Why do girls stand at the front of the box?

[Dtwn92]

Hey Jbooth thanks for the insight, I thought you were asking a question not looking for debate. My badddd

 

[Greenmonsters]

Well, the defense needs to know the hitter. When I played, I crowded the plate and they threw inside, and I still killed 'em.
Most hitters can't handle inside heat.

Also, I was suggesting curves at her that break in. How does she do on those?

I still think having your front foot at the front edge of the plate after stride or weight shift, gives you the ability to hit anything. I see no need to move farther up than that.

If I'm facing Jennie Finch, I'm getting my back foot on top of the back line.

And then Jenny will snip the front corners w/ outside curves and inside screws and bury the drop in the dirt! What then?

Its a game of adjustments. The standard, center of the batters box stance typically is used and recommended because it is a middle ground conceding as little as possible - you leave some holes but no gaping holes. If one hole is getting exploited consistently, you need to make an adjustment i.e., if what you're doing isn't working, adjust your strategy. If a hitter is confident they can catch up to the FB, and they're beating the pitcher's drop into the ground, why not move up so you can get it a little higher or, better yet, bait the P into coming in w/ the heat.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Hey Jbooth thanks for the insight, I thought you were asking a question not looking for debate. My badddd

FWIW, I usually learn more from the debates and discussions than I do from the answers themselves. You got a problem with that LOL

 

[Cannonball]

Jim, first my daughter typically stands as in your top picture. However, she does adjust to what the pitcher is throwing and again based upon whether she thinks the pitcher can beat her with a fastball. Your "strike zone" does not demonstrate the "two balls out" (width of two softballs and not baseballs) given a majority of times this year by umps in college games my daughter played in. You also have to understand what pitcher practice throwing and what catchers/coaches call. I'd bet that for my dd not one pitcher this year threw a breaking pitch at her knees. If they had, she would have been hit and on base. I also think it depends upon how aggressive your hitter is. My child is very aggressive and trying to knock down fences. I will admit that her strike out rate was a lot higher than ever before in her career but most of that has to do with being back in the box and the ump calling two balls out. When she decided to move up and drive those pitches to right center, her strikeouts dropped.

 

[SBFAMILY]

I see this all the time in high school. Here is a post from someone that I respect that has coached on the elite level.

Additionally coaches that MAKE you stand in the front of the batters box are not very smart in my opinion as that changes your timing and rhythm and if the pitcher has a fast ball and can change speeds they own the hitter….that is a 7 foot adjustment and that affects timing! You have tried to create a data base or sometimes I term it a swing DNA so you can react to the ball and your brain recalls the approximate speed, recognizes spin or movement and tells your body and hands be here or there and hit the ball.

Then you start programming your body by practicing and relying on your program and data you are gathering tobecome instinctive and then the coach tells you to move up in the box and wipes out your data base in one sentence, “Move up in the box because I said so!” I have never seen MLB or NPF players do this at their level so why does the high school coach think it is going to work?

Again this is one of those things I scratch my head and wonder what the coach is thinking and what data do they have to support doing this?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I've seen coaches direct players to move up in the box at the WCWS.

 

[JAD]

I've been watching quite a bit of girls high school ball this year, and I noticed that very few hitters stand at the back of the box, and many are at the very front. They set up like this even when a hard thrower is pitching.

Do softball coaches teach this, and if so, WHY?

Do the math. If a pitcher is throwing 60 mph and you setup in the front of the box instead of the back, you just added 5 mph to her pitch. From the front, you now have the same amount of time to get to the ball as if she was throwing 65 instead of 60.

Is there some other factor that I don't know about, that makes it better to move up?

To ME, moving to the front is the same as allowing the pitcher to move the rubber 3 feet closer to the plate to pitch.

Batters move up in the box because it is easier to adjust their reaction time to the shorter distance, than it is to adjust to the movement of a good curve, screw, drop, or rise ball.

 

[jbooth]

And then Jenny will snip the front corners w/ outside curves and inside screws and bury the drop in the dirt! What then?

I can still hit those from my position if they go through the zone.

Its a game of adjustments. The standard, center of the batters box stance typically is used and recommended because it is a middle ground conceding as little as possible - you leave some holes but no gaping holes. If one hole is getting exploited consistently, you need to make an adjustment i.e., if what you're doing isn't working, adjust your strategy. If a hitter is confident they can catch up to the FB, and they're beating the pitcher's drop into the ground, why not move up so you can get it a little higher or, better yet, bait the P into coming in w/ the heat.

Sure, you should adjust if necessary, I just don't think an adjustment all the way to the front of the box is necessary.

 

[jbooth]

I see this all the time in high school. Here is a post from someone that I respect that has coached on the elite level.

Additionally coaches that MAKE you stand in the front of the batters box are not very smart in my opinion as that changes your timing and rhythm and if the pitcher has a fast ball and can change speeds they own the hitter….that is a 7 foot adjustment and that affects timing! You have tried to create a data base or sometimes I term it a swing DNA so you can react to the ball and your brain recalls the approximate speed, recognizes spin or movement and tells your body and hands be here or there and hit the ball.

Then you start programming your body by practicing and relying on your program and data you are gathering tobecome instinctive and then the coach tells you to move up in the box and wipes out your data base in one sentence, “Move up in the box because I said so!” I have never seen MLB or NPF players do this at their level so why does the high school coach think it is going to work?

Again this is one of those things I scratch my head and wonder what the coach is thinking and what data do they have to support doing this?

Probably none, only "conventional wisdom" or what they were told would work.

You're right that the brain trains itself based upon what it sees from a particular position. When you change the position, the brain is confused. I know that from umpiring. I set up in the same place every pitch and my eyes and brain learned the zone. Once in awhile you would get a big catcher who would setup strange and would make me change my position, and "boom" strike zone was lost.

 

[jbooth]

Batters move up in the box because it is easier to adjust their reaction time to the shorter distance, than it is to adjust to the movement of a good curve, screw, drop, or rise ball.

This could be true, but I'm very doubtful.