Batting, seriously?

It should be a huge focus.  This is his last go-around with his HS teammates.  He will want to contribute for them as much as possible.  College will come soon enough.  He can only throw so many bullpens and do so much pitching-specific training.

That said...  Generally, a college coach isn't going to say "he won't pitch" if he doesn't mean it.

The chances of your son touching a bat in college are slim and none. But he should want to have the best hitting season possible in high school.

Agree.  If the college coach recruited him as a pitcher, that's where he will play.  Very few players are pitchers and position players at the D1 level.

My son played for a D2 team.  His team did have one who could do both (pitched and played 3B/SS), but they are far and few between.

As a HS senior, after being a PO and recruited as such, the Coach allowed son to play first, hit when not pitching as well as DH. He led the team in HR, RBI, as well as ERA.

He never hit at Clemson. 

It's his senior year, he deserves to have fun! If recruited as a PO he will be a PO, as the possibility of injury becomes even greater playing another position. 

Enjoy his last HS season!!

Kid hit over .500 as a senior and has never touched a bat as a PO at his D1.  We knew he would be a PO in college but it was great to see him compete and succeed both in the field and in the batters box and help his team as a senior.

This is his last year hitting.

You can do both if you’re good at both. Maybe Ohtani will start a new trend. I’ve seen it in the ACC, Big Ten and the Ivy League. Some coaches aren’t open to it. But a few are...

Was it a difficult adjustment going to a PO after playing a position and pitching?

He hasn't gone to PO yet. This will be his last year of hitting, and he's pretty comfortable with that. Wants to do what he can for his HS team, but be honest about his chances of hitting at the college level. My husband isn't quite there yet.

Just play the game.  Hit Sr. year like there is no tomorrow, because there isn't for hitting.  But keep hitting if/when you have time.  Hitting is the fun part of baseball.  And who knows, one day you may play for Joe Maddon.  John Lester had a pinch hit last night.   

Thanks. This is pretty much what I thought. Appreciate the reinforcement/insights.

Iowamom23 posted:

He hasn't gone to PO yet. This will be his last year of hitting, and he's pretty comfortable with that. Wants to do what he can for his HS team, but be honest about his chances of hitting at the college level. My husband isn't quite there yet.

Have your husband take a look at several college rosters and stats, including where son is committed, and see if there are any two-ways, and how successful they are.  It's all online.   You can go back several years if needed.

One D1 two-way I know of  is below the Mendoza line right now.   Remember, when you get to college you still have to take classes and if you are a two-way you have DOUBLE the practice time.

Adam Haseley, was a 1st round pick out of  Univ of Virginia last June.  He led his team last year in BA at .390 (223 at bats) and also posted a 3.58 ERA with a 7-1 record.  But he was a first rounder for a reason.  Remarkable, gifted, player.   Players like that are few and far between.

Another player my son used to play travel ball with was recruited to a D1 as a LHP only.  He asked the coach one day during his sophomore college season  if he could hit some, just for fun, and after hitting several bombs, he didn't pitch again!  (well, I just checked his stats and he pitched one game the next two years). Be careful what you ask for!

Son was All State P 3X in high school.  Also played 3rd and caught when he wasn't pitching.  Recruited as both.  Figured out pretty quickly that future was on the mound.  Due to injuries and defections, was the 2nd team C the last 3/4 of freshman year at D1.  Got 3 AB's and 1BB.  Career .333 OBP.  Hasn't seen a bat or catchers mitt since (now a Jr), but whenever anyone is slumping, the wife is quick with "they should let him bat.....".  I just SMH.

There are guys like that (astros former prospect AJ Reed I think was one of them or last years top 5 pick McKay but those guys all where mashers. 

Coaches at higher levels don't like to  bat pitchers because of the risk of injury and other things. If you are only a little bit better at the plate than the 9th best hitter on the roster that guy will bat.

But if you mash like reed who hit like 300 with 20 bombs you probably will hit but if you are just a decent batter you likely won't.

Still work on hitting and enjoy your final year. Maybe you are lucky and get an at bat in college in an extra inning game or so.

He should take his hitting very seriously. Doesn't he want to help his team win this year? Of course he does. Doesn't he want to have success when he plays? Of course he does. If he never gets a single at bat in college so what? Everything we do we are going to do for the last time one day. We still want to do them to the very best of our ability. The chances are your son will not hit in college. That's just the facts. So what? That has no bearing what so ever on what he is doing right now. Good luck this season.

best I can you is the DH on my sons college team doesn't bring a glove to practice, had an arm issue and hasn't played the field for years, actually borrowed my sons glove during a fall scrimmage in an emergency....the pitchers don't bring bats to practice...because they don't hit - ever - in the fall or spring.

This is a competitive D3.

Good luck.

HS baseball should be fun. Seriously. Fun. Hitting is a big part of winning any baseball games, but the old phrase usually holds in HS baseball "if you can hit, you don't sit."

But other weirdness happens. For example, in my son's part of Virginia, it is pretty much dogmatic that catchers don't run the bases. End of discussion. My son was the starting V catcher for 2.5 seasons (started halfway through sophomore season). Never ran the bases in a real game.

On JV baseball, my son had 20 stolen bases. The next closest was 12. He ran a 6.95 or so 60. Easily top quarter on V team in terms of speed. Batted .380 senior year, OBP of .500. Never ran the bases. Oh well. Dogma.

Good luck with hitting and have FUN!

Your husband has no chance of batting. Besides, his eligibility is probably up.

Seriously, I think the college coach did your son a favor.  I think most won't say "No" until the recruit shows up in the fall of freshman year.

there is no reason to not work hard on hitting over the summer. play well hit the crap out of the ball, win lots of games and be ready to pitch in the fall...keep it simple!

I remember Tim Hudson being the starting CF at Auburn. He played every game of the season and hit .396 with 18 home runs and 95 RBI and finished 15–2 with a 2.97 ERA.  

Too bad nobody gets that opportunity anymore.  Maybe Ohtani will open that door for someone.

First baseman for Dallas Baptist starts as a pitcher once a week and plays  1st the rest of the time.  He is a big lefty that throws 90-91 and this year he has 7 home runs.  It certainly can be done.  Last year he was 1st JUCO All American at 1st and surprisingly did not pitch very much his sophomore year. In high school he was a .400 with power and 87-88 off the mound.

Son is PO, D1. Went JUCO first. 

Senior year of high school he hit 12 doubles, 7 triples,  8 HR....average over 400 and stole 27 bases (fast). 

He knew going into college he would need to focus on pitching and would most likely never hold a bat again. There simple isn't enough time to perfect both. Good news is, he keeps getting better and better as a pitcher.

keewart posted:

Iowamom23 posted:

He hasn't gone to PO yet. This will be his last year of hitting, and he's pretty comfortable with that. Wants to do what he can for his HS team, but be honest about his chances of hitting at the college level. My husband isn't quite there yet.

Have your husband take a look at several college rosters and stats, including where son is committed, and see if there are any two-ways, and how successful they are.  It's all online.   You can go back several years if needed.

One D1 two-way I know of  is below the Mendoza line right now.   Remember, when you get to college you still have to take classes and if you are a two-way you have DOUBLE the practice time.

Adam Haseley, was a 1st round pick out of  Univ of Virginia last June.  He led his team last year in BA at .390 (223 at bats) and also posted a 3.58 ERA with a 7-1 record.  But he was a first rounder for a reason.  Remarkable, gifted, player.   Players like that are few and far between.

Another player my son used to play travel ball with was recruited to a D1 as a LHP only.  He asked the coach one day during his sophomore college season  if he could hit some, just for fun, and after hitting several bombs, he didn't pitch again!  (well, I just checked his stats and he pitched one game the next two years). Be careful what you ask for!

Not only is there more practice time, but pitchers are practicing at the same time as the hitters.  It's a pain in the neck for the coaches to work around.  

russinfortworth posted:

Son was All State P 3X in high school.  Also played 3rd and caught when he wasn't pitching.  Recruited as both.  Figured out pretty quickly that future was on the mound.  Due to injuries and defections, was the 2nd team C the last 3/4 of freshman year at D1.  Got 3 AB's and 1BB.  Career .333 OBP.  Hasn't seen a bat or catchers mitt since (now a Jr), but whenever anyone is slumping, the wife is quick with "they should let him bat.....".  I just SMH.

My MIL still makes those comments.  "Why don't they let Ryan hit?"

So the kid went as a two way, suppose to be bat first and could help pitching. He gets there last fall and is lights out on the mound. Players and coaches are like "dude...". Team is in need of pitching because of a couple of injuries so coach ask him to concentrate more on pitching this year. Kid reluctantly agrees. They start gearing up for the season and the kid is not "lights out". So what does the PC do? Relax and let him work it out like he always has. No, he takes his CB away, takes his windup away (he's always throw best from the windup), and changes his arm slot. In the mean time they have more pitchers go down (like 4 or 5 total) so they tell the kid no AB's/base running/playing the field, can't afford to have you injured. So here's my kid, not getting to play the field or take AB's and not pitching because he's out of his comfort zone on the mount and lost.

The sad part is my kid was never going to be a weekend pitcher at the college level. He just can't hit his spots. Close, but not like you need to to excel at pitching at the college level. What he could have been is a kid that chewed up innings mid-week vs weaker teams, and then really help you at the plate over the weekend. Now his freshman year is just a waste. Two innings pitched so no hope of a red shirt, just down the tubes.....

So I guess be careful what you wish for. 

GameDayToday posted:

Son is PO, D1. Went JUCO first. 

Senior year of high school he hit 12 doubles, 7 triples,  8 HR....average over 400 and stole 27 bases (fast). 

He knew going into college he would need to focus on pitching and would most likely never hold a bat again. There simple isn't enough time to perfect both. Good news is, he keeps getting better and better as a pitcher.

There is not enough time, never, that's why very few D1 programs allow 2 way players into their programs. 

You are supposed to get better you can't trying to do so in college.

I knew of a few guys who played both in college. The guys who were the studs all wound up as pitchers in proball. 

Hit and never quit hitting.  Love pitchers that can and "want" to hit.  Nothing more disturbing to me is seeing a MLB pitcher look silly in the batting box.   This guy -

Brendan McKay 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_McKay_(baseball)

http://thecomeback.com/mlb/bre...-four-home-runs.html