Where she hit it LAST TIME &#$*(=

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Mar 2, 2009
311
16
Suffolk, VA
We need to get coaches out of the habit of telling the fielders where the batter hit the ball last at-bat!

Drives me nuts to hear a coach say “ Suzie, she hit to you last time” I HATE that because it does NOT MATTER WHERE she hit the ball last at-bat unless you know where the PITCH was that she hit last time. AND you are pitching to the same spot that next PITCH.


1) *** Unless you know where the pitch location was when she hit to a place in the field, it doesn't matter where she hit the last at-bat! In terms of preparing your fielders, it doesn't matter where she hit the last PITCH unless you are throwing teh next pitch to the same spot!


If I'm calling pithes and a batter hammers a low-inside pitch to left side of the field, I'm probably NOT calling that same pitch next at-bat that it MATTERS I tell my SS "She hit it your way last time!". I might be calling low-away to try and get a weak grounder to 2B side, so telling my SS she hit to her last time doesn't make any sense and ONLY serves to INDICATE to the other fielders they can relax because they aren't expecting a ball hit to them!

2) By a coach yelling out to the fielders to position them when they are calling pitches, that just tells the batter which side of the plate the ball should be pitched to.
*** POINT is fielders SHOULD be getting signs or some indication of pitch location so they learn on their OWN and BASED PITCH-by-PITCH where they need to cheat to or at least be ready for a hard or weak hit ball to them. (Low-inside (3B side of plate) if hit to right side, probably a weaker hit ball, vice left side of field expecting a harder hit ball, but EVERYONE is ready, just ready to field a hard hit or ready to charge a weaker hit or blooper to right side.
 
JMHO - I keep the "unofficial" book for our team (more for me to go over with my dd at home than anything else). On our team, we have a bunch of girls who like to dilly dally around in the field and in the outfield. Drives me bananas. If I don't let them know to get ready, they are liable to get popped square in the face with the ball. If you are ever down here and hear some crazy woman screaming like a banshee "To you, to you", you'll have found our team! Now, we do only play one team in our league (yep, pathetic, I know). By the 2nd game, we pretty much have down where each batter hits and they are very, very consistent. Not sure why that is, but they are. My dd is not consistent at all - she knocks the ball all over the place and, if they don't watch it, will lay a nice little bunt towards 3rd. Mine has also had batting lessons and been coached by the best during school ball, so she has a leg up on the rest of the team. For me, though, it's more of wanting the girls to understand that the ball may be heading their way and to quit picking the clover...sorry if it irritates you! :)
 
Jun 22, 2008
3,731
113
Batters have a tendency to be fairly consistent in where they hit the ball. Yes, some batters go everywhere, but bring up the same batter against the same pitcher several times and the odds are the ball is going to be hit into the same general area. If you dont do it now, start recording all of your own teams hits and your oponents in an electronic score keeping program that has a scatter chart and you will start to see definite patterns in hitters. Is it 100%, absolutely not, but it is probably 60-70% accurate. Just look at pro baseball. They have volumes of scatter charts on every batter against every pitcher and will make huge defensive shifts based on who is at bat. Barry Bonds, they used to empty the whole left side of the field and play 2 outfielders in right field. He is an extreme example, but batters do have tendencies to hit into the same areas of the field.
 
Mar 2, 2009
311
16
Suffolk, VA
good points, but a batter that hits a low-away pitch to 2B side last at bat, and swings at an inside pitch, may very well hit to RIGHT side, unless the ball is hit weakly to SS side and THATS why all fielders need to be ready. Fielders being Ready is based on EACH Pitch and location is critical. TRUE-TRUE-TRUE - SOME BATTERS are ALWAYS late and some batters are strickly PULL hitters, but that's known from charting batters.
*** I understand you want to get ONE girl ready for a ball, but don't you want ALL players ready for a ball that MAY be hit to them? (Same side of plate, ready for hard hit and a pitch AWAY from the side of the plate of a fielder and its probably a weaker hit ball we need to be prepared for.)

I do chart games, for last 7 years and we pitch batters to try and get a batted ball where we prefer it to be hit. Not always succesful, but generally to the side we want.
ie: runners at 1st & 2B and less then 2 out, especially if on-deck batter is pretty god hitter, we want a ground ball to 3B side so we can get a lead runner, so we try and stay low and 3B side of the plate. If there is a good batter at the plate and we want a weak grounder to 2B side, we pitch her low-1B side of plate and let 2B stay DEEP on the pitch for range. Weak hitter and bunt situation = high to side of plate we play a corner in on to get pop-up to.
Some things to think about.
 

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