Where to hit pitch down the middle

Power V (Ripken) and linear hitters (99% of fastpitch - "big zone") must strike the ball well in front.

Otherwise, an MLB swing is contacted at the front foot.

The further out front a hitter commits the more often he will be fooled by a late breaking ball.

In front, and take it up the middle.

I think you're correct in saying too far out in front of the plate will promote a small window of opportunity to extend through the hitting zone. Sorry for the size of the pic, looks good though!

That is after contact...agreed?

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
That is after contact...agreed?

I'm going to guess, no. Looks to be down the middle or middle in. Which would mean he would need to hit that ball a bit more out in front. He looks as though he got to that pitch pretty well. If he had already made contact I think we would see some more tightness in his upper body.

Regardless, it's right off the front foot where he wants it to be.

I was judging by the bend in his bat. Nice shot.

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
I was judging by the bend in his bat. Nice shot.

I would agree that it's likely after contact (bat reflex) and back foot has left the ground. Good shot!

We teach our kids to hit them over the fence....

Very nice shot of a closed front foot.

When our son was in his 2nd year of Milb/1st Spring Training, the Minor League hitting instructor, a well known former major leaguer, worked with him to change from seeing the ball deep/long to hitting it out in front.
The concept/goal was to hit with more power.
Through his college and Summer Leagues, coaches had tinkered with every aspect of his swing, and he could adjust to most of them pretty easily.
Hitting the ball out in front was one that was very, very difficult.
Finally, during a AAA ST game, our son sat with Dwayne Murphy and Mike Bordick to get their views on his struggles and lack of production with the new adjustment.
Their response was clear and direct: don't let an adjustment you cannot make be the reason you get released. Prove you can hit any pitching with what got you to this level.
144games later, he was 2nd in the organization in hits(a bit lower on the power stats though).
After that Spring, our son's view was that a player needs to be a very, very good and skilled hitter to hit the ball out in front, be consistent and do it with production.

Infielddad -

That is a very interesting story. It speaks to the age old question that players face at every level - what to do when the coaching staff is tinkering (or making big changes) to your swing.

It always seemed to me that inside pitches are best hit out front (just like the picture shows.) But who would think that every pitch should be hit out front?

The best hitters I see tend to hit the ball where it is pitched. Pull the inside pitches, hit the pitches over the middle up the middle, and take the outside pitches the other way.

Not that this is any revelation.

I have seen kids who were really good at hitting outside stuff the other way have to work hard on recognizing and punishing the inside pitch, though. It seems if their instinct is to let the ball travel, they tend to lay off the inside fastball more than they should.

But it can be taught. I'd rather a kid have to learn to hit the inside stuff than be a pull only hitter you have to teach to go oppo. For some reason it seems it is an easier adjustment to make.

Interesting. My son tends to hit out in front and not let the ball travel, but I thought this was hurting his power because he would be more extended at contact.

Also, at his PG eval, they stated he looks to pull. I'm not exactly sure what that means. I figured it was because he was out in front. So that contradicts what ID's son's coaches said.

A bit confused here....

quote:

Also, at his PG eval, they stated he looks to pull. I'm not exactly sure what that means. I figured it was because he was out in front. So that contradicts what ID's son's coaches said.

Not sure I understand what leads to the contradiction but this could just be words too.
I got the "looks to pull" aspect but hitting out in front was explained to our son to correlate with more power, not just pulling the ball.
I can also see how hitting out in front can result in pulling the ball as Rob explains it, depending on hand position.
Part of this adjustment and transition also involves keeping the hands inside the ball.
If it is being hit out in front, and especially the ball on the inner half, if the hands are not inside the ball, too many get hit foul or hooked foul.
What that hitting instructor was working with our son to do was hit out in front, keep his hands inside the ball, and create more power by the bat being longer through the hitting zone to the ball.
Our son is a real sponge when it comes to hitting. I believe he understood the concept. He found it very difficult adjustment, especially trying to do it within 4 weeks of ST and the pressures to make a roster.
Of course, if it that hard to do, it is probably even harder to discuss in words. Put in the additional aspect that I couldn't hit whether it was out in front or seeing it deep and there could be real communications issues.
BTW, I just looked at the photo again. What do others think of it as a visual of the hands inside the ball?