Posted by: toti (pe@hotmail.com) on Mon Aug 18 10:01:05 2003

Is Todd Helton the Greatest hitter today statistically? Does he have the best mechanics? Could he be a better all around hitter than Bonds? If not, then who is better than Bonds today?
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> > > i think it is important to point out that being the best hitter does not necessairily mean having the best mechanics...
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> > hi bart
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> > damn right!
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> > you can put up great mechanics and still be late or early and you will suck..but with style. we have a few of those in my team.
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> > wanna know why? because timing is the name of the game, not baseball. two factors that nobody ever talks about: mental side of hitting and in-depth perception. those two make up for 50 percent of hitting. the difference between winning and losing. Indepth improves slowly with time. and the mental side is learning the pitcher and anticipating the pitches and working the count. a great hitter is an intelligent hitter. however all they talk about is mechanics everywhere. why? i dont know. too many dont know this game.
> > i played last saturday and i went 1 in 4. why? i dont know. my mechanics are rotational and solid now. what was missing? how the hell do i know? i couldnt adjust my moves to the pitches. however i hit a long drive to center field for a hit. why? because my timing was dead on. that ball left the bat in a hurry. man that´s it. i was prepared for a hard ball. I anticipated that pitch. so anticipation is a big part of timing. i knew the pitcher and i knew he threw down the middle so i waited for that ball and..got it. why do pitchers succeed in the majors in their first year and then dont do so well in the next two years? people see them and learned them...and anticipate them. ,, and still we consistantly take away the pitcher factor off the equation. Granted you will hit better with better mechanics but that´s only one side of the equation.
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> > ..bye
> > toti
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> the reason mechanics are talked about on almost every hitting forum and place is simple: good solid mechanics ALLOW you to put yourself in a situation to succeed .. with bad mechanics .. even if you knew what pitch is coming you would probably be real crappy.
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> learning the game, learning how to hit in different counts, learning the pitchers in your league .. and most importantly making adjustments is what keeps you in the game.
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> scott


hi scott

dont agree with you. some players in the mlb succeed in spite of their crappy mechanics. reason being they time the pitches well. they adjust to pitches in-out-up-in.

i have seen perfect like rotational hitters fail and suck because their timing is off. i give you Ichiro as an example. half the time he is hitting it on the ground or getting a piece of it, weight on the front foot, casting 90 percent of his swings and stills manages to put up great numbers by the end of the season. he is as bad as it gets however he is a great timer and makes contact consistently. i am sorry for all of you mechanics purists but it is the truth. i just played baseball long enough to realize that there is more to baseball. a good player is a number of traits not only mechanics. best hitter in my team casts the outside pitch and still manages to hit a line drive to right field with casting arms and bat in 2 runs and make it a double while he is at it. that´s baseball. i dont care what it is.

i am a big fan of mechanics and i do believe they are important but when it comes to the game of baseball, nothing can garantee success. i practice my rotational mechanics everyday and i think they will take me far..some day but the fact remains that all the best guys in my team are damn far from perfect mechanics and still put up the numbers out there. i agree with rotational you can hit the ball harder and through the ball. i have been able to hit the ball with the sweet spot and everything but it is a long way to success from there. why? other factors are involved in productivity as a hitter. the guy that bats second in my team is batting 400 and i am batting 200 some and he admits that my mechanics are far better than his. he actually tries to copy me. and i say man keep doing it your way because look at my numbers. i dont know. he is a linear but with good contact and works the count well...better than me. i work the count well but when i know that the fast ball is coming in 2-0, 3-1, i get over excited and hit a hard ground ball while he is able to put the same ground ball betw. the gaps.


i dont know what it is but it is out there. there are too many intangibles... do you know what a man is thinking while he is batting? if we knew how barry bonds works the count we could probably come up with great numbers? "your eyes will deceive you" kind of thing. even if we knew what is his mental approach we might fail too because the mental approach has to much who you are as a baseball player. anyway, hope i explained myself

thanks

toti