First Pitch Swinging

Originally Posted by GHHS-2016LHP:

Well, my only response to that is that Go44dad must be a damn good looking man!

Anyway, back to the discussion....what was it again?  Oh yeah, 1st pitch swinging!

I still maintain if you feel comfortable/confident as a hitter, there's absolutely nothing wrong with squaring up the first pitch (if it's the pitch you're looking for).  Nobody is saying get up there and hack at the first offering, no matter where it's located.

If a player (or a team) takes every first pitch in every at bat, folks are going to notice and that team is going to be behind in the count more often than not.

I completely agree. Sadly, this is one of those things where people confuse what happens at the ML level with the best hitters on the planet, and the amateur baseball world. I believe hitters the caliber of Ted Williams or Miggy Cabrera could start every AB with a count of 0-2 and still be as good or better than most hitters, but that’s just not true of every ML hitter, let alone LL, HS, college, or MiL hitters.

This is one of those questions that really has two answers based on the answer to this question - How good are you as a hitter?

If you are a really good hitter chasing a fastball off the plate on the first pitch is probably a bad approach especially in HS.  I'd be inclined to suggest waiting for a hanger or a fatter fastball will work well for these hitters.  I'd rate this at 20% or less of HS players or about 2 per team on average.  I have no evidence beyond the eye test of watching a mess of hitters for that claim.

For the other 80% finding a fastball that they can take a decent hack at it is the key to their success.  These guys will struggle with breaking balls and often don't have great command of the Strike Zone so behind they will chase even more.

So the answer to the OP lies in true understanding if you are a Group 1 hitter or a Group 2 hitter.  Even if you are a Group 1 hitter if there is a real good pitcher on the hill for todays game you have to understand if that makes you a Group 2 hitter even just for that game and adjust to the guy with the rock.

IMO that is a level of self awareness that HS players do not have.  So what I see is coaches tending to coach to the lowest common denominator on this front.  They actively encourage aggressive early count approaches on fastballs in or near the zone on the thinking that it very well will be the best opportunity to make solid contact.  It is not a philosophy that is foolish or reckless - it makes a lot of sense for all but the top end of hitters the typical HS coach is likely to have in their lineup. 

Simplifies everything for everyone so you can be Yogi in the box - Don't think and hit at the same time.  See a fastball - hit a fastball.  Simple.