Swing Ideas

So no opinions out there?

Do you have any video you can post in the hitting forum? That usually generates some specific suggestions.

Close left field for him during bp, work nothing but mid-oppo. Seems to work for Albet. Have you tried drop drills on the outer half, then make it tougher and call out the height at which you want him to hit the ball, chest, belt knees. How about the 2 tee drill where you call out which ball as he triggers. When you work all oppo, slip in a ball on his hands once in a while once he is hitting well to the opposit side and he will see that he will have no problem with the inside pitch even while looking away. Good Luck

Tee work can help. Set the tee up over the plate, on the outside edge. Have him work until he is hitting oppo.

A short toss drill that has helped some with this:
Instead of short tossing from a position that is on a line between HP & the mound, move to oppo side. On an angle about halfway between the mound and the foul line. Short toss to the outside corner.

Remind him to be patient on the outside pitch, letting the ball get over the plate before making contact.

Good luck.

Many thanks wil try these tips.Maybe i can get him to use outer half of brain as well. LOL
Well maybe not,that would be asking 16yr old too much.

For the outer half you can teach him about the inside part of the ball. Set up a tee and tell him to hit the inside part of the ball. (Part of the ball closes to the in side corner of the plate) When somebody tries to pull outside pitches it usually means he is swinging around the ball. Is there a correct way to pull everything. YES...Most major leaguers do it.

got a drill from Ray Birmingham, head coach at New MExico JC (his guys rake)

have two hitters, one in each side of the box (lefty/ righty, screen on plate between them) set two L-screens about 40ft in front of home, one shaded towards 3rd, one towards 1st. the 3rd base screen throws to the lefty, 1st to the righty. have the pitcher aim at the back hip to back elbow area. this will force them to hit it backside.

Make sure he is not dropping his hands at load, stepping out, opening too much on the front side or trying to hit the outside pitch too much in front.

Don't let him slow his hands down working the outside of the plate. Many kids work opposite field in practice but at 1/2 speed. Keep his hand speed up or he will become very good at hitting into double plays (4-6-3).

Also, check his distance from the plate. Have him hit a ball on a tee placed just off his front foot and in the middle of the plate. If the ball doesn't go up the middle check the four keys I gave above, but also check to see if he is too far from the plate.

All good hitting instruction starts with middle pitches, not outside pitches. Once the middle pitch can be driven up the box, the outside pitches become a two ball adjustment as do the two inside balls on the inside (7 baseballs butted up will touch the plate). Work just the two outside balls and the inside becomes impossible. My son loves pitching inside -- he's convinced too much time is spent on the outside of the plate. You need to work all three lanes.

Try bribery...
...Simply throw BP to him and give him a dollar for every linedrive his hits oppo; and take a TWO dollars away for every ball he pulls. Of course, you could also take a dollar for every pop fly he hits oppo with a ground ball being nothing. That will enforce staying on top of the ball and not dropping his hands.

quote:

Originally posted by Guru:
Is there a correct way to pull everything. YES...Most major leaguers do it.

There was an interesting article in Sports Illustrated at the beginning of this past season where Albert Pujos described his off-season workout. Much of that article supported the concept that Albert only worked during the off season on hitting the outside pitch the opposite way. Yes, major league players attempt to pull the outside pitch. Yes, some are successful. However, I would suggest, although I don't think that there are any studies to support my assertion, that in the majority of time, those players roll over on the ball when attempting to pull an outside pitch resulting in a groudball out. JMHO!

quote:

However, I would suggest, although I don't think that there are any studies to support my assertion, that in the majority of time, those players roll over on the ball when attempting to pull an outside pitch resulting in a groudball out. JMHO!

I agree.
Weak grounder's.
Take a look at Edger Martinez.
The man made a living on taking the outside pitch the other way.
T-Work, and lot's of it.
High and low outside pitches.
And I believe you should alway's try to hit the inside part of the ball.
Keep the bathead back.
Inside pitch and you hook the ball, Foul everytime.
EH

It is a very common problem. Guys take can not hit do not have to hit this pitch as often. Why? Because people will come right at them because they can not hit. Alot of good young hitters own the plate from the outer half to the inside black. As the pitching gets better and the pitchers are capable of working consistently on the outside corner a good hitter will have to learn how to effectively drive this pitch. Also some umpires will give a couple of balls off the plate for strikes if the pitcher can consistently hit his spots. So you need to be able to controll the bat and hit the ball deep in the zone away. Its alot of fun to get in the cage or on the field and take bp and drive your pitch. Alot of kids will just take the outside pitches and sit on their pitch and play homerun derby. This is useless practice. The first thing that has to happen is the young man must have failure. He must realize that he has a problem in order for him to have the true desire to work on fixing it. Failure is a great thing. It makes kids believers. It gets them to understand that you have to be able to use the whole field and a single to rf on a pitch on the outside corner could be the best piece of hitting they have had the entire game. Maybe now the coach comes inside and he gets to jack one. So the first thing is #1- The player not you the player realizes that he has a hole in his game. #2- The player realizes that he must work on this hole and is willing to do so. #3- Be ready to spend time working on fixing this problem. #4- Get on a T. Realize that in order to drive the ball backside he must let the ball get deeper in the zone. He must realize that he can hit this pitch just as hard as the one on the inside of the plate. It is not enough to make contact you want to have the mindset to drive this pitch. The only difference in hitting this pitch and the other locations is you have to have the discipline to let the ball get deeper in the zone than you are used to letting it get.

Alot of kids want to hook around the outside pitch they are not letting it get deep. Some when they let it get deep drop the hands on the swing or dip the back shoulder as well. It takes time but it is worth it. Failure is the only way a kid can understand sometimes. When the pitching is much slower some kids are strong enough to pull the outside pitch and have success. Especially with metal bats. But as the competition gets better you must get better. It is a very common problem with hitters. It can be fixed. It takes some work and a true desire to do it. You see alot of kids doing the same thing with a cb that is breaking away from them starting down the middle and breaking to the outer half or outside of the plate. They want to hook around this pitch instead of letting it get deep and driving it into the rcf gap etc. Good Luck you are not alone.

By the way there are a ton of drills you can do. Throw everything middle away. Middle must be up the middle and away must be hit to the right side. We also start our bp with oppo hitting. Hitting the inside pitch is a reactionary swing to be honest with you. You see it inside you attack it. But middle and away you must be disciplined and let the ball get to you. Good Luck

Great post Coach May!

Thanks coach May. My Son is finding out the disciplined part is not easy without a lot of practice.