43 feet/Homeruns

No dog in the hunt here folks.......nope, not a HR hitter or a Pitcher, so I'll ask this question first and then I'll give you my answer, what do ya'll think?


Theres been a post or two here and there that more HRs are being hit in HS this year due to the extra 3 feet from the rubber to the plate, does the change actually make a difference?

Fishmans opinion: Maybe, but only on a team by team, or pitcher v. hitter basis. I have a hard time believing thatan extra .005 of a second would result in more homeruns. I'm going with this answer.....the hitters are knocking the crap out of the ball regardless of the distance. JMO

Good Luck To All!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fish

 

I went to the coaches clinic in Charlotte this year. The coach from Alabama was talking abotu when they went to 43' that they totally changed the way they taught hitting. He said with that much more time they could do so much more with they swing and could really start working on hitting for power where at 40' they just tried to put it in play. I do know when colleges went to 43' you started seeing many more homeruns hit and now we are seeing the same in high school. It does make a big difference

 

....thanks for your reply CentralDPal.
I'll ask you this, you post "with so much more time"......just how much time are we talking about here?
I certainly see where a kid who fouls off a ball straight back is dead on that pitch and given an extra hundreth or thousandth of a second could result in big contact. But what about the opportunity of a pitchers pitch having more time to bite or break up, in, down?

Fishpal

 

I think a lot more of these kids have just played a lot, worked hard, perhaps lifted weights, and have been playing high level travel ball for several years now. You have to work hard to become a good hitter, then all of a sudden, move all the pitchers back to 43 feet, and sometimes it's a feast! I do believe the extra 3 feet makes the once dominant pitcher more hittable. But, we all know there are not that many dominant ones out there. I believe it does make a difference for the hitter, but I also believe there are just a lot of good hitters out there right now.

 

3 feet makes a difference to hitters

several years back had an opportunity to hear mike candrea and (i think it was ken erickson) speak at the sc bandits clinic at myrtle beach. what i learned was that even though a pitcher is pitching 60mph from 40 ft, her speed will still be 60mph from 43ft. However, the physiological (and psychological) impression or impact or whatever you want to call it, equates to 3mph per foot difference to the minds eye of the hitter. in other words, the hitter gets the physiological impression that the ball is traveling at 51mph (although its still coming at 60mph!) from 43ft. naturally, the hitting #'s should go up.

my impression is that the hr #'s have gone up. i also believe that the umpires at the high school level arent used to giving the corners that the pitchers got at 40 ft.

 

.....nice post TBird, I wonder though, why would an umpire not give a pitcher the call on the corners of the plate at 43 feet when they called it a strike at 40 feet......
And if the ball is now "seen" from a batter to appear to be 51 mph, then a pitchers off speed pitch must be awesome!

No disrespect TBirdPal at all, but all of the Candreas and Ericksons etc. are not hitting the ball or pitching the ball so how would they know?

I'm loving this thread

Marlin

 

All Good Answers But In My DD's Case---

The people that know my kid know she has quick hands, and that hasn't changed , but what has changed is a different way she looks at the game. Her attitude has helped her with her power. Over the winter she worked out in the weight room with the baseball / softball team. Both coaches Wilt Flowe ( Piedmont baseball head coach) & Tad Baucom ( Piedmont softball head coach) both encouraged her to build her strength, and they had fun doing it. But the real ice breaker was in the beginning of the season she told me out of her own mouth that she has never felt so relaxed in the 13 years of playing softball, and that she was going to have fun her senior year,and this in turn almost gets herself in trouble with coach Baucom, because of her silly antics sometimes during the game. One thing I have studied over the past several years when the body is relaxed it performs much better and clearer than when it is all tensed. Everything works together maybe that is why she is having such a successful year thus far..JMHO

Guru

 

Over the last couple of years the hitting and bat speeds have really improved. Pitchers/ pitch callers use the extra time the batters have to your advantage when facing the big sticks. If you are throwing in the mid 50's a couple of tight inside pitches 2 long strikes (foul balls), 0-2 then its fun time. Use the change up at random unexpected times. Keep the batter off balance and under pressure and her confidence level will plummet. I have seen excellent batters .400 plus batting averages in tears at the end of the game muttering "I just can't hit" after 1 bad game. PITCHERS WIN THE MENTAL BATTLE!! Batters are like predators they sense weakness and will attack when they sense fear. NEVER NEVER show emotion on the mound.