Best DFW hitting coach?

Need to know a few things before I respond : what age is your son? What part of DFW do you live in? What travel team does your son play for? What position does he play? Who have you worked with previously? Respond in PM if you prefer.

Barry Hoffpauir.   Owner of The Yard baseball facility and baseball coach for several Dallas Mustangs teams 

Do you know the name Rusty Greer? A few years ago at Rangers Stadium at the indoor batting cages. We discuss hitting for 2 hours. 

Outstanding 

Bob

@Tres Elakes 24 posted:

Barry Hoffpauir.   Owner of The Yard baseball facility and baseball coach for several Dallas Mustangs teams 

Is he related to former mlb player micah hoffpauir?

@Dominik85 posted:

Is he related to former mlb player micah hoffpauir?

Yes. Barry is Micah’s dad. 

Since this thread isn’t going anywhere I want to add another name in case someone does a search later.

Ronnie Ortegon is an excellent instructor ( former milb hitting coach) and btw neither he or Barry Hoffpauir (former college HC) teach launch angle. They teach sound hitting mechanics that will hold up as the level of play gets steeper over time. 

Planning to visit family sometime this summer...anyone come highly recommended in Fort Worth, west of DFW, or up north to Denton? Might try to set up a lesson or two while in the area.

@used2lurk posted:

Planning to visit family sometime this summer...anyone come highly recommended in Fort Worth, west of DFW, or up north to Denton? Might try to set up a lesson or two while in the area.

 

Better off to drive a little farther for better instruction. Hoffpauir is in north Dallas (near Brookhaven College). Ortegon is farther north in Allen/McKinney area 

Adbono;

Since the "student" is outside the Dallas area. The hitting coach should provide info on "self teaching". The "mirror" and the "shadow" are tools.

Of course the "high tee" drill.

At a Area Code tryout in Notre Dame, the White Sox scouts and Scouting Director made a "joke" when the stated that I could tell bat speed over the phone.

Yes, I said. Place the phone next to a tee, use a wood bat and I listen to the impact.

"True Story"

Bob

Bob, there is no doubt that the ball makes a different sound coming off a wood bat when the bat is in the hands of a special kind of hitter. It’s one of the subtle things that gets lost with the use of metal bats.  How many prospects can you think of that weren’t the same player when they were required to swing a wood bat?!? 

Adbono;

There was one player projected for a 1st round SS. It was obvious from the AC games at Blair Field, that he was not familiar with wood. He had "warning track" power. Many pro scouts will deduct 40' on a hitter fly ball with a metal bat. "warning track" power.

I mentioned to a Scouting Director to ask the SS, if he would learn to hit left. His right eye was his dominate eye.

His answer to the Scout was NO. Currently a Pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Bob

@Consultant posted:

Adbono;

There was one player projected for a 1st round SS. It was obvious from the AC games at Blair Field, that he was not familiar with wood. He had "warning track" power. Many pro scouts will deduct 40' on a hitter fly ball with a metal bat. "warning track" power.

I mentioned to a Scouting Director to ask the SS, if he would learn to hit left. His right eye was his dominate eye.

His answer to the Scout was NO. Currently a Pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Bob

Matt Bush? 

Right ON! You remember Torii Hunter?

He stayed at our home before our American team traveled to Korea. I threw BP to Torii. I asked him to hit left and he was a "natural".

Later he told me that in his senior year in HS, he hit 7 HR from left side.

Bob

I don’t know Torii personally but I know of him as a player. He lives here in the Dallas area and has a very successful BBQ business. Three locations now I think. 
Did you know Red Murff (Montreal Expo scout) or Coach Tom Chandler? 

Tom Chandler was one of my advisors for the Area Code games in the early years. We met at the American College Coach's Convention each year.

When Josh Beckett pitched at the AC games. Tom was at the games. We pitched Josh on a Friday night for the Rangers team and 3,000 watched the games, including Tommy Lasorda.

Bob

I played for Tom. He really cared about his players and would give any of them the shirt off his back if they needed it. Didn’t matter if it was the star player (and we had plenty of them) or the last guy on the roster. 

He was one of the great College Coaches. He played for the Alpine Cowboys in Sul Ross, TX. This reminds me of my time at Sul Ross.

Bob

@Consultant posted:

He was one of the great College Coaches. He played for the Alpine Cowboys in Sul Ross, TX. This reminds me of my time at Sul Ross.

 

Bob

You are right about that. As my kids moved into college ball I looked for a man like Coach Chandler for them to play for. Hard to find those today. 

@Consultant posted:

Adbono;

There was one player projected for a 1st round SS. It was obvious from the AC games at Blair Field, that he was not familiar with wood. He had "warning track" power. Many pro scouts will deduct 40' on a hitter fly ball with a metal bat. "warning track" power.

I mentioned to a Scouting Director to ask the SS, if he would learn to hit left. His right eye was his dominate eye.

His answer to the Scout was NO. Currently a Pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Bob

Bbcor has leveled that though. It is still not the same as wood especially if hit not in the sweetspot (bat doesnt break and you can get more jam hits but the top exit velos when squared up are not all that different, maybe 1 or 2 mph higher with bbcor than wood.

I have worked with a kid from this site and he was like 92 with bbcor and like 91 with an overload wood bat last week.

Still of course hitting with wood is still tougher as you need to barrel it up better but I think the days  when one hit absolute bombs with metal and not even warning track with wood are over.