Posted by: Henry (Baller_3_iverson@msn.com) on Mon May 9 13:25:21 2005

> RQL....i'll take you up on your offer...please....tell me your experiences in throwing right & hitting left...what stumbling blocks did you encounter & how did you overcome them?.....for years my son (18-years old & in college now)has hit left & throws right.....he could never pull the ball for anything other than a ground ball to 1b or 2b....on the other hand, there were very few hitters i have ever seen who could hit line drive gap shots to left-center the way he could....every hitting instructor i took him to had a different prescription.....do the fence drill, be quicker with the bat,squash the bug more, squash the bug less, etc, etc.....i reached the conclusion that it all had to do with bottom-arm dominence.....when i put him on film, he would bend his front arm, draw in the hands & arms, and without fail, on an inside pitch he would bloop it to left field, hit a pretty good line drive right over shortstop or hit a grounder to 1b or 2b.....and his favorite pitch to drive was a waist-high between the middle of the plate & outside......little-by-little he is improving but he still has a long ways to go.......again, i would appreciate your comments on your experiences, the more detailed the better.....also, it seems like i read one of your posts where you had played with boggs......if you did iwould love to hear what experiences he may have had that you are aware of, for it's my understanding that he too threw right & of course batted left....respectfully, grc...... HI GRC.IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR CAUGHT UP IN THIS ROTATION STYLE FOR THE SAME REASON I AM.WEVE MASTERED ONE STYLE, THE OTHER IS MORE ALLURING AND CAN WE MASTER IT.WELL YOU CAN BUT DO YOU WANT TO CHANCE IT.DOES YOUR SON DOMINATE COLLEGE PITCHING WITH HIS STYLE DOES HE KNOW HIS STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND STAY WITH HIS MIDDLE OUT STRIKEZONE UNTIL 2 STRIKES.DOES HE BACK OFF THE PLATE 3 INCHES MORE WITH 2 STRIKES TO ALLOW HIMSELF A BETTER CHANCE ON THE INSIDE F.B.DOES HE SELDOM STRIKE OUT 1 OUT OF 50 A.B. IS HE GREAT WITH PEPPER AND HIT IT RIGHT WHERE HE WANTS TO DID YOU TEACH HIM TO HIT IT RIGHT BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM HARDER THAN THEY THREW IT ,OVER AND OVER AND OVER UNTIL THE FIRST TIME HE HIT A LINE DRIVE OFF THE PITCHERS HEAD HE CHEERED RUNNING TO FIRST BECAUSE HE FINALLY PLEASED HIS FATHER.IF SO HE PROBABLY GOT TAUGHT LIKE WADE AND I AND I BET SIMILAR TO COBB AND ROSE.LET ME GIVE YOU MY BACKGROUND TO HELP YOU SEE HOW I EVOLVED.I GREW UP USUALLY HITTING 400-500 EACH SEASON AND NEVER DID I HIT A HOMERUN UNTIL MY SENIOR YEAR OF H.S.EVERY TIME I HIT AN INSIDE PITCH IT WENT TO SECOND AND OFTEN ON THE GROUND.MY BOTTOM HAND WAS DRIVING DOWN INTO THE BALL AND THE PUSHING MOTION OF THE UPPER HAND WOULD PUSH THE BARREL HEAD OUT ENOUGH TO HIT THE BALL SQUARE BUT THE ANGLE WAS NOT ENOUGH TO DRIVE IT INTO THE HOLE AND MANY BECAME HARD GROUNDERS INSTEAD OF LINE DRIVE GAPPERS.LET ME SAY THIS STORY BEFORE MOVING ON,AT SIXTEEN Y.O. MY COLT TEAM WOM THE WORLD SERIES IN LAFAYETTE IND. WE HAD 3 GOOD PULL HITTERS, ROTATION HITTERS TODAY ,AND 3 WEIGHT SHIFTING GAP TO GAP HITTERS.PULL HITTERS SELDOM IF EVER WENT THE OTHER WAY ALL HIT ABOUT 350 ONE WITH GREAT POWER BUT LOTS OF STRIKEOUTS.THE WEIGHT SHIFTERS ALL HIT 400+ ,DOUBLES ARE POWER.CAREERS WENT FOR PULL HITTERS ONE LOST INTEREST,1SIGNED WITH YANKEES BUT COULD NOT CATCH UP TO IT OR STAY BACK FOR IT AT THAT LEVEL,THE 3RD PLAYED WITHME AT U.SOUTH CAROLINA AND COULD NOT EVER HIT MORE THAN 260.THE THREE WEIGHT SHIFTERS ALL HAD RECORD BREAKING CAREERS AT U. MIAMI,FSU.,AND USC.ALL OF US ENDED OUR CAREERS PROFESSIONALLY WITH INJURIES.HOWEVER WE FACED A GUY FROM CALIFORNIA ,BIG GUY WHO PULLED, TOM BRUNANSKY AND HE MADE IT TO THE SHOW,YOU FIGURE IT OUT.THE PULL HITTER WHO PLAYED COLLEGE WITH ME WAS A TREMENDOUS CENTER FIELDER WITH A GREAT ARM AND GREAT SPEED AND IM CONVINCED IF HE WOULD HAVE HIT YOUR SONS STYLE IT WOULD HAVE IMPROVED HIM ENOUGH TO GO MUCH FURTHER.OKAY MY SENIOR YEAR OF H.S. IDECIDE TO START PULLING BECAUSE ALL I HEAR IS I CANT PULL THE BALL.NO ONE IS ABLE TO HELP ME WITH IT, I TRY AN OPEN STANCE AND ONLY WORKED WHEN I GUESSED INSIDE.I FINISHED THE YEAR AT492. 2 HOMERUNS AGAINST WADES OLD TEAM AND KNEW WHAT WAS COMING ON BOTH.HERES WHERE MY CHANGES CAME TO PASS.SLOWLY I REALIZED THAT THE BAT ANGLE ON THE BALL IS WHAT DETERMINES DIRECTION OF BALL OFF THE BAT.MY CONTACT POINT ON THE INSIDE PITCH WAS TO FAR BACK AND NOT ENOUGH ANGLE TO PULL IT INTO THE HOLE CONSISTENTLY.ALSO MY LEAD ARM WAS DOMINATING MY UPPER HAND AND THE HANDS WERE STILL DRIVING DOWN AT IMPACT CAUSING THE GROUND BALLS.I STARTED WORKING ON A TEE ON A FIELD AND LEARNING WHAT MY CONTACT POINT WAS TO DRIVE THE BALL IN THE HOLE TO DOWN THE LINE.THEN I HIT ABOUT TWENTY THOUSAND SWINGS OFF THE TEE TO CREATE THE MUSCLE MEMORY OF THE CONTACT POINT .ALONG THE WAY I STARTED FEELING THE DIFFERENCE I HAD TO OPEN MY HIPS TO HIT IT WHERE IT WAS PITCHED.I STARTED PULLING MORE BUT STILL ON THE GROUND BECAUSE OF STRONG BOTTOM HAND.I STARTED GETTING AS STRONG AS I COULD REALIZING I WOULD NEED TO MUSCLE SOME INSIDE PITCHES I DIDNT GET TO.AND SOME YOU WONT WHEN YOU THINK THE OTHER WAY FIRST.WITH THESE W.OUTS I DID ALOT OF HAND AND FOREARM EXERCISES BUT EMPHASISING THE TOP HAND2/1 INCREASING ITS STRENGTH TO MATCH THE BOTTOM SOME WHAT MORE.BY MY SENIOR YEAR IN COLLEGE I HAD A PLAN TO HIT AND IT WAS THAT I COULD HIT ANY STRIKE WHERE IT WAS PITCHED AND EVEN OUT POWER AND AVERAGE.MY GOAL AND GOALS KEEP YOU MOTIVATED WAS TO BE THE ALL TIME BATTING CHAMPION AT USC AND BECOME 1ST TEAM ALL AMERICAN AS IT WAS IN HS FOR WHICH I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO OBTAIN.NOW THERE WAS ALOT OF TRAINING FOR ME NOT ONLY STRENGTH BUT ALSO LOTS OF PINGPONG AND SPEEDBAG WHICH HELPED ME WITH QUICKER HAND EYE COORDINATION I SWAM LAPS TO KEEP MY MUSCLES STRETCHED OUT FROM THE LIFTING .I HIT A TIRE ALOT WHICH INCREASED MY ABILITY TO DRIVE THROUGH THE INSIDE PITCH ,REALIZE I DID NOT HAVE A FLUID ROTATIONAL SWING.IT WAS STARTING WEIGHTSHIFT FOR THE AWAY PITCH AND THEN IWOULD OPEN MY HIPS AND EXPLODE MY HANDS TO GET THE BATHEAD OUTFRONT.NOW THAT IS WHERE THE MUSCLE MEMORY AND UPPER HAND STRENGTH CAME IN.MY HIT THOUGHTS WERE LOOK AWAY AND REACT IN AND I USED85% BODY AND 100% HANDS BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID OF PULLING OFF THE BALL AND IF I COULD JUST GET MY HANDS TO PUT THAT BARREL HEAD OUT FRONT WITH GOOD TIMING I COULD SCREAM THEM.NOW HOW DID I START LIFTING THEM PITCHES THAT HAD ALWAYS BEEN GROUNDERS,MY UPPER HAND STARTED TAKING MORE CONTROL AND HAD STOPPED GOING DOWN SO FAR BEFORE STARTING ITS WAY BACK UP, AND OUTFRONT IT WAS LIFTING THE BALL.I HAD THIRTEEN HOMERS MY LAST YEAR BUT THE PART I HADNT QUITE WORKED OUT WAS THE I.S. CORNER PITCH THAT I HOOKED A DOZEN OR MORE FOUL OUT OF THE BALLPARKS.I REALIZED LATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PULLING THAT LEAD SHOULDER BACK HARD AND A STRAIGHTENING OF THE BAT ANGLE THAT KEPT THAT PITCH FAIR.I HIT 404. THAT YEAR BROKE THE DOUBLES RECORD,STILL LINE DRIVING ALOT OF BALLS BUT THE ELEVATING WAS COMING, AND MET ALL MY GOALS.A BIG KEY IS I ALSO BEAT THE OLD RECORD FOR WALKS AND THIS IS WHAT WADE FIRMLY BELIEVES IN.I BELIEVE THE A;S ARE PUSHING GETTING YOUR PITCH TO HIT.NO 1ST PITCH CURVEBALLS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHATS COMING AND ONLY IF YOUR GOOD AT HITTING THEM,I WOULD THINK MAYBE YOUR SON CAN FROM HIS STYLE.I WELL TELL YOU MY TROUBLE AREA AND WHY.IT WAS RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE BECAUSE GOING TO ALL FIELDS IT SHOULD GO UP THE MIDDLE BUT I COULD PULL IT AS WELL WITH POWER AND SOMETIMES THIS IN DECISION ON WHAT TO DO WITH IT JAMMED ME OR I ROLLED THE WRIST ON IT.I COULD HIT IT HARD EITHER WAY BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME TO DECIDE MY GAME PLAN BEFORE GETTING IN THE BOX AND MY TROUBLES CAME MOST OFTEN WHEN I TRIED TO SEE IT AND REACT TO IT TO ALL 3 FIELDS.STICK WITH 2 AND GO TO YOUR STRENGTHS THEN BACK OFF WITH 2 STRIKES 3 INCHES AND STAY BACK AND TAKE IT TO LEFT YOUR SONS BREAD AND BUTTER THEN WITH A MAN ON 1ST AND THAT BIG HOLE TO PULL PICK A PITCH TO PULL AND DRIVE HIM TO 3RD CONSISTENTLY,INFIELD IN MAN ON3RD GET A PITCH UP TO DRIVE GAP TO GAP AND GET THE BAT HEAD OUT ,THEY PLAY BACK DRIVE A HARD GROUNDER TO 2ND OR SHORT RUN SCORES.TO ME ITS MORE THAN MECHANICS ,ITS KNOWING YOURSELF STAYING WITHIN YOURSELF KNOW YOUR JOB EACH TIME TO THE PLATE AND HOW YOU WILL EXECUTE IT AND WHAT KIND OF PITCH YOU ARE LOOKING FOR .TRIVIA ,WADE GOT HIS HAND EYE COORDINATION FROM HITTING 1000S OF DATE PALM NUTS WITH A BROOM STICK IN HIS BACK YARD.