Posted by: Steve (stevedakota@gmail.com) on Wed Feb 21 22:19:03 2007

> > > My team is struggling with seeing the outside pitch as a strike and they do not swing.
> What drills can be done to overcome this and train the eye to recognize the hittable
> outside pitch?
> > >
> > > Struggling in Florida
> >
> >
> >
> > I have found that the biggest secret to hitting the outside pitch is to learn how to get
> your hands through on the inside pitch so you can get close to the plate and make the
> outside pitches appear to be closer to the middle.
> >
> > Assuming you are teaching good rotational fundamentals, use the heavy bag Jack also
> espouses. Work on keeping the hands behind the ball instead of leading with the hands
> with the bat head trailing. Most hitters hit lead with their hands and try to wrist the ball
> and then wonder why the ball is not driven to the opposite field.
>
> Steve,
>
> Get too close to that plate and any inside pitch on the plate that you hit on the barrel with
> authority will fly straight over the third base dugout. (for a right handed hitter of course).
>
> Jimmy

Jimmy,

I'm not sure where I said for anyone "to get too close". The point is that many players cannot get their hands through on an inside pitch so they stand away from the plate to compensate. Good hitters using solid rotational fundamentals are able to own the inside which makes owning the outside easier also.

I also tried to emphasize using the bag to work on technique instead of live pitching. My guess is that if the whole team seems to be struggling on identifying the outside pitch than it has more to do with the overall hitting fundamentals then pitch selection.

Once you have the swing method down that enables you to cover the entire plate comfortably, then it's a matter of learning the zone by hitting live pitching.

As I mentioned I am not advocating standing too close to the plate (Whatever too close means) However when you right away draw the conclusion that an overly inside ball is going to be pulled over the dugout, it tends to make me believe that your hitters are extending their arm and hitting the ball way out front.

Some prohitters stand right on the chalkline with their feet almost touching the plate. The guy that played for Boston (everett?) comes to mind as an extreme example. Although these players are much bigger and have much longer arms than younger players, their technique keeps even the most inside balls fair much of the time. Jimmy, I'd recommend reviewing Jack's information and cd for help in keeping these balls fair if you are worried about players hitting inside balls over the dugout.