What it takes to be a leadoff hitter??!!

Ah.... to be able to bunt....no....son has not been fortunate to be a lead off hitter.....that gosh darn bunt....never been able to get it right....he always bats third.....once the coach gave him the signal to bunt....he called time....and went to the coach....not to question why the call.....but....just to make sure he got the call right.....the elusive bunt....good for your son......special place in the lineup......hope he continues to enjoy!

Good leadoff hitters are like the gas in the car. No gas still have a car but it ain't going nowhere. Congrats to your son seems like he is just what the doctor ordered in the 1 hole. Good luck this season.

My 15 year old son has been a lead off hitter since he was 10 and is very proud of it and never wants to bat anywhere else.

During that time it has become very apparent that he is key in jumpstarting the offense. The coach's philosophy has always been that he just needs him on base no matter how it's done. His coach has pointed out to us that when he gets on base he scores 67% of the time. He was on base last year by hit, BB, or error 143 times and scored 96 runs. Now it certainly helps that he has some good sticks behind him too.

Over the years though, he has learned to be patient at the plate and work the count--he walks a lot. He has learned how to hit with 2 strikes and not be afraid to have 2 strikes on him. Though if a pitcher grooves a first pitch strike to his liking he still likes to jump on it. He is a left hander so he also has worked on hitting the ball to the left side and has become a proficient bunter. He has learned how to steal bases by using more than just his speed--getting good jumps and reading the pitchers accurately. This has become more important as time goes on and as the pitchers and catchers get better and better. Lastly, I'd say that baserunning skills are very important. He has to be able to go from first to third on a single to RF. He has to be able to score from first on a double or from 2b on a single.

I'm probably forgetting some other important skills, but I hope that helps. Good luck!

I led off for 3 years in college. I loved the role as well. Seems like you son will realy thrive in it.

It is all mindset. Your only job is to get on base. Of course, at a higher level you want to let your team see as many pitches as possible, but I am not really sure that matter at the H.S level and lower. If the players are taught what to look for it certainly matters, but if not then they wont know what to look for.

With that said you certainly want to go deep into the count to draw walks and wear the pitcher down. You son should certainly get comfortable with two strikes. In addition, he should also learn how to spoil pitches. I spent a great deal on that.

I never choked up with two strikes of anything like that. I just got comfortable hitting with two strikes. I think that mindset is really important. But please don't take the agressiveness away from him. I think that is also very important. If he sees his pitch tell him to attack it. It is a fine line between the two.

Other than that he seems to know what he is doing. Tell him to continue to develop his skills and most importantly enjoy the role. Seems as though he already is!

Hey Jon I find myself asking why he didn't swing at this pitch or man that ball was right down the middle how come he didn't swing at that. Come to find out his coach has him taking many pitches and working the count. Just something I have to get accustomed to along with him. I must say, he is enjoying getting on and being a spark plug.

Thanks for all the info.

I am curious why you ask him stuff like that? I don't know at what level he plays but hitters and pitchers always get signals from their coach .

Hey Bobble, the reason is quite simple. He used to be a free swinger at # 3, but now at #1 the game is different. That's all. quite simple really.

baseballbum:

My son is also a leadoff hitter for his high school team. He is now a junior but has lead off on the varsity team since he was a freshman. He also batted lead off in little league all star games [ages 9-12] and in junior league [ages 13-14]. At first he did not like it but now he accepts it and tries to do the best he can in that spot.

In answer to your question as to "some of the things" we work on, here is a short list.

As far as hitting and batting cage work away from high school practice, we work on two strike hitting a lot, much as Coach John Doyle suggested earlier in this thread. The first bucket of balls is to get his focus on the center of the ball, the mechanics of his swing back, etc. The second bucket of balls is the less than two strikes swing. He is to look only for a pitch in his hitting zone [not the entire strike zone] and let every other ball go by, even if it is a strike. The third bucket of balls is for the two strike situation. We practice being agressive and trying to "spoil" [foul off] all borderline pitches [may or may not be in the strike zone plus pitches in areas in the strike zone that he doest not hit well] and make solid contact with all pitches in his hitting strike zone [that part of the strike zone where contact by him will put the ball in play]. The last bucket or buckets he works on by himself changing the count when he feels comfortable with the mental approach he is working on at the time.

Although the high school team he is on does not straight steal very much [coach prefers hit and run and sacrifice bunt] his Summer Legion Team likes to run. So, we work on getting a good jump off the pitcher, sliding to avoid a tag and whenever anyone gets on base in a game he will watch the opposing pitcher's move(s) to first in preparation for when he gets on base in a steal situation.

We also work on the drag bunt and the sacrifice bunt equally so he is ready to do either if the game situation calls for it.

Good luck to your son. Good leadoff hitters are, IMHO, a recognized as necessary but overall undervalued talent on most teams so they need to take pride in what they do because most of the praise and accolades go to the guy that knocks your son in and not to your son who actually scored the run. The only talent more undervalued is the #2 hitter; a topic for a sperate discussion.

TW344

TW344,

Thanks for the insight!

Jon Doyle brought up a great point about seeing pitches. We did work alot on that at the H.S. level.
I used to post a chart for all the team to see at the end of the dugout leading to the on deck circle. We would like the opposing pitcher to throw a minimum of 15 pitches per inning. Each batter coming up would know how many the pitcher has thrown and knows whats expected of him. If he gets a fat 0-0 FB, he should definitely go for it. If the pitcher is one of the best on the opp. team, we wanted their bull pen early. It amazes me sometimes that you can go up against a kid throwing hard with good breaking stuff, and kids go up whaling away.

The lead-off guy should try to get on base, first and foremost, but that will often include seeing many pitches and learning a good 2 strike approach. He should be patient, athletic, good swing approach, but should also be able to adjust his swing, and of course fast.

The reason I asked you that question is also simple. I hear parents ask their kids that all the time and often wondered if they realize that they have been told to take a pitch.
Last year we had a true power hitter and his dad would go nuts on him if he watched a strike go by and he was told to take the pitch. He struck out a lot and he probably was told to take a lot of pitches.

Baseballbum--I feel your joy. My son is in the same boat as a HS senior. Has pretty much hit in the middle to lower part of the order (or #2), but never leadoff. Thriving so far, as all he has to worry about is getting on--tells me its less pressure than driving in runs. So far, on base 7 times in 8 PA's with 5 runs. Dad likes it too

I like hitting in the 8 or 9 spot. Except for MLB, the 8 or 9 spot is typically another leadoff batter deep in the lineup. I've been put in the 1 spot a couple times and prefer to be deeper in the lineup because a)teams won't expect you to do much and b)you're able to see a pitcher and talk to the hitters before you so you know what the pitcher has.

A Number 9 hitter and a lead off hitter have a lot in common. Knowing how to bunt, both of a hit and as a sacrifice. Speed is important, but then again speed is pretty important 1-9 unless a kid is going to hit it out every single time. Need to be a smart baserunner. A spoiler taking the pitcher deep into the account is always a good thing too!

Bulldog 19:

Excellent stuff. A number 9 hitter becomes a leadoff hitter in many situations and, when he does lead off an inning, the 1 hitter is behind him and gets an RBI opportunity if the 9 hitter gets on. You are really thinking like a lead off hitter. Keep it up and good luck.

Tw344

O.K. after going 3 for 4 in the first game , son comes in and goes 3 for 4 again with 2 Rbi's and 2 Sb's. One of the things he is working on is letting the ball get deep and hitting the other way. It has been a surprise to me and I really wanted to thank everyone's advice.The drag bunt is a lost art in baseball and I commend our coach for sticking with it in practice and using it to perfection in games. Small ball is something many kids do not do in Little League and in HighSchool it will make or break a game.

HE also came into the game and struck out the side to get the save.