Posted by: Steve (steve@legendsoftexas.net) on Thu Feb 10 10:46:30 2011

> Hi Jack,
>
> I'm trying to create a graphic which shows how the phrase "match the plane of the bat to the plane of the pitch" can cause confusion in the mind of the reader or a hitter.
>
> My question is: If you are playing a game of catch with someone and they throw a baseball to you -- and for sake of the discussion we will say it's a fastball and gravity has no effect on it -- what is the "plane" of the pitch?
>
I agree it's hard to get young hitters to understand that the ball is coming downward, and to hit it hard consistently they've got to square it up. Most of them think it's level, like if there was no gravity AND the pitcher wasn't on a mound. Then the plane would be much less slanted and would only go down from the pitcher's release point to the strike zone a couple of inches, appearing flat to a hitter.
One idea we try to put in their mind is "get the hands above the ball and bat head below the ball" when they swing. Thoughts on that?