Posted by: THG () on Fri May 23 21:41:27 2008

> > My advice first off, would aknowledge his fear. Let's face it, no one wants to get hit by something hard, traveling at a good speed.
> > Second, and I've gone through some of the same things with players, would be to teach him how to properly get out of the way of a tight pitch. Start off by throwing soft balls at him, showing him how to turn out of the way of a bad pitch. I just think if he's confident that he has the ability to get out of the way, he'll maybe be a little more relaxed?
> >
> > John.


Vic. I think you have a good grasp and getting out of the way of a pitch is the best approach. But we do have to face the fact that for most hitters, getting hit hurts depending on where the batter is hit. As such it is part of the game and the kid is going to have to realize that if hit he must bounce back.

We tend to believe that Major League Players have no fear of the baseball. That is most likely absolutely false. Otherwise we would see many more players closer to the plate. Think about it for a moment. More MLB players set themselves away from the plate to hit than do not. Thus they have to a large degree reduced their chances of getting hit which in turn increases their confidence of not having to deal with being hit. And usually the players are physically strong enough to handle the pain as long as they are not hit in the head, the knee, or on the fingers.

I can remember getting hit in the gut with a 90 mile an hour fastball and going to the ground. It was not a pleasant feeling but did not stop me from getting up the next time. But I was aware of the fact that I had to stay alert when the ball was coming that far inside so that I would be able to either get out of the way or turn my front shoulder/side into the pitch in order to deflect the blow.

Players like Derek Jeter dive into the plate so they are more susceptible. Some players wear elbow pads and guards. Believe me, if Barry Bonds did not have that guard he would not have been quite as close because there is no other way to pitch him except for inside. The same can be said of David Ortiz.

The players with the literal thick skin (Don Baylor) that merely bruises slightly are in the minority. And everyone is not as quick as Ted Williams or as tough as Willie Mays was said to have been able to actually catch the thrown pitch with his bare hand.