Posted by: StevenV (steven@ars-inc.com) on Fri Jun 30 06:58:20 2006

Hi Tino,

I have heard of some of the great MLB hitters being able to see the ball so well that they immediately knew what the pitch was. Whether the eye is able to see the ball "actually" strike the bat is a good question. In the years that I played I can tell you that I "think" I saw the ball hit the bat, but not sure if that is a cognitive function that the brain is telling you.

I think the most important part of following the ball is the "still" head and not pulling out that typically results from that kind of focus on the ball. What you may be encountering by focussing on the ball so much is keeping from an early "pull out" and the net result could be a better hit ball. Whether you are actually seeing the impact between the bat and ball is questionable. Remeber the amount of time the ball is in contact with the bat is fractional of a second. Probably a more accurate statement would be your are focused on a very close area where contact is made. Another aspect is most people have a dominant eye and by really trying hard to watch the ball you may be allowing the dominant eye to have a bigger role than other times. Some players have a very wide stance because the eye furthest from the pitcher may be their dominant eye.

Just some thoughts....

> Just curious how many actually watch the ball hit the bat when swinging. I know it's very hard to actually watch the bat hit the ball especially in fast pitch (softball or baseball) but I was just curious what are the benefits of doing it. I was messing around with my friend today and I watched the ball all the way until it hit my bat and I noticed I hit the ball a lot better but why?? Are my mechanics naturally better when I watch the ball hit the bat (keep my head down on the ball)??