Baseball Talk: Hitting, Pitching, Catching Strategy

I'd like to make one more comment before we get into the technical aspect.

There are so many theories on hitting and most people tap in to what they are most comfortable with. You will find many knowledgeable coaches and instructors who can't even agree where to put your back elbow ( up or down)..NCBball..hehe

Personally, I look at each hitter and their styles. I look for any major "holes" and just try to get them to relax. As long as there are no major fundamental flaws, I just work with quickening their bat drills, hand/eye coordination, muscle memory and forgetting about everything they learned and go up to the plate, "see it- hit it" and hopefully their muscle memory will do what their thought process is telling them.

You can be the best hitting instructor in the world, but if you can't get your player to understand and "feel" what you are saying, forget it...you're wasting each others time.

There are some excellent instructors who know how to "communicate" their wisdom and there are others who might as well be talking to a wall....I guess there are coaches like that, too! Knowledge without communication skills is worthless.

 

Braves: I agree with you totally
(for the most part (with exceptions (kinda))).

Your basic hitting style is ususally set between the ages of 10-14, so, in H.S., what you see is what you get. If your a rotational coach and have a group of linear hitters, you aren't going to have the time to change them sucessfully during the course of a season. The reverse is true also.

Players, you have to ride the horse home that brought you to the dance.

That said, there are certain things I look for in players to increase bat speed and improve timing & tempo, but this will vary according to your swing.

Finally, it's hard initially to differentiate between swing and style. If you look at Jeff Bagwell, that is a style I would NEVER encourage any player to adopt, but he sure can smack the ball. He has adopted a style to overcome weaknesses in his swing. When you look at him at contact, you can't imagine how he torqued his body to get from his starting position to his finish. He can do that because he understood his swing. The opposite end of the spectrum was Cal Ripkin. His swing changed every season (and sometimes seemed to change every week). He also understood his swing to the point that he could "tinker" with it.

The goal of any hitting coach is to get the player to understand what he is doing at the plate... not trying to make a cookie-cutter hitter out of him.

 

Tracking the ball all the way to the point of impact is assential to making solid contact with the bat. I watched several guys struggle to make solid contact for that very reason today. I told one (he ask me) and suggested that he track a couple of pitches without swinging the bat to make sure that that he was seeing the ball all the way in. He did so and proceeded to spank the heck out of the ball. I think that if a player was to make a habit of tracking every pitch to the catchers mit it would be greatly beneficial to his success at the plate. It can also tell you where the catcher is setting up and possibly give some insight to how you might be pitched to.
Hand/eye coordination is an absolute must in this game and from the hitting stand point I agree with Braves that there is no better tool than a tee.

 

Sorry guys about the multiple posts, but this topic brought back memories

There was this one hitting coach I had that was very colorful. Between the chewing, spitting and wiping his mouth, there were not a lot of words that came out and most of those were four letters. He mumbled a lot and you were never sure he was talking to you because you could only hear him as he waddled passed you. I rarely saw him at the cages, but if you asked for his help, he would come over. Well, I asked for his help one day and he said, " %#@#%&". I took that as okay and went to the cage. After hitting a couple buckets of balls, I kept waiting for him to say something. I stopped and walked over and asked him, " what do ya think". He spit on my shoes, looked up and garbled, " what the #%$#$ are you wastin' my time for. If'n it's a strike, hit the g#$#%$#$ ball. And pick up all those D#$%$ balls, too"...and his sage advice worked.

 

Regardless of technique, half of hitting (if not more) requires the proper use of what has been described as the the largest muscle in the male body. With out incorporating this vital muscle in your hitting, your are doomed to fail. This muscle resides between your left and right ear.

 

This is a definate bunt situation....are u playing for 1 run?

 

Do good players make good coaches?
Hmmmm...Some yes...some no...depends upon the individual. Some players are great players but terrible teachers.

Does a coach have to have played baseball? I would think yes ...Most business managers didn't start out as managers they worked their way through the rank and file..... Same with military.....that's why I think the same with coaches.
Fundamental understanding and life experience. NOW....do I think coaches should have continuing education? ABSOLUTELY!

 

There are some excellent instructors who know how to "communicate" their wisdom and there are others who might as well be talking to a wall....I guess there are coaches like that, too! Knowledge without communication skills is worthless




BRAVES...that was a profound & true statement...
Seriously.....we are talking baseball and life!

 

NCBBALL ....Thank You ....for the clarity on the largest muscle in the male body.....I WAS wondering WHERE you were going with that one BUT thankfully....I read your post in it's entirety.

 

Oh Original..you are true to your name