How to hit a curveball

Work with Coaches ...

Going over the pitchers game plans, patterns and pitching arsenals is important for being able to work on being prepared as a batter.

Some batters can see the spin on the ball - from the way the laces make different patterns as the ball heads to the plate.

Other times the pitchers can also have a subtle 'tell' of what pitch they are going to throw - whether it is the way they put the ball in the glove, release point, etc.

My personal experience is that the curveball is an evil invention put on the planet by fascist strikeout artists to make mediocre utility players look bad at the plate when combined with upper 80's fastballs.

Make sure that the pitcher can throw the curve for a strike first if you have difficulty with it.

When in doubt - let the curveball hit you, but make sure that you look like you were trying to get out of the way. It hurts a whole lot less than the gas.

Then hope that someone who can identify and punish hanging breaking balls can send one deep into the outfield, or better yet out of the park.

If on base percentage was in vogue when I was still playing baseball perhaps I would have had a better shot... except for having the bad habit of mailing throws from third into the dugout more often than not.

One of the problems with loving Mike Schmidt is that it sometimes makes you want to play a position that you might not be completely suited for.

 

I love this post........

 

Best advice I ever heard on this subject was "Less than two strikes, don't swing at it".

After that, let it get deep and think going to the opposite field with it.

 

Hey This Is The Pitch !!

Curveball is easy to hit, now a rise ball leaving the strike zone at 65 mph @ 43 feet, now that's a challenge !! 1.2 seconds to react...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1673952/jennie_finch_how_to_throw_a_rise_ball/


Sorry , Guru

 

My 2 cents

Now from the Umpire's eyes. First of all, there are not many High School pitchers that can throw 3 curve balls for a strike, so depending on the count, take the curve and if it is a strike, just tip your hat. Now when you get behind in the count you might HAVE to hit it. I always taught when hitting a fastball to divide the ball into thirds, and hit the middle third. When hitting a curve, split the ball in half, and hit the top half. But the biggest thing that I notice is that ALMOST EVERY at bat the pitcher will give you a beautiful fastball that just says "hit me out of the park if you can" but way too many times the batter gets excited, pulls off, or opens too early etc and swings and misses. I would suggest that the batter does what the truly great hitters do and when you see that fastball STAY CALM AND HIT IT. IMO

 

If Madison throws either one, just tip your hat and walk away.

 

years ago...

... when the Gman was around 8 or 9 years old, we were at a winter camp where Paul Faulk was an instructor. At the time, Paul was a scout with the Rays (he's now a national cross checker with the Braves).

A friend of mine, who had an older son, asked Paul what it was that separated the the ones that made it in baseball from the ones that don't.

Here's what Coach Faulk said... "Billy, when it comes right down to it, there are two things that separate 'em... p&$$@ (a certain part of the female anatomy) and the curve ball! If a boy can avoid the first one and hit the second one, he can go far in this game!"