People often view major leaguers as superhumans able to perform feats far beyond those of mortal men… Well, many are supremely gifted but it isn’t just athleticism thats allows them to hit or pitch at a high level. For many of them it is an understanding of how the game works.
For example, hitting. Successful hitters must be able react to the speed of the ball, the angle at which it is thrown, its movement and location. No small feat. However, for most hitters it is a matter of understanding tendencies of the pitcher and of himself as a hitter.
First, pitch recognition. There are a few ways to prepare yourself for the pitch. One way is to attempt to recognize the pitch as it is coming out of the pitcher’s hand. A couple of ways in which this can be done is to look at the pitcher’s wrist (huh?) to see if it is a thin wrist or fat wrist. A breaking ball is thrown with the side of the wrist showing to the batter as the ball is being delivered. A fastball is thrown with the full underside of the wrist showing. Of course, this doesn’t work for every pitch as you can’t easily recognize a curve from a slider or a fastball from a change up using this method. But it does give some hitters a start at recognition.
Another method to be used is to simply guess. Well, lets make that an educated guess. If, for example, a pitcher has started the last seven batters with a fastball, what do you think the odds are of the eighth hitter seeing a fastball. Pretty good! Another pitcher may always throw a curveball on a one strike count. And on, and on. It is always in a batter’s best interest to observe how hitters are thrown to based upon other hitters’ styles (power, slap hitter?) and the count in which the pitch is thrown. Young hitters can really clean up when they pay attention as younger pitchers have fewer pitches and lack the ability to throw all of them for strikes consistently.
Which is why command is such a big thing in the major leaguers. Pitchers with command of at least three pitches are so valued. The minors are filled with pitchers who can throw 95 mph. However, few of them have the ability to throw other pitches with good movement for strikes.
Another way hitters can increase their odds of hitting the ball hard is to understand themselves and their abilities. Ever see Ted Williams’ hitting chart? he places baseball in a strike zone that you can see as his estimate of his batting average against balls thrown in that area. What this means is he understands the balls he can hit well and those he can’t. For example, against the low and outside pitch he estimates he hit about .240. This ties into his philosophy of “get a good ball to hit”. Taking that a step further, if you are a batter and know you can’t hit the low and outside pitch, why in the world would you swing at it with no strikes?
I’ve always advised young hitters to expand their zones as the strike count increases. With no strikes look for your pitch. With one strike, expand the zone but exclude the pitches you can’t hit. With two strikes, hit a strike. This is why the philosophy of taking the first stike drives me nuts. If you are selective and only swing at pitches you love you will only swing at first strikes you can crush.
This also ties into Ted’s advice about hitting very fast fastballs. He says to start your swing a little earlier than usual and look for the fastball in a zone. If you see it coming in that zone, swing and hope for the best. Sound advice and it works.
As for being able to adjust to different speeds of different pitches, this is perhaps the most difficult to overcome. However, you can increase your odds a couple of different ways. Ever been told to keep your hands back? Well, there are mechanical reasons why this is an important tip. However, there are other reasons as well. Once you get out of little league you can’t start your swing when the ball is halfway to the plate. Nobody, major leaguers included, are that fast. You start your movement at certain points in the windup of the pitcher but the key is to keep your hands back. It is the last part of the swing that moves forward and is only thing you can adjust at all to the speed and location of the pitch.
I assure you that you could start your swing five seconds before the ball is delivered but if you keep your hands back till the last moment you have a reasonable chances of making contact. For several reasons, you won’t hit the ball far but you can make contact.
Another method, used by Mike Schmidt, was to set your expected speed from the pitcher just below his fastball. He figured he could catch up to a fastball and be better prepared for breaking pitches.
When you see major leaguers fooled it isn’t for any other reason than they were expecting one pitch based upon tendencies or appearances and got another. Virtually any major leaguer can hit any strike (how well is another story) if they know the type, speed, location, consistency of movement and have seen it from the pitcher once before the at bat. Rarely does this happen so they have to increase their odds. Try using some of the “tricks” above and you’ll increase your odds.
And pitchers should learn the same things…command, tendencies, movement, changing speeds are all important tools to trip up hitters at any level. Again, why has Jamie Moyer been able to get big leaguers out with a fastball speed that wouldn’t get him looks from a college scout, much less a major league scout. Unless you throw 100 mph you won’t make it to the major leagues and stay without something else. Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan are great examples of pitchers with unbelievable fastballs when they first broke in but didn’t achieve success till they developed command, movement and other pitches. How is Kyle Farnsworth doing, anyway? Ever hear of Steve Dalkowski? Why not? Google him and find out why he never pitched in the major leagues despite what is considered the fastest fastball ever.
