Every time I have been in a hitting slump, I have traced the cause to being to eager and being to far out in front of the pitch. Does anybody know any drills that can teach a hitter how to wait just a split second later to start the swing?
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Actually, when this problem appeared with my son, he moved up in the box and focused on hitting opposite field.
Some drills I would try...
-slow front toss, hit oppo, hit to a target that is low and hard oppo (slightly foul). with a low target, you will have to keep your top hand driving through the ball longer.
-front toss, hit oppo, sweetspot focus (tape a barrel and check for sweetspot contact)
concentration on sweetspot will further engrain staying connected at contact
-tee drill – "stay inside", hit a letter or seam lined up on inside half of ball
with specific visual focus on a spot slightly inside and centered, you are less likely to get out front or leak. move tee and work on both in and away locations.
Originally Posted by nspeltz11:
Every time I have been in a hitting slump, I have traced the cause to being to eager and being to far out in front of the pitch. Does anybody know any drills that can teach a hitter how to wait just a split second later to start the swing?
I’m curious to hear exactly how you came to the conclusion the cause of your slumps is being too eager and too far out in front of the pitch. I often hear people say much the same thing when players aren’t hitting well, but I’ve never been able to have how that conclusion is reached laid out in any kind of step-by-step process that can be repeated by anyone.
Originally Posted by Golfman25:
Actually, when this problem appeared with my son, he moved up in the box and focused on hitting opposite field.
I’ve never fully understood why that isn’t a tactic more hitters employ. I understand that the longer the hitter can wait, the more accurately his brain can assess whether the ball is a pitch he can hit and still give him time to get the bat into a position it will meet the ball. In fact, it’s the main reason strength is so important, thus giving PEDs a huge benefit for hitters.
I don’t know what pitching distance we’re talking about here, but since this is a HS forum, I’ll use 60’. Generally speaking, an 80MPH pitch takes 0.511 seconds to travel 60’, .456 seconds from release to get to the back of the plate, and .371 seconds from release to get to a point 10’ in front of the plate. If a hitter moves up just a foot in the batter’s box, what happens? Of course there’s less time but what does that mean really?
It has the effect of increasing velocity, but how much? In GENERAL, the PERCIEVED velocity would be about 1MPH, and the time difference would be less than 0.01 second. Would that make a difference? Of course it would, but would there be any advantages that might outweigh any disadvantages?
But even though more time is generally “better”,
Coil the rear hip, pull back with the back, pull back with the scap, and turn the barrel. That's the only way to prevent yourself from lunging as you go higher and higher in baseball. Without rear side resistance, a good pitcher will make you lunge.
Timing of when the load starts and when the hitter gets to "launch" position within the sequence is the key. Timing.
I had a problem like this too. I think it mostly came from just being nervous that I would make an out or something. One clue would be to see where the balls you are hitting are going. Take some swings in the cages and make sure you stay back there, as well as getting the hips first and not extending the arms to hit the ball. Arms should always be bent at contact. If problems persist, try relaxing exercises at the plate, and take the first pitch. Focus on the ball, and believe you can hit it. Keep working in the cages and use your in game "hits" or balls you make contact in fair territory as visual clues to what you are doing wrong. If you are grounding out to shortstop majority of the time, make sure your not rolling your wrists too early, winding your bat around your head, or falling out of the box after the swing. You should be able to hold your swing after hitting a pitch for some time. If your losing your balance trying changing your stance, and making it wider, until you find your comfort spot where you can swing and stay balanced. Repeat this process, and if it doesn't work, have who ever is pitching you bp to pitch outside, and focus on hitting the ball directly in line with your self. Trying hitting it extremely foul so that the ball is hitting the side of the cage right near you, this definitely helped me, but make sure your hitting outside pitches. Hope this helped.
Auz
