Posted by: Phil () on Fri Aug 30 14:58:26 2002

I am a junior at a D1 college. I have an extensive library of books and tapes and so does my coach. When I told him some of the things I have read on this site he laughed. He scoffed at the notion of getting hitting advice off the internet. I am open to new ideas, whatever the source, but my coach does have one valid point. That point is that in all of the tapes and books out there, the authors have experience in the game. We are talking about Baker, Ellis, Emanski, Lau, Hendrick as well as a multitude of ex-professional players. I guess my question is, in the interest of me being able to assess your credibility, could you please specify which owners or participants at this site have the necessary experience? Thank you, I would love to go back to my coach and throw some names in his face!
> > > > >
> > > > > Hello Sal.
> > > > > Let me tell you what the internet & this site has done for me & my son who plays D2 ball. My son is a good hitter, but typically only hits 1 or 2 homers in a season since he started playing ball whether it be pratice or a game.
> > > > > One day we received Jack's video & we both watched it that night. The next morning we went out for some batting pratice on a senior league field. He hit 8 out. One day he hit 34 out. In less than a 1 month period, he hit 104 homers. Granted, this is only his father pitching to him, but he never did anything like this before.
> > > > > So this is what the internet & this site has done for us.....Thanks Jack!!!
> > > > > So tell your coach that.
> > > > > Mr. G
> > > > >
> > > > >I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone and I will make this my last post and not bother you anymore. I am not any way putting down this site. As I said before, it seems to be a good place for sharing ideas. Perhaps my perspective and objectives are simply different from most. You see, with my speed, arm and power I expect to be drafted in 2004, so the more I improve my tools the higher I will go in the draft.For me it's not just recreational baseball, it's a serious thing that can't be left to anything less than professional advice. But for your purposes you do seem to have a good site and I wish you all the best of luck.
> > >
> > > Sal,
> > >
> > > My advice to you is the same thing I trumpet constantly. Check EVERYTHING ANYONE tells you against slo/stop motion video of the greatest hitters in the world. Otherwise, you may find yourself ill served by "professional" advice. Keep in mind one professional credentialed Hall of Fame expert says one thing and another similar expert says the opposite. UH OH, which professional are we going to trust? Bottom line is, you have to do your own research. Understand what Gwynn did and why. Understand what Bonds does, as best as is possible, and why. Compare all this repeatedly to the one guaranteed true measure. What are the hitting greats of yesterday and today REALLY doing when you study them on stop action video. Not what they SAY they are doing. But what are they REALLY doing.
> > >
> > > Good luck with your career. You are right to be cautious whose advice you take. I think though, you are not half as cautious as you should be.
> > >
> > > Mark H.
> >
> > Sal, mark is right, you have a lot at stake, and depending on how well you are doing right now, it would seem to make sense not to be reckless in seeking advice. Believe me, for every good piece of advice you may get, regardless of source, you will also get 20 piece of crummy advice. I think the safe course of action would be to stick with what your colege coach says. Good luck
>
> Phil, your 1 in 20 (5%) theory definitely has merit, but who's to say his college coach is in the 5%? If good information is that hard to find then I don't see the wisdom in limiting your options as to where you look for it.
>
> I also think for Sal to progress as an athelete he is going to have to begin to become more of a student of hitting than just being told what to do. He might have to experiment with a number of things to find what works for Him. I think his coach's attitude tells me he thinks Sal doesn't have the ability to weed out the good from the bad.
>
> Unfortunately Sal's needing the advice of "experts" teels me he doesn't have the confidence in himself to determine what works best for him (and his coach laughing at him will not help his confidence in himself - just that, shows me a lot of bad things about his coach) . He's going to take thousands of swings in his lifetime. I don't see how expermenting and trying a few hundred swings is going to ruin his career.

Alan, upon reflection of your statements, I would have to say you are absolutely correct. Certainly college coaches have been know to give questionable advice. I guess, in the end, one has to just do things on their own, and if they have to resort to someelse's advice, just go with who they feel the most comfortable with, hopefully taking into account qualifications, etc.