Posted by: Scott W (stwinton@netzero.net) on Mon Jun 12 09:09:20 2006

> > my coaches always tell me to "hit the ball where it is pitched" meaning pull an inside pitch and go opposite on an outside pitch. i have a habit of trying to pull everything, even outside pitches and that makes for an easy grounder. any suggestions or tips?
>
> John,
>
> Why not follow your coaches advise? Learn to hit on the "impact line"...as a general rule, this is usually your best point of contact. That is not to say that you must always hit the outside pitch to the opposite field. There are many situations and conditions that will allow you to hit the outside pitch up the middle or even pull it. Much will depend on your swing and your timing. If your approach is "sound" and your swing is equally sound, then doing so is possible and can be quite effective. However, I beleive your approach should be the same for every pitch. Make sure you are seeing the ball with both eyes, stay on top of the baseball with your front shoulder and focused on hitting the ball as hard as you can while maintaing bat control.
>
> Joe Hernandez

"There are many situations and conditions that will allow you to hit the outside pitch up the middle or even pull it."

I understand if you’re talking about a LF hitter, but what are the situations where a righty should come around a middle away FB?

"I believe your approach should be the same for every pitch."

As far as seeing it and hitting it yes, as far as situational hitting, absolutely not. What approach do you take when you have a runner at 3rd less then 2 out with the middle inf back vs the middle inf's in? What approach do you take with a runner at 2nd and no outs? How about nobody on, bottom of 9 down by a run?

The truly great hitters will have an at bat that is warranted by the game...there are a variety of situations and modes that good hitters will need to adapt to. Get on base mode, move a runner over mode, a drive them in mode…just to name a few..