Hitting and Hitters Discussion Hit to opposite field ?

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How do you train a hitter to hit the ball to the opposite field ?Thanks in advance for any suggestions. ::)
 
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Use the exact same mechanics for every swing. The only difference is that to go opposite field, the hitter should let the ball get deeper into the hitting zone.

A good way to practice this is using a batting tee. Position the tee so that the ball is deeper in the zone. Between the knee and hip of the front leg is about right, as compared to between the knee and front foot where a batter would be pulling the ball or going up the middle.
 
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Just like Bretman said , but you also should be looking for a outside pitch to take to the opposite field . Set up a tee to the outside and towards the back 1/2 of the plate .
 

BouldersDad

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A student should be taught to drive the inside seam of the ball, letting the ball get deep enough the rear hip can be the engine and drive the ball.
The student should learn that the deeper the pitch the flatter the plane of the bat. To much bat angle to deep causes a slice instead of a drive.
The student should be taught to drive the core opposite field along with the extension of the hands and bat head so the core does not over rotate and try to pull an out side pitch.
Teach a student to hit the ball oppo from the middle of the plate creating an inside out swing and the out side pitch will then be much easier to hit.
Good luck

Tim
 
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I also train our hitters to drive pitchers with less velocity back side using the same approach as BouldersDad. Let the ball get deeper and drive the core and extension into right/center field. This way I have found even when they get out in front of it a little bit they are still hitting the ball up the middle rather than pulling it into the 3rd base dugout.
 
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CoachB25

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I like to do a drill I call, "The Progression Drill." I put those small cones (3) in areas denoting a ball inside in the river, one down the middle of the plate and one outside in the river. These cones are aligned with the inside cone being out in front of where the front of the plate is by at least 6 to 12 inches. The middle cone is set on the front of the plate. The outside cone is set parallel to the back tip of the plate but not behind the plate. These cones help both front tosser and hitter. We start with inside and the ball has to be pulled. Middle ball has to hit the screen protecting me. Outside has to hit oppo net. Once we have established a rhythm and the hitter knows what to do, we then alternate and have a lot of discussions with the hitter as they either are successful or unsuccessful in their attempt to hit the ball at the correct target area. Most of the time, I wrap up with a series or two reinforcing the original progression.

Note, I know some might not like this drill and that is fine. I have pretty much given up trying to discuss what I do with hitters. I'm not going to argue anymore with anyone. I hope that the OP sees some benefit to this. If not, good luck anyway.
 

BouldersDad

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CB I do a boat load of stop at contact and stop at extension oppo. I have had very good results with this. Youll always have those that disagree no matter what we do. And no matter the results.
 

CoachB25

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I had posted a reply here and don't know where is went. In short, I mentioned that we both have run into critics but our work with our own dds and other hitters has stood the test of time.
 

Rdsherman5

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I have a question for CoachB25. Does the hitters location in the box (towards the front, middle or toward the back) have any impact on where you set the cones?
 

CoachB25

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For the purposes of the drill, we have them address the plate. I do understand your question and you could change the cone location if you wanted your players to adjust up or back. The goal would still be the same. If the pitch is in the river outside, that ball has to be hit oppo. If it is in the river on the inside, it has to be pulled. I hope this addressed your question.
 

mike_dyer

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This is an interesting topic for me.

My kid hits to opposite field. A lot. Her HS coach, who I've been told on this site should never be questioned ever for any reason, chews her out because hitting to opposite field means her "timing is all screwed up!" Something about her coming into 3rd standing up really gets under his skin.

He's so smart. Why did I ever doubt him?
 

poden-smoden

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This is an interesting topic for me.

My kid hits to opposite field. A lot. Her HS coach, who I've been told on this site should never be questioned ever for any reason, chews her out because hitting to opposite field means her "timing is all screwed up!" Something about her coming into 3rd standing up really gets under his skin.

He's so smart. Why did I ever doubt him?

You crack me up!!
I want to go to one of these games! Send me a schedule!
 

mike_dyer

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You crack me up!!
I want to go to one of these games! Send me a schedule!

We are at Seneca East tonight. Come on over.

The coaching is rough, the other parents are rough too. Kind of a toss up, really.

We have played 1 actual softball team so far and several baseball for girls teams. The softball team had one of 2 or 3 decent pitchers we will see all season. Everyone was saying "THIS PITCHER IS TERRIBLE! SHE HAS NO CONTROL!!!" After the 6th or 8th time I heard it I told them she's putting the ball exactly where she wants it to go. I mean, Jeebus. The ball was coming in about 50ish and knee high right before it looked like it dropped off the edge of a table and hit the plate. She didn't throw a strike until she absolutely had to and she made us look silly.

We scored 1 run on maybe 3 hits.

I'm sure they walked away from it knowing, not thinking, that I'm an idiot. And I may be, but I know good when I see it.
 

mike_dyer

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One guy came right out and called it "girls baseball."

He said:

"I don't even go watch the boys anymore now that the girls baseball team is doing so good!"
 

BouldersDad

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It's basic hitting. It's softball 101. If you have ' risp ' runners in scoring position you want to hit behind and advance the runners. Why you wouldent want the right side of the field used is beyond me. The knowledge of some of these 6 week wonders is truly amazing.

Tim
 

Stedman00

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hitting behind runners is critical and needed. I personally think that driving any outside pitch out over 2b or 1b, on a line, is perfect. OR the coach can continue to teach trying to pull everything and hit lots of grounders to SS for outs.
 

CoachB25

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OK, so I'll add another drill though I know you might not have the resources I have. We set up screens to simulate the 4 hole and 6 hole. We also have cones in both right center and left center. Then, we play a game. I pitch and they have to hit a screen or drive a ball to one of the two cones. I do my best to avoid the middle of the plate and so, go inside black or outside black. If I miss to much over the inside or outside white, then the ball has to be driven to the power gaps. You can create any number of scoring rules. For example, tell the hitter that there is a runner on whatever base. Situations like runner on 3rd going on contact. Hitter has to hit the ball either to screen or power gap. If you create your "teams" evenly, you can really have a very good "game." I never go with teams over 4 on a team and typically, I have other team members in the cage or working on some defensive stuff where they rotate hit balls between my pitches.
 

straightleg

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Here is a great example of hitting opposite field
Set up is the same at the plate
Your bellybutton and hip rotation go towards your target
The bat head also release's towards your target.

Fixing a swing
Most kids over rotate the hips on not getting a good opposite field hit, another thing to look for is the set up the hands are too far from the body





straightleg
 
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