Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Fri Mar 26 07:12:45 2004

BHL,
> >
> > That is absolutely ridiculous. The reason Mankin and other coaches stress trying to hit the ball to the ceter of the field is because this maintains proper bat path and other aspects of the swing. 99% of the time if a player is looking to pull the ball and it is an outside pitch, he will end up hitting a weak ground ball or flare to the outfield. Nice try, but your new philosophy is just plane dumb. I can say with confidence that there is probably not one major league player that has this approach when they hit. And...What if the player has better power to the opposite field (as some players do)? Would you tell them to try and hit an inside pitch the opposite way? Kind of tough to do?
>
> These are great directions for a SLUMP !

Hi Guys,

The people to which I refer are individuals who have power to the pull field, but lack in power straightaway, or to right (assuming that the batter is right-handed). If a person has better power to center field, or to left, then obviously this advice would not apply. But what about individuals who like to pull every pitch? They have every right to employ their own philosophy when gearing up to hit.

Now, I am not saying that coaches should force any one perspective one anyone. Rather, I believe in a laissez-faire approach to this important aspect of hitting. I have heard home run derby commentators say that many individuals, if we exclude Pujols, try to pull the ball in home run derby. In fact, practically all of Giambi's home runs in his record breaking derby (ie., prior to Pujols) went to the pull side of the field. Personally, I am big (i.e., 5'9" 210), but what about the small guy who can only hit over the left field fence. Tell him to change to approach, and he will probably respond with expletives. This is not a good choice in my perspective.

The ultimate goal in hitting is the home run, and this is most likely to occur, as Williams' "Science of Hitting" argues, when balls are pulled. In fact, I would take a player who hits .245-45-102-2 anyday over a hitter who hits .370-20-75-15. Home runs get individuals into the Hall of Fame.

I hope you can understand my point of view a little better. If not, ask a specific question, and I will try to clarify my argument.

Sincerely,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com

P.S. I believe that hitting home runs supercedes all else--except for RBI's--in the world of baseball, which is why I believe McGriff should be in the Hall of Fame, and Smith should not.