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Hitting theory

B bballdad1954500+ posts
Keep your eye on the ball! We have always heard you should follow the ball all the way to the bat. There is a coaching facility that hangs it' hat on this hitting phiilosophy and says they'll teach you to follow the ball to the bat.We have all seen pictures of the moment of contact for a home run and the players head and eyes are on the ball at contact.

My son takes lessons at Frozen Ropes. A major part of their teaching is visual training. They clain it is the First 30 feet not the last 30 that are the key to hitting. The decision on whether or not to swing, what pitch is coming, and your swing plane are all made in the first 30 feet. After that it is too late to do much adjusting anyway. They teach hitters techniques in seeing the ball and making decisions and pitch recognition early.

They have a dril in which my son closes his eyes when the ball is halfway to the plate. It is amazing the consistncy in which he makes good contact. The ball is thrown by the coach at 35 to 40 miles per hour, not 85, but the drill is interesting to say the least.

Also, we all tell the kids to "watch the new pitcher". But how many coaches teach what to watch for?

Frozen Ropes does NOT tell the kids Not to watch the ball all the way in, they just emphasise picking up the ball early.

What do you hitting gurus say?
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Mike FMike F100+ posts
bballdad,

I agree that the decisions regarding the swing are made before the ball is halfway home. There's not enough time for reaction after that.

Of course, if you put a ball on a tee where it doesn't move at all, you can hit it with your eyes closed. But if your eyes are open, you'll hit it better and more consistantly (off the tee or pitched).

I've never heard of the drill (closing the eyes while the ball is in the air) before. Did they tell you what the purpose is? Is it only to make their point about first 30' vs last 30', or does it help develope the swing in some way?

I'd be interested to hear their thoughts.

Mike F
blazer25blazer25100+ posts
I have used the "soft focus" to "sharp focus" deal with my hitters...gives them something to visualize.

Soft focus on the pitcher concentrating on the spot where he often releases the ball...as he goes through his motion focus changes to:

Sharp focus...ball at the top of the delivery, see the ball in the hand (and the type of grip) and see the ball upon release and track it all the way in.

Most kids get so geared up to hit they don't know (or forget) what to watch and try and watch the whole pitcher...very hard to recognize pitches and consistently pick up the ball.
Last edited by blazer25
Mike FMike F100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by blazer25:
I have used the "soft focus" to "sharp focus" deal with my hitters...gives them something to visualize.

Soft focus on the pitcher concentrating on the spot where he often releases the ball...as he goes through his motion focus changes to:

Sharp focus...ball at the top of the delivery, see the ball in the hand (and the type of grip) and see the ball upon release and track it all the way in.

Most kids get so geared up to hit they don't know (or forget) what to watch and try and watch the whole pitcher...very hard to recognize pitches and consistently pick up the ball.


Blazer, we teach our kids something that we picked up from Wally Horseman (Mike Piazza's off season hitting coach) while we were at Bucky Dent's baseball school years ago. He said that depth perception becomes an issue if you focus out into space above the pitcher's shoulder. There is a slight delay while the hitter focuses as the ball comes to the release point.

Instead, he told us to have our players focus on the logo on the pitchers cap until just before the pitch. Then look to the release point as the ball is entering. You don't need to refocus. He believed that without refocusing for depth, you get a better visual of the ball a little earlier.

Thought you might find it interesting. We teach it that way, but I don't know if all our hitters are doing it consistantly.

Mike F
blazer25blazer25100+ posts
quote:
He said that depth perception becomes an issue if you focus out into space above the pitcher's shoulder


Mike...sounds similar.

I guess I should have clarified; we have our guys "soft focus" on the pitcher's head/ upper body during windup and shrink the focus to the spot of release at the top of the motion.

This shouldn't pose a depth perception problem...but I imagine focusing on the hat works as well.

I am just not a fan of having players "sharp focus" on anything for the whole delivery...it is easy to get distracted by all the moving parts...this is why we use the term "soft focus".

I guess it's an awareness of the pitcher without actually "bearing down" on him until he's at the top of the release.
Mike FMike F100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by blazer25:
...we have our guys "soft focus" on the pitcher's head/ upper body during windup and shrink the focus to the spot of release at the top of the motion.


Blazer,

Thanks for the clarification. I obviously misunderstood (imagine that!) your meaning...thought you meant soft focus off of the pitcher's body.

Guess I'm getting itchy for baseball to start.

Mike F
Mike FMike F100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by bballdad1954:
I guess the emphasis should be on watching the ball early. No one has defended the emphasis of watching the ball all the way in to the bat.


Bballdad,

Yes there is a strong emphasis on watching the ball early. But you also need to watch the ball all the way to the bat.

The purpose of seeing the ball early is to have the most possible time to react to it. The earlier you know where the ball will arrive and when, the easier it is to hit effectively. But that doesn't mean that seeing the ball late should be discounted at all. You still need to track the ball to your bat and sychronize your swing to what you see. For example, golfers know exactly where the ball will be and when it will be there. But seeing the ball is still critical (keep your head down!) to hitting it well.

Bottom line...you need to see it early and late (IMO).

Mike F

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