old_school posted:3and2Fastball posted:2020dad posted:Hitting ground balls at any age is plain stupid. I don't care if the fielder makes an error. You are looking to get better not win that specific high school game. The 'gurus' are just stating what should be obvious to all. Wanting kids to hit the back of the cage is stupid. Period.
Incorrect. The goal is to win games. A good hitter can adjust their game as needed. Putting the need to "get better" over the needs of a team is entirely wrong at the HS Varsity level. Players with that kind of mentality should stick to JV Ball and Showcase Ball.
again I advocate line drives, but there are times when hard hit ground balls are exactly what is needed.
it is called situational hitting...
Old school you have to go to some new school! Sabermetrics are showing more and more that situational hitting is not the most productive way to go. Hitting behind runners is kind of a thing of the past. And keep in mind I am old also but we can't just ignore advances in science and statistical analysis. I am a die hard white sox fan (no I don't know why) and hate the Cubs. But you have to give Theo credit. We as baseball folks have to be honest and say these guys know more about these analytics than we do. We will make ourselves soumd silly if we just say 'I don't care what those fancy numbers say I know...'. One guy once said to me "did that physicist play baseball?" I was embarrassed for my profession (teaching/coaching) at that point. We have to listen and learn. And in fact the most important situational hitting is getting the ball in the air deep enough to score a runner from third!! Hitting ground balls behind runners is definitely a thing of the past.