How to hit the curveball

Let the ball travel and take it opposite field. Learn to "read it". Better yet, don't miss the fastball.

Thanks. I will try that tomorrow.

I'll take any other advice as well.

I am assuming you are RH trying to hit a rightie curve ball. Natural tendency for most hitters, especially young hitters is to duck which gives you no chance at the pitch once you determine it is a curveball. The key is to learn to not duck your head, but instead learn to avoid an inside pitch by turning your front shoulder inside towards the plate (I know, it sounds backwards). By turning inside, you remain "locked and loaded" and in a position to let the ball travel and explode at the last second to slap or drive the ball to right field. Otherwise, your head ducks, your knees buckle and you are toast. Good luck...it takes hard work and practice to make this adjustment. Just ask all the guys who left the game because they can't hit the curve ball.

Wait longer, focus, swing faster.

In case the terminology may be foreign to you, "wait longer" and "let the ball travel" means let the ball get deeper into the swing zone. Then go with the pitch. You will be more successful driving curves the other way. If you try to pull them you'll hit into a double play. However, if you see a hanging curve (flat break/mostly spin) jump on it, pull it and crush it. A friend's son played at Oklahoma State when they were known as Hitter's U. They were told not to swing at curves until two strikes. At high school and below chances are you're not going to see two high quality curves in the same at bat.

What you have absorbed from the posts above the other key is practice---practice---practice---it may sound trite but it is not---there is nothing like taking long BP against a solid CB pitcher

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They were told not to swing at curves until two strikes.

Surely they weren't serious. It would be nice to start every hitter off 0-2, 4 pitches to get the 3rd strike or make them swing at garbage. Meat is meat, IMO, whether it's breaking or not. Would I swing at a curve on the black on the 1st strike? No! Would I swing at a fastball on the black on the 1st strike? No!

Best advice Ted Williams ever got..."get a good pitch to hit!" It was good advice and he didn't say, "get a good fastball to hit"!

Also, if you are going to try to hit every curveball oppo, I'm going to saw you off on curves coming into you on the inside all night. Hit the ball where it's pitched, period!

Lastly, yeah, I got the terminology down pretty well. I gave 3 suggestions, not one. Even on pitches coming in, if you think in your head, wait longer, you won't get out in front of it and you will stay with the ball. You should pull a curve coming in if it's middle in and you should pull a curve going away from you inside 3rd in. On a pitch going away inside 3rd to middle should be hit up the middle and middle out should be hit oppo.

Don't swing at them until you get two stikes unless it's a high hanger, then park that one in the leftfield bleachers. If it is down and away go with it hard to the right side.

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Surely they weren't serious.

The coach probably didn't know what he was talking about.....

On July 4th, 2008 former Oklahoma State and New Mexico State head coach and current New Mexico State assistant head coach Gary Ward was inducted into the 2008 College Baseball Foundation Hall of Fame. Gary coached at Oklahoma State from 1978 to 1996. He led OSU to 16 straight conference titles, 17 NCAA regional appearances and 10 trips to the College World Series. He compiled a record of 953-313-1 in 19 seasons in Stillwater.

Thanks for all the information. This is really gonna help me a lot.

Thanks for all of your help!!!

You need to develop a trigger phase in your swing. Until you have develop a good trigger, you will be a guess hitter. The trigger is after your stride, when your back heel lifts up of the ground and twists slightly inwards to create tork.

I’m with RJM. Both of my sons played college baseball and both were advised to let curve balls go until they had 2 strikes. The good thing is, I was lucky enough to learn this from dozens of college coaches 10 years prior (camps, clinics, conversations). Even though I have been eaten alive on the Internet for repeating this approach, I still believe it is the best advice you can give a teenage hitter. I always thought mine had an advantage throughout middle and high school using this approach. As a side note, both got many hits in college off of curve balls too.

The Internet is great but sometimes I think it allows us to slow things down a bit too much. There is next to zero time in the batters box to distinguish between a fastball and curve vs. days and weeks on the Internet.

If your son wants to play college baseball my advice is to find the common denominators that all college coaches teach. And “let curve balls go until you have 2 strikes” is certainly one of them (in my opinion).

THop
www.baseball-excellence.com

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Originally posted by RJM:

quote:

Surely they weren't serious.

The coach probably didn't know what he was talking about.....

On July 4th, 2008 former Oklahoma State and New Mexico State head coach and current New Mexico State assistant head coach Gary Ward was inducted into the 2008 College Baseball Foundation Hall of Fame. Gary coached at Oklahoma State from 1978 to 1996. He led OSU to 16 straight conference titles, 17 NCAA regional appearances and 10 trips to the College World Series. He compiled a record of 953-313-1 in 19 seasons in Stillwater.

The sad thing, is that either no one on an opposing team ever figured out his philosophy or they faced Pitchers that couldn't throw their curve for strikes. If you can't throw a strike with your curve when the hitter has his bat on his shoulder, should you really be pitching in College???

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The sad thing, is that either no one on an opposing team ever figured out his philosophy or they faced Pitchers that couldn't throw their curve for strikes. If you can't throw a strike with your curve when the hitter has his bat on his shoulder, should you really be pitching in College???

It must be the Big Eight/Big 12 stunk.

Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

Baylor University
University of Texas
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University

It’s common practice in the SEC & ACC as well. Use the Hanson Principle. Watch some games on TV and chart it for yourself. I’ve done it numerous times and it was always over 90%.

quote:

Originally posted by THop:
It’s common practice in the SEC & ACC as well. Use the Hanson Principle. Watch some games on TV and chart it for yourself. I’ve done it numerous times and it was always over 90%.

Are you talking about borderline curves or meat? No one is suggesting swinging at tough to handle curves, but to let two perfectly good pitches go by, just because you are scared of the curve is just crazy. Why not learn to hit it instead?

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:

quote:

Surely they weren't serious.

The coach probably didn't know what he was talking about.....

On July 4th, 2008 former Oklahoma State and New Mexico State head coach and current New Mexico State assistant head coach Gary Ward was inducted into the 2008 College Baseball Foundation Hall of Fame. Gary coached at Oklahoma State from 1978 to 1996. He led OSU to 16 straight conference titles, 17 NCAA regional appearances and 10 trips to the College World Series. He compiled a record of 953-313-1 in 19 seasons in Stillwater.

How many CWS CHAMPIONSHIPS did he win? Answer 0! Maybe they should have been swinging at good pitches early in the count?

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:

quote:

The sad thing, is that either no one on an opposing team ever figured out his philosophy or they faced Pitchers that couldn't throw their curve for strikes. If you can't throw a strike with your curve when the hitter has his bat on his shoulder, should you really be pitching in College???

It must be the Big Eight/Big 12 stunk.

Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

Baylor University
University of Texas
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University

Do you know of any Professional teams that share this philosophy?

I have a suggestion. Go to the main board and question Gary Ward's ability to coach college baseball and teach hitting to see what kind of response you get. He put a lot of hitters in pro ball. That's why it was called Hitters U.

A famous MLB hitter (cant remember who right now) once said:

quote:

The best way to hit the curve is to hit the fastball first

Good hooks dont get hit much....on the flip side good hooks dont get thrown for strikes much either.

I'm no expert, but I agree with Deemax. How to hit the curve? Look for a bad one.

Especially at the high school level. Lots of hittable curve balls. Good curves either let them go (with less than 2 strikes) or try to spoil them (with 2 strikes.)

But when that juicy hanger comes floating in there, no matter what the count - punish it!

I think the key to hitting curves is to know you aren't going to get a lot of good wood on the good curve, so don't try to. Just try to spoil the good 2 strike curve.

But recognize the mistake and make the pitcher pay for throwing it.

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Originally posted by powertoallfields:
Do you know of any Professional teams that share this philosophy?

I've never discussed this with the pro contacts I have/had. However, the discussion originated regarding hitting the high school curve. There are very few high school pitchers who will throw two or three quality curves in an at bat. Some can't throw one.

Note: I've emailed a friend whose son played in to MLB organizations and now plays in the Japanese majors.

I think you can get into trouble when you say never swing at a certain type of pitch until you get to two strikes. It can't be that absolute, in my opinion.

A better approach, which I stole from a clinic where ECU's Billy Godwin spoke, was that there are basically two counts- counts with two strikes, and every other count. Until you get to two strikes mentally you're in a 3-1 count looking for something to hit into next week. It doesn't matter what the pitch is....meat fastball, curve ball that just spins, or whatever. But it has to be a pitch you can drive. Of course, you have to have some confidence in your ability to hit with two strikes, but I like the approach in general.

And I would agree with Deemax....nobody hits the good curves. Just tip your cap and hope he can't throw it consistently.

quote:

Note: I've emailed a friend whose son played in two MLB organizations and now plays in the Japanese majors.

Response:

In the pros they are supposed to be able to hit all pitches equally but of course they can't. Pro hitting coaches encourage guessing based on previous pitching patterns. When my son started hitting well is when he tuned them out and reverted back to his high school approach. Sit on the fastball in a certain location and react to offspeed. With two strikes think middle away. So far because many Japanese pitchers don't throw hard he sometimes will look offspeed and react to the fastball.

"I followed asking specifically if any pro coaches taught taking the curve unless a hanger until two strikes."

Response:

I don't know. He never mentioned any. They mostly stressed "thinking along with the pitcher". Which is guessing. The first year in AA he tried this and performed poorly. I asked him if he knew the pitcher was going to throw a change down and away at the knees and he did. Did he think he would be able to hit it hard? No! And how many times did he get a fat fast ball while looking change down and away and take it? Plenty. I** convinced him that he made his living hitting pitcher's mistakes until two strikes. He then started raking.

** the dad used to be a big time 18U travel coach

I am not a professional coach. I never played after HS. But how is a kid going to learn to hit a curveball if he never swings at one? I always told my son to swing away if he liked it regardless of the count(not 3-0 of course). It was pretty ugly at 9, but now, he drives them. Obviously a great curve is a tough pitch to hit. But there are a heck of a lot more good/average/bad curves out there and a kid needs to learn to drive it IMO.

No one is saying don't tee off on the hanger. But a good curve is a pitcher's strike. I hope you teach your son not to swing at pitcher's strikes (tough pitches to hit with success) until two strikes. Swinging at quality curves with less than two strikes is a great way to lead the league in hitting into doubleplays.

Tee off on it or not to tee off on it that is not the question---how you learn to hit the curve?

When he was younger he swung at all of them. That is how he learned which ones to lay off on. Everyone knows that an outside corner, good breaking ball that you pull is a two hopper to short. But if it is up or gets too much of the plate, it may be the best pitch you get to hit in an at bat. Good hitters will drive those. I just don't agree with the philosophy of waiting until you get two strikes to swing at a breaking ball. The advantage is all with the pitcher, especially if he has 2-4 different ones to throw to you. If you get a pitch you can drive, then drive it. The best way to learn how to hit it is to recognize it and hit it. Why wouldn't a player want to learn how to adjust and hit different pitches with authority?

TR,
I believe it is by seeing as many as you can and taking your hacks. Learn by doing. Just like every other baseball skill.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Tee off on it or not to tee off on it that is not the question---how you learn to hit the curve?

My first post:

*** In case the terminology may be foreign to you, "wait longer" and "let the ball travel" means let the ball get deeper into the swing zone. Then go with the pitch. You will be more successful driving curves the other way. If you try to pull them you'll hit into a double play. However, if you see a hanging curve (flat break/mostly spin) jump on it, pull it and crush it. ***

The addition of the strategy of not chasing curves unless necessary became the rest of the debate.

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I just don't agree with the philosophy of waiting until you get two strikes to swing at a breaking ball.

I think you should make your advise available to all the major college coaches who think otherwise. Maybe their teams will become more successful.

And once again, no one said not to jump all over the hanger.

"Why wouldn't a player want to learn how to adjust and hit different pitches with authority?"

No one said not to learn how to hit a curve. But since a good curve is a low success situation for a hitter, the advise is not to swing at them unless necessary.

I am well aware that my opinion is in the minority. But how else are you going to learn to hit a good curve? Watching it go by? Give up when it comes and go back to the dugout? If you learn how to hit it, the success rate would go up. I have always believed that hitting a curve ball is a skill just like hitting a fastball. Kids need to work on it and waiting until you have two strikes and then hoping it is a bad one just doesn't make sense to me. If you swing at one and you miss it or foul it off, I would think it would be easier to hit it the second time. I certainly could be wrong but it makes sense to me.

Oh well.

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... waiting until you have two strikes and then hoping it is a bad one just doesn't make sense to me.

Where did anyone post this?

The more reps you get in BP seeing and hitting curveballs the quicker you will learn to hit them and then when you get to college you learn how to hit a slider

Well what else are you waiting for, a great one? And for every coach out there that wants you to wait there is a coach out there that doesn't want you to wait for two strikes. Poll a couple of hundred hitters and you will get different opinions. Tell David Ortiz not to swing at a 1-1 curveball inside and see what he says. LOL.

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Tell David Ortiz not to swing at a 1-1 curveball inside and see what he says. LOL.

When did David Ortiz get demoted to high school or college ball? Last time I checked MLB was six levels above college ball.

The original post was by a high school player on how it the curve. After the advice was provided he was told through college hitters are taught to be very selective about swinging at curves. If a hitter is attacking a curve that doesn't hang he's playing into the pitcher's hands.

RJM,
The pitching is six levels better also. If a MLB hitter should swing at a MLB curveball, then why shouldn't a HS hitter be able to hit/swing at a HS curveball?

I'm going to conclude this conversation with a suggestion. Never compare anything about the level of play in high school ball to the level of play in MLB.

I am with you RJM. With less than 2 strikes why would a hitter who knows how to play the game swing at a pitchers pitch (a quality curveball) A hanging curveball is a pitchers mistake and he should pay dearly for it.

With 2 strikes and a quality curveball a productive approach for a hitter is to let the ball travel a bit more, read the trajectory and drive the ball opposite field.

If that does not work than foul them off until you get another fastball.

The technique requires a thinking disciplined hitter that approaches each at bat, each pitch, deliberately, and constantly making adjustments.