Posted by: george stanley (saint_george13@yahoo.com) on Fri Jan 4 13:37:11 2008

> > Guys,
> > Lots of talk here about having a hitting plans.
> > IMO if you want to develop young hitters they must learn their strike zones by swinging the bat.It's about controlled aggression.The more strike zone competency you have, the tougher out you become.That small zone you can control, opens up a larger area for the pitcher to access. You start to get into two strike counts because you are taking too many pitches, you are in trouble. Just look at the 2 strike batting averages in the Big Leagues. Tommy Davis, 2 time batting champ in the NL, when asked how he hit with 2 strikes said "hit the ball before you get 2 strikes on you."
> >
> > AS a young player you don't learn to effectively cover a larger strike zone by taking pitches & shrinking your strike zone.You learn what you can & can't hit by swinging the bat. Then you try to master the areas that give you trouble & after time eliminate those areas of the zone that you can't handle. Of course if pitchers can consistently access those areas you have to keep working on them.
> >
> > Forget about wearing pitchers out, knock them out. There is no way a walk is as good as a hit unless it's the bottom of the 9th in a tie game. The thing that gets in the way of hitters' development is the scoreboard and coaches who are more concerned about the W's & L's over the development. There is plenty of time for that as well as playing within the team concept, etc. With all the year around play we are seeing know, isn't there more time to develop players?( The test is always the game environment.) IMO if you walk in a travel league game or tournament, you put in a runner & hit again.That way you are eventually on or out by virtue of your ability to swing the bat. This benefits your better players who get walked all the time & it forces your lesser players to swing the bat.
> >
> > Sorry for the rant.
> >
> > JW
>
>
> JW,
>
> I say teach the mechanics that will help you cover a bigger strike zone.
>
> Graylon

hello jw!

VERY well said about learning to swing at a strike... most hitters & coaches forget this is the first order of business!!! seems soobvious, yet so many hitters are taking first pitch lollipops because coaches are preaching about working the pitch count...never mind that!! you got a bat.. you're up there to swing the bat... so swing it!!! i ask my hitters "when you get in the box, what are you trying to do?"... i have never gotten anything but "i dunno, get a hit!".. that's ok, but not GOAL SPECIFIC enough for me.. all my hitters now answer "i am not only looking, i am READY to rip a dead-red-straight-as-a-nail fast ball below the belt on the inner half...
AND IF I GET IT I WILL NOT MISS IT!!" i believe this is the road to glory... if you ask a hitter what he wants, he should say the above pitch is the pitch that he has the best chance of drillng.. but many coaches will tell them never mind that pitch if it happens to be the first pitch... HUH?!!?!? if 85% of the coaches had their way, reggie jackson never would have performed the greatest hitting achievement in modern baseball history,(done by exactly ONE player out of how many?) when he HIT 3 CONSECUTIVE FIRST PITCH FASTBALLS IN THE SEATS IN A WORLD SERIES GAME.. a perfect example of you only being able to achieve success if you can conceive success..ask kirby puckett or lou brock, who feasted on pitchers trying to throw a getmeover fb on the first pitch.. these guys refused to jump in the 0-1 or 0-2 hole.. that is definitely the key to success.. to be ready to rip & not miss first pitch lollipops..as well as other hitter's count pitches, such as 1-0,2-0,2-1,3-1... these are the conts you must be looking for your pitch in your spot & not miss it when you get it!!
this pitch count thing... bad. you are right to preach looking for good pitches to hit.. most people don't realize the majority of the time the winning team scores more runs in one inning than the losers do in the whole game.. so the mindset should be try to score early & often, hopefully looking for the big inning.. try to jump out in front & let the other team play catchup.. which is a lot harder to do..
my boy gray wants to never mind being centrally positioned in the box where you can reach most good pitches in the strike zone... rather he would have a hitter change his swing in midstroke to chase pitches he can't handle in the first place..i say leave them alone altogether.. on the other hand, i say most hitters need to move forward in the box AND closer to the plate, so they are much like barry bonds... within easy reach of the most hittable pitches... & leave the rest alone.. but that is a mindset for older more experienced hitters, rather than young boys who are still learning their stroke & capabilities..