position without being told to swing down or up. The cue "hands flat fast" is simply a cue to hit balls up. Some of you will recall when I used to talk a lot, back in the day, about the plane of the shoulders and the plane of the bat. I really don't speak much to that. I guess what I am saying is that I keep this stuff really simple.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

This argument is becoming circular.. I already stated

"Will a rise thrown for a strike have less rise than one thrown head high.. of course, that's just dumb. What's to disagree with here? No different than curve ball thrown for a strike vs one thrown in the dirt.."

Great, so now you also agree that there was no confusion on my part when I wrote "Sounds like you may be about to agree that a riseball, thrown for a 'called strike', will not be 'rising' as it crosses the plate".

You are coming across as trying to argue on what you eventually admit to agreeing with. It's a bit odd.

 

[julray]

Had my hitter swung at that pitch, I would not be happy. That pitch, imo, is a ball.

So why bother teaching how to hit it then? Good hitters get fooled as well.. Ideally you are not swinging at this pitch, they still need to get this pitch when called upon.