Baseball Talk: Hitting, Pitching, Catching Strategy

Re: Re: Hypothetical Situation

totally...but you gotta drink some beers to play effectively

 

Re: Re: Re: Hypothetical Situation

No. At these guys age, they gotta watch Me drink the beers.:cheers:

 

Re: Hypothetical Situation

Don't teach him how to hit.
Put a glove on his hand and teach him location.

 

Re: Re: Hypothetical Situation

LOL

Ok, Ok, but they were "light" rocks......(leave it to a pitcher to find the hole in my description of the potential player - they are trained to find holes in hitters! )

 

Take him to Mike Shildt

 

Thanks, Original. I haven't gotten one of those in a long time.

 

I am a "see it and hit it" guy, too, and I agree that if it ain't broke don't fix it. But I have seen a lot of little leaguers who are good athletes that just rip the ball hitting off the front foot and pulling everything. And a lot of their dads want to know why on earth you'd want to change their swing. What is the idea teaching him to stay back and go the other way on the outside pitch?

It is tempting to leave them alone and watch them succeed at the little league level, but if you don't fix it it will get more and more ingrained and they won't have a chance when they get older with anything off speed or on the outer half.

 

There are quite a few hitters that believe in the Charlie Lau theory of hitting...hitting off the front foot. George Brett, Frank Thomas and Kirk Gibson come to mind.

There are theories to combat theories to hitting a baseball. Personally, I just like to see them hacking. That way I know they are comfortable up there.

If my old coach ( God rest his soul) saw the way some hitters let go of the bat on their follow through, he would have died on the spot. But that's taught, too. You have some hitters that are inside out swingers. Nothing wrong with that, that's their style. But it's not taught.

To me, the bottom line is to be comfortable up there..see it- hit it.

And come see me when you quit feeling comfortable.

 

on teams i coach, my catcher runs the team when in the field, in the dug out he sits next to me, he looks at me before each pitch..this position is the hardest and 1 of the most important on the team...he spends more time on drills than anyone, from catching pens to working on throw downs, to blocking, to framing, to practicing "do or die" plays...on trips to the mound, i talk to the catcher first....no i was not a catcher

outfielders are taught to read the pitches and how to position themselves...if 1 of my outfielders is "bored" during practice or a game; he is not reading situations and positioning himself as they unfold and he will be benched...i did play in the outfield some..

3b is probably the least coached on my teams...he must have quick reflexes and soft hands, throw cross his body while off balance...in practice, he gets rockets hit at him, and know how to read situations

ss and 2b are speed positions, i want someone who can cover from the line to behind 2b..ss must have a strong arm and excellent foot work..they work together on double plays, cut offs, throw downs, holding runners at 2b and picks...

1B like 3b must have quick reflexes, good foot work, soft, quick hands and not afraid to take a ball off the chest; he must be able to keep the ball from going to the fence on errant throws in the dirt, and how to hold runners, and handle picks...

everybody works hard on my team and i expect 100% everytime they cross the white line...

 

Add Hank Aaron to Braves list.
All this goes back to what I stated before about pitching coaches,
everyone cannot have the Tom Seaver delivery, everyone cannot have the Dave Justice swing.
There have been a number of players that have been quite successful with unorthodoxed swings and deliveries.
Nothing works better than the tee and the cage.
I know, most of my high school career I was DH'd for because the coach did not think I could hit.
My senior year I told him that if I did not hit for myself that I was not going to play.
I set a school record @ .433 that stood for 10 years all because I worked my butt off with the tee and in the cage.