Japanese Approach to hitting

quote:

Originally posted by tfox:
I would be interested in seeing the strikeout numbers in the Japanese league verses the strikeout numbers in the MLB.

From watching their approach in world competition,their approach with 2 strikes is put the ball in play where I see American players still going for the long ball.

Am I the only one that sees this or is it just the world competition we see this?

I like the long ball as much as the next guy but when the situation dictates,just put the darn ball in play.

tfox,

I do think the Japanese hitters seem to have a better two strike approach. Then again there are many USA hitters who are tough to strike out.

Anyway, I did check the stats for the championship teams from both leagues.

Japan
Yomiuri Giants hitters struck out 996 times in 4850 Abs in 2008
20.5% of their Abs resulted in Ks.
144 games - 6.92 Ks per game

Major Leagues
Philadelphia Phillies hitters struck out 1117 times in 5509 Abs in 2008
20.2% of their Abs resulted in Ks.
162 games – 6.90 Ks per game

Not much difference is there?

TR;

Actually there is difference in the ball parks.

1. the alleys are short 340-350'
2. the pitchers mounds are lower.
3. the baseballs have no raised seams.

During one of journey's with our American team, I walked ahead of our group to the Seibu Lions ball park and observed the batting practice. The Japanese hitters were practicing their HR swing. They worked on the hook of the ball, so it traveled the shortest distance over the RF or LF foul pole [300' - 90 meters].

Today the US ML teams announced that the % of foreign on ML rosters have remained at 28%.

In 2005, it was 29.2%. There are 13 Japanese players on the ML rosters.

During our Goodwill Series with Japan and Korea [1983-2008], several players adjusted to the Japanese game - Torii Hunter, Jimmy Rollins, Nomar,
Scott Kazmir and Delmon and Dimtri Young.

Our LHP were very successful against the Japanese hitters. Our hitters learned to use the entire field
to be successful.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
tfox,

I do think the Japanese hitters seem to have a better two strike approach. Then again there are many USA hitters who are tough to strike out.

Anyway, I did check the stats for the championship teams from both leagues.

Japan
Yomiuri Giants hitters struck out 996 times in 4850 Abs in 2008
20.5% of their Abs resulted in Ks.
144 games - 6.92 Ks per game

Major Leagues
Philadelphia Phillies hitters struck out 1117 times in 5509 Abs in 2008
20.2% of their Abs resulted in Ks.
162 games – 6.90 Ks per game

Thanks PG,I guess what we see in world comp is a bit misleading but I am with you,their 2 strike approach seems to be better.

tfox:

The Japanese hitters with 2 strikes are taught since age 12 to swing "inside out" to protect.

My question to our American pitchers, since 1983.

How do you pitch to an "inside out" hitter???

Bob Williams

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Williams:
tfox:

The Japanese hitters with 2 strikes are taught since age 12 to swing "inside out" to protect.

My question to our American pitchers, since 1983.

How do you pitch to an "inside out" hitter???

Bob Williams

Interesting,this is an adjustment that I have helped my daughter make with her softball swing due to her being an absolute speed demon getting to first.She incorporated slapping into her hitting and swinging inside out has made things easier for her to go from swinging to slapping.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Williams:
tfox:

The Japanese hitters with 2 strikes are taught since age 12 to swing "inside out" to protect.

My question to our American pitchers, since 1983.

How do you pitch to an "inside out" hitter???

Bob Williams

Bob- I have alot of respect for all the things that you do and the japanese philosophy of baseball. That said, I don't think baseball in this country takes a back seat to ANYBODY. How do you pitch to an inside-out hitter? You throw it inside and break their bat!

There are many things I would incorporate from the japanese game- more discipline being one of them. The Japan leagues have their own problems. If you ask Daisuke Matsuzaka, he will tell you that their are plenty of arms in Japan that are blown-out because of their insistence on constant use. We only see the best and the healthiest.

Finally, let's put together a team of the absolute top players at the high school, college, and professional level (for all of you who dont know, that rarely happens for many reasons!), give them the same preparation time, put them on a neutral field, and there's no question in my mind we beat the Japanese, Dominicans, Cubans, et al every day of the week.

NC Ball;
Pitch inside is the correct answer. Our American pitchers John Wetteland, Mike Jones and Scott Kazmir
were successful.

Our American pro players with a strong manager can win and will win!

Personally, I am not a proponent of the Japanese hitting methods. The disciplined practices, maybe, but the hitting style - NO.

My observations are as a coach who is searching for a hitters weakness to aid our pitchers in game strategy.

H. Matsui *Yankees] was the only Japan HS hitter that was different. Our American team played against
Matsui in the 1991 and 1992 Goodwill Series.

Bob

PS: where do you live? If you are near Sonoma County, I can loan you several game videos *1983-2006] to research.

I also think the baseball played here is the best (by a large margin). Also think that some countries place far more importance on international competition than we do. And we could learn a lot from the way the Japanese do things. We have a staff member who grew up playing baseball in Japan and came here to play college ball. Some of his stories about how serious they take baseball are amazing. Things like 12 hour practice days. He didn't realize that baseball was actually so much fun until he got here.

Here is the question... If every country had to field 50 teams rather than just one team, how would things turn out? I believe you would have a top team or two from some countries that could compete. You would have 50 teams from the USA that could beat any team on a given day. I actually believe that the USA could field 50 teams that most all would be among the top 60. And if all those teams played a 162 game schedule this would be even more apparent.

Just my opinion

The best player or two could come from anywhere, just like other sports. That doesn't mean their country plays the game better. We set the standard when it comes to baseball. In other places like Japan, the Dominican, Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, etc... they follow. No one else has anything even close to the Major Leagues. Japan has the next best league. Their best play here... same goes for other countries (for the most part)... the best USA and Canadian players play here, too.