Posted by: Marcus Boyd (marcus@hourofdeliverance.net) on Sat Mar 19 04:52:47 2005

> Can someone tell me why i can hit a ball farther off a batting tee than i can when someone pitches to me. I think i use the same mechanics for both.

Ralph,

With a tee, you have all the time in the world to "think" your swing through before you actually swing. When a ball is pitched, I believe you are more likely to revert to habitual mechanics. You don't have time to think it through.

Also, you are going to hit ball after ball from a stationary position when using a tee, which will allow you to take the timing factor out of the equation. You can't mis-time a ball on a tee. Factor all of this in with the fact that you can hit every ball right on the sweet spot of the bat and with consistent backspin, and you will undoubtedly hit more balls with better distance than the average pitched ball. This is true in softball and baseball alike.