Posted by: RQL () on Wed Dec 13 17:41:29 2000

RQL-
>
> Thanks for your post under "outside pitch..".
>
> I had some questions about how adjustments are made.
>
> You mentioned that you practiced spatial hitting using the tee to help increase the likelihood of hitting it where they ain't-right of 2nd or left of short.Did you do this based on the location of the pitch-pull middle/take away pitch to opposite side or did you try one or the other with the same location(within reason) depending on where the bigger infield hole was or what the situation was?
>
>
> You also mentioned the way Boggs and Gwynn (lefties like you)approached the middle and away pitches.It seems they prefer to keep the bat angle perpendicular to the path of the ball as long as possible by straightening the handpath throught the contact zone.The handpath might be circular before this,but then they would get/keep the hands ahead of the bat longer by straightening the hand path and using less top hand,therefore hitting the ball more inside than flush producing the hit to the opposite field.In this case,I can see why you would say hitting the inside of the ball would not promote a chp(except for the away location).
>
> You also mention that you would do the same thing on the away pitch.Either stay circular and hit the ball deeper over the plate or straighten the handpath slightly when hitting the away pitch less deep/at the front edge of the plate.
>
> The inside ball would use the rotational mechanics,with the very inside ball pulled but kept fair(Piazza adjustment)by tightening/continuing the arc of the handpath resulting in less release(turn) of the bat by contact.
>
> You also say that "pulling" the outside pitch
> is taboo only if it is done by casting(early arm extension).While not taboo,it is difficult to do unless you are a big powerful mcgwire type.
>
> The middle pitch could be handled either way-rotation/pull or the Boggs/Gwynn way which I believe requires straightening of the handpath(later extension of the arms than in the taboo pull the outside situation).
>
> Is this an accurate repeat of your ideas?
>
> My interpretation of Jack's observations is that the acceptable Mcgwire type "pulling"(hitting outside of ball)mechanics are enabled by emphasis on chp and lots of top hand torque at initiation rather than by specific physical attributes(strength,long arms etc.In other words,it is more a matter of learning mechanics as to how productive this can be.If the pitch is middle in there is more emphasis on ongoing torso turn which delays the bathead coming out and provides good plate coverage for getting the sweetspot on the middle pitch.If the player is jammed,tightening the arc of the hand path/lean back/shortening the lead arm can keep the bathead back longer(tophand doesn't release as soon)keeping the ball fair with good elevation and batspeed.This would seem to be a more similar/continuous set of adjustments(chp in all cases) than circular handpath inside/extending handpath outside which is what Schmidt describes among others and sounds like your description.While this may be difficult,it seems that more of the most productive hitters are evolving to this mostly chp style.
>
> Do you (or Jack) think this interpretation is reasonable ?
>
> I have found that trying to hit the inside of the ball (cue not reality)on the inside pitch does promote the chp IF you know you need a chp and you don't delay trying to get the bathead out by dragging the bat(push knob instead of turn bat early in swing).This seems to produce(in some)the pulling back of the bottom hand /lean back that keeps the inside ball fair that you discovered by other means. Tom,if I was situational hitting Iwould plan to hit it to where I needed to and then make adjustments in my stance and distance to plate and wait on a pitch I could handle to accomplish the goal.If I was just hitting to get on then I would still break up the plate and look for an area or certain pitch to either pull or go away with,as the count would level out with 1 strike would open up both sides of the plate and think look away and react inside.The tee work allowed me to get a feel for where I needed to make contact in order to keep it out of ss and 2nd basemans hands.It seems most hitters outs go to them so I just tried to keep it away.I either tried to hit it at 3rd,1st, or pitcher,more times than not if hit hard it will get by them and often down the lines it can be a double.I found that at times when going away with pitch and I felt my timing was a little early I would release my top hand right before contact allowing my lower hand to go linear and stay ahead of barrel to ensure hitting inside of ball far enough back to drive it toward 3rd area,if my top hand stayed on it would start changing the angle of barrel at contact for an out.I have seen Boggs do it many times especially on off speed when he was out front of where he wanted to be.This is not Sosa style hitting but an adjustment to make the best of a pitch your committed to.This is why chp and hitting inside of ball on a middle pitch made no sense to me.For hitting all pitches to pull side by chp and hitting outside of ball all the time could make the process of hitting simpler if possible rather than deciding which side of ball to hit and back or forward,however it has never seemed logical to me or even considered till now.I have not seen Mcgwire swing on an o.s. pitch and pull it into the seats to understand how his technique is different and I can not get the feel of pulling the bat back with the fingers as jack says but I do feel the lowering of the back elbow does snap the barrel back to catcher in a similar way.If you can explain to me how the o.s. pitch can be pulled with power or consistency It would be a new avenue for me to explore I'm always open to new things and I will discuss them with Wade now that he is the hitting coach of the Rays.Maybe we can find some hitters who actually pull back on the top hand consciously in the show and get real pro feedback.rql