Would ARod be able to reset on a knuckle ball from an 11 year old?
This question is totally irrelevant to the converstaion here and I still want the main focus of this to be on jon's question at the beginning:
I'd like some feedback from the players or instructors here on how you approach the off-speed pitch (mechanically). How, physically, do you adjust if you're looking fastball? If you stop any forward (linear) movement to wait on the pitch, is it possible to restart some forward movement into rotation, or must you just rotate from a static position? Or should you forget rotation and just keep the hands back and try to make an arm swing the other way? Should you even try to go the other way with the pitch in this instance, or is simply hitting it hard somewhere the only realistic goal?
I think we have had our fun debating how to hit a knucleball, or a "folly floater" or an eephus, and we should focus on typical offspeed pitches now. Hitters are going to see sliders, curveballs and changeups as the most common offspeed, so why worry about hitting something you are rarely if ever going to see (knuckleball or eephus)?
Seeing typical offspeed pitches, no matter what age is throwing them, allows no time to "reset." If you try to teach your kid this technique it will only hinder his development.
When I hit, whether its batting practice or a game, I am always looking at the pitcher, no where else. I focus on his shoes, his belt, the logo on his glove, whatever spot i can focus on that is, for me, 60 feet, 6 inches away. If i try to look at the shortstop, for example, now my eyes have focused on something that is not the pitcher and will have to re-adjust which takes time. When you have less than a second to react, time is everything.
As the pitcher gets his sign, I am focusing on the things I said before, I always finish at the logo on his hat. Why? Because that is 99% of the time, the closest point you can focus on with relation to where his release point is.
Now that I have my eyes completely focused on the pitcher, I wait until he is ready to realease to look at his release point. Since my eyes are focused in that area, I have the best chance to pick up spin on the ball. Curves usually have a 12 to 6 type of spin (or at least thats the idea behind them
) and sliders have more of a side spin. Fastballs have a true backspin and changeups look to work off of the fastball, disguising themselves as one to get you out front in your swing.
The sooner I pick up spin, the sooner I can make a decision to swing or not. The sooner I pick up spin, the better hitter I will be because I will not chase as many bad pitches.
Jon, again, my advice would be to work with him on picking up spin so he recognize different pitches, because that is the first step in approaching offspeed pitches. Once he begins to distinguish what one looks like from another, he can key on certain pitches as he plays. This is the thought process I work at every day during the season and it's tough, so I wouldn't get too in depth with your 11 year old. I would just start by throwing him batting practice if you can and mixing up pitches as you work with where he should be focusing. FOCUSING YOUR EYES ON THE PITCHER IS KEY! As Ted Williams states in his book, the first rule of hitting is "Get a good pitch to hit." Hitting is hard enough as it is, so the better he can be a pitch selection, the better hitter he will become.
As for the mechanics of hitting the breaking ball, its no different mechanically than hitting a fastball. The only thing that changes is timing. However, like I said before, if you can teach your son to hit the fastball and lay off the breaking ball, you will be going in the right direction in terms of development. And as Willie Mays said, "How do I hit the breaking ball? I hit the fastball first."