Timing of the stride
- Thread starter Roz
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Be at toe touch when the pitcher is at the K position . Then when they are on deck, practice against the pitcher and adjust because each pitcher is different.
- May 13, 2008
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We tell them to get to toe touch when the arm is at the top of the circle, but the reality is that there is some time between when the brain says go and the body responds. What you'll see in video is that most get to toe touch when the ball is about halfway to home plate after release. The key is to be able to be able to "keep the weight and hands back" until it is time to make contact.
FiveFrameSwing
Banned
Roz ... very very very good question. Let me re-phrase it slightly ... because it is the key to the holy grail of hitting. Instead I'll assume you asked ... "is there a point in the pitcher's motion when one should initiate their lower body running start".
The answer to that question is 'yes'.
I refer to this as "capturing the first inch" ... the very first inch of the lower body running start ... it is 'slow' and it is 'early' within the pitcher's motion. It is 'slow' and it is something that you 'flow' into. You do surrender control to your rearside ... but the initiation is 'slow' and 'early' ... and you allow it to 'flow' with 'rhythm' ... which is another key.
So how early?
Don't laugh ... about 360 degrees prior to the pitcher's release ... on their first pass of their throwing hand past their rear hip ... that is when I want to "capture the first inch". From here you use rhythm ... either a "swwwiiiinnnnnnggggggNOW", "kaaaaaaaPOW", "eeeeeeeeeeRRR", a "1-e-and-a", or whatever works for the hitter ... but you want 'rhythm' ... and that rhythm needs to become part of a hitter's foundation. You "capture the first inch" 360 degrees prior to release, you "find the ball at release", and you attempt to track the ball to contact.
Very good question ... and it will lead you to the holy grail of hitting ... beginning 'early', 'slow' ... with the use of 'rhythm'.
It is often said that the biggest problem in baseball hitting is not getting the front foot down in time. Soriano had a big leg lift. I read where this spring, Rudy Jaramillo has convinced him to reduce his leg lift. He is hitting better and striking out less because his timing to the pitch is improved. Jaramillo said he wasn't getting into toe touch soon enough. Good post.
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Absolutely, I fixed it! I had a brain cramp.
Epstein used to get asked this question all the time on the forum at his old website. He said that hitters have been asking that question since the game of baseball was invented. His basic advice as I recall was that a hitter can't be late getting the front foot down. However, he also warned against being early and having a pause in every swing. He felt that the swing should flow.
I've told my DD that she can't get the front foot down late. Once that ground rule is established, then we work on ways to improve her timing so she is on-time. Epstein said that something like 80%; or it might have been closer to 85%, of all swings in MLB are not perfectly timed swings. Most swings involve the hitter making some kind of on-the-fly adjustment.
Personally, I would never tell a hitter to start their stride at a certain point in a pitcher's windup. I prefer to focus on how to extend the amount of time the hitter can stay in the stretch part of the swing sequence (the amount of time the hitter can keep their head close to centered between their feet as they come forward after they pick up their front foot). As well as the art of anticipating pitches in various situations. As well as the technique of "sinking into the front leg" to buy time when early (see Katie Cochran, Williams, Bonds, Manny).
Some of this stuff is pretty advanced and is for older kids. If the kids are on the young side, I would probably just tell them that they can't be late getting the front foot down and leave it at that until they get older.
I'm a firm believer that kids need to develop their own sense of rhythm and timing based on their level of athleticism, their style, and their knowledge of the game.
My DD had her first tournament this weekend. She said she was early starting her stride up until they got into the fourth game. She still hit well in the first three games, but she said she didn't really square one up good until the fourth game when they faced a pitcher who was a little faster. She keeps her weight and hands back really well, so she can be a little early and still get a decent swing off. This is where the bat technology comes into play. In FP the bats have pretty big sweet spots, so you can be a little early or a little late and still hit the ball fairly hard.
In her first at bat, she got behind 0 - 2. She told me that she immediately started thinking that this was a good count for the pitcher to throw a change-up. She said she was thinking change-up and was going to try and foul off anything hard. Next pitch was something hard and she fouled it off. She then figured that if the pitcher didn't throw the change-up in an 0 -2 count, then she probably didn't have one or at least a good one, so she then switched to sitting on the hard stuff. Which is what she got the rest of the at bat. I'm not saying her logic is good or bad, I'm just giving an example of how a hitter might anticipate the type pitch that is coming to help with timing.
I've told my DD that she can't get the front foot down late. Once that ground rule is established, then we work on ways to improve her timing so she is on-time. Epstein said that something like 80%; or it might have been closer to 85%, of all swings in MLB are not perfectly timed swings. Most swings involve the hitter making some kind of on-the-fly adjustment.
Personally, I would never tell a hitter to start their stride at a certain point in a pitcher's windup. I prefer to focus on how to extend the amount of time the hitter can stay in the stretch part of the swing sequence (the amount of time the hitter can keep their head close to centered between their feet as they come forward after they pick up their front foot). As well as the art of anticipating pitches in various situations. As well as the technique of "sinking into the front leg" to buy time when early (see Katie Cochran, Williams, Bonds, Manny).
Some of this stuff is pretty advanced and is for older kids. If the kids are on the young side, I would probably just tell them that they can't be late getting the front foot down and leave it at that until they get older.
I'm a firm believer that kids need to develop their own sense of rhythm and timing based on their level of athleticism, their style, and their knowledge of the game.
My DD had her first tournament this weekend. She said she was early starting her stride up until they got into the fourth game. She still hit well in the first three games, but she said she didn't really square one up good until the fourth game when they faced a pitcher who was a little faster. She keeps her weight and hands back really well, so she can be a little early and still get a decent swing off. This is where the bat technology comes into play. In FP the bats have pretty big sweet spots, so you can be a little early or a little late and still hit the ball fairly hard.
In her first at bat, she got behind 0 - 2. She told me that she immediately started thinking that this was a good count for the pitcher to throw a change-up. She said she was thinking change-up and was going to try and foul off anything hard. Next pitch was something hard and she fouled it off. She then figured that if the pitcher didn't throw the change-up in an 0 -2 count, then she probably didn't have one or at least a good one, so she then switched to sitting on the hard stuff. Which is what she got the rest of the at bat. I'm not saying her logic is good or bad, I'm just giving an example of how a hitter might anticipate the type pitch that is coming to help with timing.
One of the best things I've ever seen Tewks post. Thank God he made that video. I was going to say the same thing about when the best hitters actually come down (not early) but didn't want to hear the chorus of negative feedback.
