Opposite Field Hitter

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Originally posted by BlueDog:

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I don't believe I need to explain my thoughts to you.

I understand....Since you took my question in a way it was not intended, I will keep to myself with any more questions I may have had for you.....

If your comment wasn't meant to be a dig, then I appologize. Was what I described as segmentation, what you believe to be segmentation?

Nothing with hitting Oppo field. He gets to see the ball longer and rarely strikes out. Sounds alot like my son. The past two years he was letting the ball get deep taking it the other way and up the middle. Today he is much stronger and more mature. He is now pulling balls and hitting where it is pitched. Inside balls are hit hard to the left side and outside pitches are taken the other way. You can teach a kid to pull to LF but I think it is more difficult to teach a kid to consistently hit to the RF. Nothing wrong with this believe me.

As the one who started this thread, I wanted to give a quick update. After reading many of the comments on this thread and others, my son having been working on some of the concepts proposed by Chameleon and tom.guerry. In a game last night, after only a couple of batting practice sessions, he had 3 consecutive hits that he "pulled" hard to right field. After the game he told me that was the hardest he had hit the ball in a long time.

So, thanks to all of you for your time and wisdom. I know this forum generates a lot of bickering, but beyond that you are helping kids (and parents) who are serious about improving. Perhaps I'll post more video soon so you can see the things he is working on.

There is an EXTREMELY important principle at work here which is that you should see almost IMMEDIATE improvement - right away - if the info is right.

Of course, immediate is not the same as "consistent".

IF you are not getting IMMEDIATE improvement, either you don't know what you are supposed to be doing OR you know what it is you need to do but your body isn't douing it OR it is not the right thing to be doing, in which case you need to try something else.

Do NOT let people talk you into idea that it is hard work and you are on the road and it may be different now, but it will be what you want later.

That is WRONG/WRONG/WRONG

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Do NOT let people talk you into idea that it is hard work and you are on the road and it may be different now, but it will be what you want later.

That is WRONG/WRONG/WRONG

It sure is wrong...........

Whenever My Son has struggled we would check him out with his instructor. Invariably it would be a slight adjustment that once made resulted in much better results during the next game. The "tweaking" process is almost ongoing...

Hot Corner Dad,

I just checked out your son's swing. I think he definitely has an idea about what he's doing at the plate. Glad to hear what Chameleon and tom.guerry suggested is working for you. As for pulling, I didn't learn to pull the ball and get it in the air until I was a junior in high school, and I was 6'3" 180lbs as a freshman.

What I mean by pulling the ball and getting in the air is not necissarily high air, where he would fly out or pop out. I mean a pulled ball that is driven in the gap, down the line, or at least over the infielders heads.

If he is getting hits the other way, I wouldn't be in a hurry to change much. It is when he isn't getting hits that things may need to change.

I know when I am struggling, as a left handed hitter, I am hitting balls on the ground to the right side and popping balls up to the left side. For me, this comes from being too pull conscious.

When I get too pull conscious, my bat is long to the zone and short through it, so I "cut across" a lot of balls the other way. That's where I see a lot of balls sliced to left and not hit hard.

When I do end up pulling the ball (when I am too pull conscious), I roll over almost everything into a left hand hitter's worst nightmare, the 4-3.

Many, many times I can look back to the turning point of myself getting out of a slump to the first time I hit a ball hard the other way. I say that because when that happens, I know that I was short to the ball and long through it. In other terms, I STAYED ON THE BALL.

IMO, listen to what Chameleon said "Don't have him change to a new pattern or a new concept."

He's 14. He looks like he can hit. Let him have success doing what he's doing and let him develop. Good luck to him!

quote:

Originally posted by tom.guerry:
There is an EXTREMELY important principle at work here which is that you should see almost IMMEDIATE improvement - right away - if the info is right.

Of course, immediate is not the same as "consistent".

IF you are not getting IMMEDIATE improvement, either you don't know what you are supposed to be doing OR you know what it is you need to do but your body isn't douing it OR it is not the right thing to be doing, in which case you need to try something else.

Do NOT let people talk you into idea that it is hard work and you are on the road and it may be different now, but it will be what you want later.

That is WRONG/WRONG/WRONG

I've had two different hitting instructors tell me "you have to get worse before you get better" and I never understood that. So are you saying that isn't true?

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I've had two different hitting instructors tell me "you have to get worse before you get better" and I never understood that. So are you saying that isn't true?

Mic,

I believe your opinions are valuable.

Regarding the above here is my opinion FWIW...

If a hitter is successful at a lower level, but you detect something that will keep him from being successful at a higher level, it is likely the change could cause him to have worse results for a while until the change completely takes over.

However if, a hitter is doing poorly at his present level, a good hitting instructor should be able to make almost immediate improvements in that hitter. This hitter should not "get worse" before getting better!

Then again, there are varying opinions as to what being successful means!

To me, the most important ingredients in hitting are being comfortable and confident, followed by being aggressive yet controlled. All hitting mechanics should result in the above.

A successful hitter who changes something is likely to be a little uncomfortable and less confident for a while.

A hitter who is not successful, is already uncomfortable and lacking confidence. Only one way to go!

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Originally posted by PGStaff:

Mic,

I believe your opinions are valuable.

Regarding the above here is my opinion FWIW...

If a hitter is successful at a lower level, but you detect something that will keep him from being successful at a higher level, it is likely the change could cause him to have worse results for a while until the change completely takes over.

However if, a hitter is doing poorly at his present level, a good hitting instructor should be able to make almost immediate improvements in that hitter. This hitter should not "get worse" before getting better!

Then again, there are varying opinions as to what being successful means!

To me, the most important ingredients in hitting are being comfortable and confident, followed by being aggressive yet controlled. All hitting mechanics should result in the above.

A successful hitter who changes something is likely to be a little uncomfortable and less confident for a while.

A hitter who is not successful, is already uncomfortable and lacking confidence. Only one way to go!

Thank you, on both counts! I never could understand that statement, but you've explained it pretty well. I always knew a change in someone's mechanics could cause timing problems and if they were successful before and had confidence in their old swing, that it could cause problems if the changes were made during or too close to the season to regain the confidence. I guess what I would want to know from the instructors here is, what kind of time frame should the turnaround take? Provided the player worked on the changes on a daily basis.

PG, IMO, if it makes him get worse, you're on the wrong track.....

I've been down that road...Doesn't work....

Tom said the right thing......Better see almost immediate improvement....That does make the info correct.....

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Originally posted by BlueDog:
PG, IMO, if it makes him get worse, you're on the wrong track.....

I've been down that road...Doesn't work....

Tom said the right thing......Better see almost immediate improvement....That does make the info correct.....

Doggie - IMO - that wasnt very good.

What road have you been down? That sounds like a catchy phrase - but it means nothing.

Some guys make adjustments - and they do not see immediate improvement. So I disagree with our resident hitting experts.

Regardless of whether you have the ultimate ability or not - immediate improvements during any change should never be expected.

Of course - In the laboratory - immediate improvement is always expected.

But in real life - in a real game - "Immediate improvement" is pretty unrealistic - though it can sell well!

BlueDog,

I'm just guessing here, but perhaps I've worked with much better hitters than you have (maybe not). That would include a large number of professional hitters, some who have played in the Big Leagues.

If you and Tom are saying you can take a kid who is hitting .550 in high school and immediately turn him into a .600 or better hitter by changing his mechanics, that's one thing and you then, I would guess, would not understand the importance of comfort and confidence.

I'm saying the .550 hitter who you believe will not hit well at the highest levels because of a flaw may need to hit .400 or less for awhile in high school before it all falls into place. Especially from a mental perspective, let alone everything becoming habitual.

Now if someone can't hit and is having no success and is hitting .200 in high school... I believe any good hitting instructor should be able to see immediate results and improvement.

Sorry to use the batting average thing, but don't know how else to describe it or make a point.

I agree with everything PG says here.

There will always be a period of adjustment when trying something new(in any avenue of life),if for no other reason,your body is used to doing it one way and needs to learn the muscle memory that is needed for the change.

Some things may be quicker than others.Some people are different as well.

Now,if the change doesn't yield results in a timely manner,then maybe a different approach should be taken.

Define improvement.

Not always good at defining things, but IMO...

There is improvement in the cage and there is improvement in the game. (There you go "its"!)

In the cage things can be controlled by the instructor and we can see immediate improvement or at least we should. In the game things are controlled by the hitter. I believe you yourself said something to that effect earlier. It could take some time to see the "results" in the actual games for some.

There is much more to hitting than the mechanics of the swing. You also know this because again you mentioned earlier something about, you need to teach feel in hitting. I actually understood that... But I think you will agree... true feel, whether on a pool table, shooting a basketball, hitting a golf ball, or that involved in hitting a baseball isn't something "mastered" over night or in one hitting lesson.

Maybe improvement is the wrong word because it is my belief that someone can be improving without seeing immediate "game" results. A good scout might see this improvement, while the players coach might prefer to stay with the old results. In the end the hitter improves and sometimes its the next coach who benefits the most.

This might sound a bit crazy, but I do think it is more common to get results faster with pitchers in some cases. That is because pitchers don't have to adjust and react as much as hitters do.

That's my 2 cents worth. Might not be worth much, but I guarantee it cost me more than 2 cents to write it.

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:

There is much more to hitting than the mechanics of the swing. You also know this because again you mentioned earlier something about, you need to teach feel in hitting. I actually understood that... But I think you will agree... true feel, whether on a pool table, shooting a basketball, hitting a golf ball, or that involved in hitting a baseball isn't something "mastered" over night or in one hitting lesson.

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I spent some time reading most of the hitting threads. I admire the effort put forth by some, but it felt like I was cramming for a physics exam. Geez Whiz !!

You hit with your eyes, you hit with your hands, and you hit with your heart(passion).

Many of the gifts needed to be a polished hitter came the day the player was born. Athleticism and off the charts hand-eye coordination the two main components.

I am no hitting guru, but spent part of the past 4 years watching one turn a very good hitter into a more consistent better hitter.

The player already had the tools so the tricks were easy to adapt to.

I quote PG at the start of this post because he is 100% right on.