Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Sat Nov 6 23:08:59 2004

> If one is late pulling the ball, the ball is either hit straight-away, or to the opposite field.
> >
>
> Or popped up (bat hasn't angled up into the pitch plane yet so you hit the bottom of the ball)
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> or grounded to opposite side (bat was in the pitch plane but barrel was still angled back and down)
>
> I will admit that I've been playing with hitting the away pitch back through the middle.
>
>Hi Jim,

I believe that if a person works on quickness on the inside pitch while standing close to the plate, the hitter can cover over areas of the strike zone easier.

If a person has tremendous bat speed, all they need to do is apply BHT on pitches inside, BHT / THT on pitches down the middle, and THT on outside pitches. If performed correctly, all fastballs can be pulled, regardless of what area of the strike zone that they are thrown in.

I know that Steve Ferroli, a disciple of Ted Williams, argues that a spray-hitter results in the following problem: there is "too much" for the hitter to "learn" and time." He then postulates that this is because, by using this approach, the pitcher can use the "depth" of the strike zone against the hitter. Opposite-field hitting, according to Ferroli, is "a mistake, not an intention," at least the vast majority of the time.

I understand that you express concerns over the bat breaking on inside pitches of this nature; nevertheless, Ferroli postulates that the pull hitter has enough bat speed to have balls that are stroked improperly wind up as "blood hits." In fact, I saw an ESPN reel of Frank Thomas in the past when he was jammed on an inside pitch, and still hit it down the line for a home run.

What about pitches over the middle of the plate? Well, all a hitter has to do is apply slightly more THT to elongate the arms. Although the body will not rotate as much as on an inside pitch, as Mankin points out, the bat will be traveling at a faster speed than an inside pitch due to its wider arc. This means that, although one must always strive for optimal quickness of pitches inside, he or she has more leeway on pitches away from him or her. Following this reasoning, a ball on the middle of the plate will be pulled harder than a ball inside, and one has more time to perform this task correctly.

Finally, on balls that are on the outside corner of the plate, one must apply pure THT to induce the widest sweep of the bat-head; as might be expected, these balls can be pulled with the most authority, despite the fact that the body will not rotate as much.

Now, let's presume for a moment that a pitcher throws a slower pitch than expected. Well, ironically, this puts the pull field orientee at a distinct advantage; he has more time to hit the pitch. Though fooled, a person like Willie Stargell will use the time to generate more bat-speed, as suggested in an article in "Baseball Digest" referencing why some might believe a slow pitch will travel faster than a heater.

I hope this is more detailed, Jim. Thanks for the response, and feel free to ask questions that I did not raise.

BHL