Golfman25 posted:cabbagedad posted:
As far as hitting the back of the cage... you can youtube MLB and top college guys (with college, it is coaches with players) doing hitting drills in cages. Many of them clearly are intentionally trying to hit the back of the net, several even stating exactly that. As I've stated in previous posts, I don't dispute the 15 - 25 degree stats at the MLB level. But even many of those hits came about with the intent to just hit hard line drives. Yes, some MLB players swing with intent to lift. Not all. Doesn't mean it's what every HS player should do, or even most.
My frustration lies in batting practice and evaluation. Some coaches evaluate their players via hitting the back of the cage during live pitching. So you start 0-0. What do they want? Hit the back of the cage. 1-1, hit the back of the cage. 2-1, hit the back of the cage. After we do all the drills, what are we trying to do? When the pitching is live, I want the double. Why? It works Ebry tyne. Doubles hit the top of the cage.
That makes plenty of sense. We take 90% of our BP swings on the field, and I end up fighting the opposite sometimes. We have a small park where the predominant wind blows out to LF, sometimes 20mph+. Kids will hit a wind-aided 305 ft weak flyball and have it leave the yard. Then they can't understand why I'm not chestbumping them and hitting them 3-hole.
The key is to have an intelligent coach who can evaluate kids abilities, needs, and potential in different environments, and then communicate that effectively to the player to help him get better. (I'm nowhere near that coach unfortunately.) Sometimes a kid may need to hear "line drive back of cage," and sometimes we may need to try and get him to pull and elevate.
All I know is that in baseball there are very few, if any, absolutes. And as soon as someone starts telling me their way is the only way, my interest in what they have to say diminishes greatly.