Bat Speed -- Baseball Hitting Forum

Posted by: rql () on Tue May 6 19:47:10 2003

I have not yet read or heard of a lucid approach to adjusting swing timing or teaching how to hit the off speed pitch. Statements such as “stay back” or “wait longer” or “keep you hands back longer” just don’t make much sense to me as a teaching tool. Not swinging at the curve works in Little League and maybe through High School ..but doesn’t cut it at the Collegiate or Pro levels. Some one said in the April discussions that maybe some “new adjustment on the fly” is what may be needed. So…hitting guru’s what do we teach?

This is probably one of the hardest parts of hitting that eliminates most kids from the game.However the ones that do have success often have a mental end going on that has them aware that an offspeed pitch is possible and they are prepared for 2 pitches.How to prepare for both is the key.I feel that in their load process they look for fastball and if they get it they speed up a littlein the timing stride and have a quick tight rotation to get the barrel where it needs to be .If they get a curve the vision must pick up the spin quickly and also the awareness that a curve has a spot it starts at for a strike and a spot for a ball.This all has to be programmed in before the ball is thrown so you can react to what you see.Now the tough part and the mechanic as I see it is that the normal swing goes from back to center in rotation,the load is back and you toe touch and go for fastball to center as you swing.What a hitter making this adjustment does is that they have strided a little more to in between dead red and set for curve only.Now they are under control and they can slow the toe touch or just touch while they are fully loaded and let the ball come and then cut it loose.There are times when you are just sitting for fb and if you can just let the curve go like 3-1 or 2-0 if you get it then prepare for both the next pitch.What you don't want to do is have a guy you are trying to catch up to his heat and get jammed going in between with stride.Play with the preparation to get to toe touch and work from there.

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> I have not yet read or heard of a lucid approach to adjusting swing timing or teaching how to hit the off speed pitch.  Statements such as “stay back” or “wait longer” or “keep you hands back longer” just don’t make much sense to me as a teaching tool.  Not swinging at the curve works in Little League and maybe through High School ..but doesn’t cut it at the Collegiate or Pro levels.  Some one said in the April discussions that maybe some “new adjustment on the fly” is what may be needed.  So…hitting guru’s what do we teach?
> 
> This is probably one of the hardest parts of hitting that eliminates most kids from the game.However the ones that do have success often have a mental end going on that has them aware that an offspeed pitch is possible and they are prepared for 2 pitches.How to prepare for both is the key.I feel that in their load process they look for fastball and if they get it they speed up a littlein the timing stride and have a quick tight rotation to get the barrel where it needs to be .If they get a curve the vision must pick up the spin quickly and also the awareness that a curve has a spot it starts at for a strike and a spot for a ball.This all has to be programmed in before the ball is thrown so you can react to what you see.Now the tough part and the mechanic as I see it is that the normal swing goes from back to center in rotation,the load is back and you toe touch and go for fastball to center as you swing.What a hitter making this adjustment does is that they have strided a little more to in between dead red and set for curve only.Now they  are under control and they can slow the toe touch or just touch while they are fully loaded and let the ball come and then cut it loose.There are times when you are just sitting for fb and if you can just let the curve go like 3-1 or 2-0 if you get it then prepare for both the next pitch.What you don't want to do is have a guy you are trying to catch up to his heat and get jammed going in between with stride.Play with the preparation to get to toe touch and work from there.

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