I was wondering what the general baseball fan feels about this question:
Is it easier to get a clutch hit if you are a contact hitter or a power hitter, and why?
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I believe the key factor is not the type of hitter, but what is going on upstairs.
The ability to visualize and also bring the heart rate down through confidence and relaxation allows clutch performers to thrive.
There is a great thread about this in the hitting section.
The ability to visualize and also bring the heart rate down through confidence and relaxation allows clutch performers to thrive.
There is a great thread about this in the hitting section.
you have to make contact before you can hit it.
but, if you only need to put the ball in play then you want a contact hitter.
if you want to win with one swing, power.
but, if you only need to put the ball in play then you want a contact hitter.
if you want to win with one swing, power.
My son takes the "electrician's" stance on this topic: avoid contact with the power! 
That's way too clever for Central Texas!
I wanmt th kid who wants to be there--the kid who hits inn the clutch--he can be a conatct hitter or a power hitter, matters not to me if he wants the be the guy
Power defined by the Lithuanian in Chicago...
Speed of the bat through a zone the width of the body in front of you...
Speed of the bat through a zone the width of the body in front of you...
Chill, I just saw this thread. I think this is really interesting.
To me, it is not a question of power vs contact. It is more a question about the type of swing. Last summer I watched one of my son's minor league teammates have his swing completely reconstructed. In the early season it was long. He hit for a lot of power, got a lot of BB's, good OBP, and a ton of strikeouts to go along with an average of about .200. Beginning in June, he worked everyday with the hitting instructor. His swing got short and direct to the ball. Average went up almost .100 points the second half of the season...amazingly, so did his power numbers. As I now view this, Rose and Bonds both had/have similar swings. Short and direct to the ball. Different overall power results but very high averages. I know neither is high on a lot of lists so I tried to come up with a player who I think has the ideal swing but used it for contact and for power. My ideal would be someone like Paul Molitor. From my view then, after having watched what the Jays did with one minor leaguer, I am convinced the issue isn't contact vs power. It is short/direct vs long and I will take the former everytime. Of course the player with the long swing who tries to be a "contact" hitter isn't likely to be around for long, either.
And no, I did not concoct this "short/direct" to get around OPP's post of avoiding "contact with the power."
To me, it is not a question of power vs contact. It is more a question about the type of swing. Last summer I watched one of my son's minor league teammates have his swing completely reconstructed. In the early season it was long. He hit for a lot of power, got a lot of BB's, good OBP, and a ton of strikeouts to go along with an average of about .200. Beginning in June, he worked everyday with the hitting instructor. His swing got short and direct to the ball. Average went up almost .100 points the second half of the season...amazingly, so did his power numbers. As I now view this, Rose and Bonds both had/have similar swings. Short and direct to the ball. Different overall power results but very high averages. I know neither is high on a lot of lists so I tried to come up with a player who I think has the ideal swing but used it for contact and for power. My ideal would be someone like Paul Molitor. From my view then, after having watched what the Jays did with one minor leaguer, I am convinced the issue isn't contact vs power. It is short/direct vs long and I will take the former everytime. Of course the player with the long swing who tries to be a "contact" hitter isn't likely to be around for long, either.
And no, I did not concoct this "short/direct" to get around OPP's post of avoiding "contact with the power."
First of all you have to define "Clutch Hit" .
Is it a bunt to score the go ahead or winning run from third... is it a ball hit to the right side to move a runner after a leadoff double... is it a long fly ball to score the guy from third...there are to many different situations and to many ways to get a clutch hit. but, all and all give me the guy who puts the ball in play... he, I beleive has the best chance for a "Clutch Hit"
Is it a bunt to score the go ahead or winning run from third... is it a ball hit to the right side to move a runner after a leadoff double... is it a long fly ball to score the guy from third...there are to many different situations and to many ways to get a clutch hit. but, all and all give me the guy who puts the ball in play... he, I beleive has the best chance for a "Clutch Hit"
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This brings up one of my favorite baseball trueisms...
...Contact hitters will ultimately become contact power hitters as they mature and grow strong, power hitters do not naturally become contact hitters...
44
This brings up one of my favorite baseball trueisms...
...Contact hitters will ultimately become contact power hitters as they mature and grow strong, power hitters do not naturally become contact hitters...
44quote:...Contact hitters will ultimately become contact power hitters as they mature and grow strong
O'44, you have given me hope.
Our son had 140 hits last summer in about 115 games. Nary a one left the park. Interesting though, he has put on about 11 pounds, is up to 189, and his college coach called to say the ball is coming off his bat as it never has before. O'44, I am holding you to this trueism and it is going straight to my son.
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IFD...
We'll watch it happen together...
...mine will do the same...
44
IFD...
We'll watch it happen together...
...mine will do the same... 44
Infielddad,
There is certainly hope. I have witnessed many young athletes mature at his age and start to hit with more power.
In fact I played with a kid in college was was 165 pounds and hit 1 home run in HS. He came to college and his swing matured, he worked very hard and did a proper strength and conditionng program and he broke every school home run record! He also became an All-American.
So tell your son to keep working at it. He will turn out just fine.
There is certainly hope. I have witnessed many young athletes mature at his age and start to hit with more power.
In fact I played with a kid in college was was 165 pounds and hit 1 home run in HS. He came to college and his swing matured, he worked very hard and did a proper strength and conditionng program and he broke every school home run record! He also became an All-American.
So tell your son to keep working at it. He will turn out just fine.
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IMO...
- I'll take a player who has a low strikeout % any day. (see Moneyball..)
- Contact hitters generally posess better strike zone management and discpline at the plate...skills that IMO are invaluable as a player moves up levels.
- Over and over have seen power hitters without strike zone managemnt dominate at one level but struggle at the next against more skilled pitching when they have to be more discplined.
Herein lies the danger...
- Instant gratification coaches and instant gratification society telling players that they need power NOW resulting in...
- Players taking bigger swings thereby giving up the natural and much more subtle advanatges that they do have...
- Players turning to artificial means to get bigger and stronger rather than getting that extra pop through hard work and patience..( study last week says 1 out of every eight HS players has tried steroids, that's two per HS baseball team...)
- Players quitting because they mistakenly think the game has passed them by...
It's a funny thing...it has been my expereicne that players often get bigger and stronger as they get older and into the weight room...
44
IMO...
- I'll take a player who has a low strikeout % any day. (see Moneyball..)
- Contact hitters generally posess better strike zone management and discpline at the plate...skills that IMO are invaluable as a player moves up levels.
- Over and over have seen power hitters without strike zone managemnt dominate at one level but struggle at the next against more skilled pitching when they have to be more discplined.
Herein lies the danger...
- Instant gratification coaches and instant gratification society telling players that they need power NOW resulting in...
- Players taking bigger swings thereby giving up the natural and much more subtle advanatges that they do have...
- Players turning to artificial means to get bigger and stronger rather than getting that extra pop through hard work and patience..( study last week says 1 out of every eight HS players has tried steroids, that's two per HS baseball team...)
- Players quitting because they mistakenly think the game has passed them by...
It's a funny thing...it has been my expereicne that players often get bigger and stronger as they get older and into the weight room...
44
Just because you are a contact hitter doesn’t mean you’re a clutch hitter. All the contact in the world COULD result in unproductive ground ball outs or pop outs. And just because you’re a power hitter doesn’t mean you’re gonna hit the ball. I tend to think as Jon Doyle said above, it’s what’s going on upstairs.
Better minds here than mine can analyse the swing good or bad, or the type of hitter contact or power, but . . .
Clutch Hitter = David Ortiz.
And I think that is what Jon is talking about above.
Better minds here than mine can analyse the swing good or bad, or the type of hitter contact or power, but . . .
Clutch Hitter = David Ortiz.
And I think that is what Jon is talking about above.
dad10, absolutely no disagreement that the mental approach at the plate is a major component. I intrepreted Chill's post to assume you had players with a similar mental approach. In other words, if all other factors were equal, who do you want in the clutch situation, a contact hitter/power hitter. To put it more vividly, would you want Ichiro or McGuire at the plate in that situation?
BTW, with your description of the contact hitter providing "contact" that could result in pop outs or unproductive gound ball outs, I am not sure that type of "contact" will keep you around for long.
BTW, with your description of the contact hitter providing "contact" that could result in pop outs or unproductive gound ball outs, I am not sure that type of "contact" will keep you around for long.
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Agreed, we have been talking extremes..
Makes me wonder...Open question asked W/O questioners Bias....(no agenda very curious...)
Would you rather have a guy who has 5K's 4 outs and one HR or one who puts the ball into play 10 times and gets 4 singles?
44
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Agreed, we have been talking extremes..
Makes me wonder...Open question asked W/O questioners Bias....(no agenda very curious...)
Would you rather have a guy who has 5K's 4 outs and one HR or one who puts the ball into play 10 times and gets 4 singles?
44.
quote:Originally posted by observer44:
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Agreed, we have been talking extremes..
Makes me wonder...Open question asked W/O questioners Bias....(no agenda very curious...)
Would you rather have a guy who has 5K's 4 outs and one HR or one who puts the ball into play 10 times and gets 4 singles?
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O-44,
"5K's 4 outs and one HR" is Dave Kingman.
"Ball into play 10 times and gets 4 singles" is Ty Cobb.
Mike F
LOL
No bias and no agenda.
Having a random conversation about getting a run in. We were chatting about the responsiblities of a batting order. If you were to peruse your own lineup and note the differences in the top/middle/end of the order and then pick a player you would want up to get that run in? Who would you choose? We had several different answers for the same club.
We were wondering if it might be easier for #1 or #2 to make the contact to get it done. Tablesetters - the job is to get on base.
Or the power hitters, who strike out more as a rule? But their job is to drive runs in.
Just a fun conversation and I do appreciate the ideas of those who responded. Thank you.
No bias and no agenda.
Having a random conversation about getting a run in. We were chatting about the responsiblities of a batting order. If you were to peruse your own lineup and note the differences in the top/middle/end of the order and then pick a player you would want up to get that run in? Who would you choose? We had several different answers for the same club.
We were wondering if it might be easier for #1 or #2 to make the contact to get it done. Tablesetters - the job is to get on base.
Or the power hitters, who strike out more as a rule? But their job is to drive runs in.
Just a fun conversation and I do appreciate the ideas of those who responded. Thank you.
re: "power hitters without strike zone management dominate at one level but struggle at the next '
My long held belief: Its essentially impossible for free swingers, who have seen a few fly over the fence, to ever adjust, learn the stike zone and establish plate discipline.
My long held belief: Its essentially impossible for free swingers, who have seen a few fly over the fence, to ever adjust, learn the stike zone and establish plate discipline.