Posted by: george stanley (saint_george13@yahoo.com) on Sun Dec 2 08:20:39 2007

> THG states...""A hitter who is away from the plate would seem to rotate at least as much on an outside pitch as he has to rotate more just to be able to cover that part of the plate on an outside strike.""
>
> Sorry but there is less rotation to cover the outside half, and more rotation to bring the barrel to the inside half.
>
> More rotation equals less coverage of the plate.
>
> More rotation plus far distance from the plate equals K.
>
> Jimmy

hi jimmy!

these equations are all well & good.. but in the real world, what does it mean? how do you correct the problem?
how do you fix less coverage of the plate?
how do you not K?
sounds to me like the hitter is too far off the plate, which in my observations is the case FAR too much of the time. hitters are for the most part too far off the plate,, they say "well, i don't wanna get jammed." to which i say get a longer bat.. this would mean a lighter bat as well.. most hitters carry a bat which is too heavy for them in the first place... it's a penis-envy thing, where one big guy on the squad thinks "hey-i'm-the-biggest-guy-&-i-got-the-biggest-weenie-so-i-gotta-have-the-biggest-bat".. so HE has a too heavy bat, then everyone else thinks "well-that-guy's-weenie-ain't-bigger-than-mine-so-i-should-carry-a-x-ounce bat-too".. then everyone has a too heavy bat!!there's a lot more of that goin around than you might think..

so get a longer lighter bat & get up closer to where the business is actually going on... at the plate! most guys forget the most important
part is of hitting a baseball.. THE BALL MUST COME OVER THE PLATE! i know that's obvious.. but then why are the hitters standing at the farthest back corner of the box, where they cannot cover a breaking pitch down/away on the black, or 2" outside. (on days when the ump is in a pissy mood). most hitter lose sight of the fact that YOU MUST BE IN A POSITION TO HIT THE BALL NO MATTER WHERE IT PASSES OVER THE PLATE! so there is not room to wiggle when it comes to locating your position in the box... you must be centrally located & close enough to cover the outside corner.. ..
step in the box.. with your knees slightly bent, & your front arm extended straight, place the head of the bat on the ground just outside of the black...i like to have my lead foot about 3 or 4" in front of the front edge of the plate.. from there you cut down the amount of break on a breaking pitch, that is, at that point the ball is going straighter than if you stand another foot farther back in the box.. you stop the pitcher from getting more distance to play you on a breaking pitch... also on a downward breaking pitch, you are less likely to swing over the top of the ball, either missing completely or hitting a DP grounder.. instead you are more likely to hit more of the ball, thus driving it instead of hitting a grounder.. it's a matter alignment! now your feet are in optimum position to swing at an outside pitch without bending over from the waist or dropping your power hand off the bat & turning into a backhanded tennis player.. so NOW when you see an outside pitch & you start to bend over or want to reach out... STOP!!! why? because it is not a strike!! you must learn to leave that pitch alone!! it is the pitcher's pitch.. it is the one he WANTS you to hack at.. for that reason alone, you must let it go.. far more often than not, you will not be able to do much with that pitch.. the few times you get lucky & drop one over the 2nd baseman will be FAR outweighed by far more numerous times you pop up,ground out, or miss completely.. don't forget the first order of business: SWING AT A STRIKE! it also helps to put yourself in a position to hit a strike..makes sense?