Hitting and Hitters Discussion Contact Points?

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What should be the proper contact points for hitters for the inside pitch, middle and outside pitch in relation to your front foot? My thinking is just in front of the foot for inside, about the knee for middle, and about center for outside but just wanted to get some feedback. We are working on the tee and want to make sure to set it up right.

 

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What should be the proper contact points for hitters for the inside pitch, middle and outside pitch in relation to your front foot? My thinking is just in front of the foot for inside, about the knee for middle, and about center for outside but just wanted to get some feedback. We are working on the tee and want to make sure to set it up right.

The inside pitch can be hit by anyone usually....can you keep it fair?

Rotating as needed and rotating the belly button needs to be clearly understood.

We teach to hit up the middle first and measure off from the back corner of home plate. The tee is positioned in the middle of the plate and about two to three inches forward of home plate. The usual stride is even or slightly behind the tee with the stride foot so you can adjust the tee to the hitters stride.

We teach the outside pitch next and place the tee on the back corner of home plate and outside about five inches. This is usually the furthest back a pitch could be hit fair. We rotate as needed to hit the pitch squarely.

Now the inside pitch. We determine how far forward the hitter CAN hit the pitch and keep it fair. This is usually four to six inches forward of home plate. Determine if she can hit the ball fair and work from there. Remember if she does not rotate the hips correctly and allow the bat to stay inside the ball the suggestions will not be the same. We explain this at the clinics.

Think in terms of your relationship being consistent to the back corner of home plate. This establishes a window of opportunity to hit in. I feel that window starts about 4.5 inches from the back corner of home plate and extends 12.5 inches forward from there. Then the inside pitch/ tee position would be about 4.5 inches forward of the front of the window. Cshilt or Straighleg may have a picture of my tee with colored lines that may help.

We teach to be able to hit a ball 5 to 8 inches off the plate and our kids can hit it because they have trained doing tee work and soft toss to be able to do it. The only thing we want an umpire to do is call safe or out as we feel the hitter must determine what they can hit and not depend on an umpires judgment of what he or she thinks is a strike.

Bottom line is step even or slightly behind the tee positions as a general rule.

 

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Howard - when we were down at your place, you were explaining wrist release and bat angle as it applied to where the ball would go when hit. Can you explain that, and how it ties in with rotation (where the belly button is pointing at contact) - I'm always up for a refresher.

 

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Howard - when we were down at your place, you were explaining wrist release and bat angle as it applied to where the ball would go when hit. Can you explain that, and how it ties in with rotation (where the belly button is pointing at contact) - I'm always up for a refresher.

We teach to hit up the middle first as it is a neutral position compared to outside or inside pitches. The Elvis move drives the shoulders and the shoulders will move or what we say elbows and the knob of the bat is started in the lane or the distance from the toes to the path of the ball. For up the middle the belly button is facing the pitcher and the knob of the bat is being directed inside the path of the ball or parallel to contact. By being able to see the knob of the bat being directed more forward and the wrist are unhinging to allow square contact to to the ball. If you put a vertical line on a net you should be able to hit that line. Most hitters do not allow the bat to travel past the belly button as they are rotating and release the bat around the ball and pull it.

Note: I went back and added this as a test to see it, feel it and fix it. As a hitter have your student stand in front of you as if they are the pitcher and have them put one hand over the other and walk towards you as the hitter. Then get the bat so the knob is just behind the belly button a little and have them place the palm's of the hand's on the knob of the bat and tell then not to allow you to move the knob of the bat forward and you will not be able to do it as the hitter. Now repeat and this time have the bat a little more forward of the belly button and you will move them easily as you gain the mechanical advantage. Releasing the bat head too soon takes the mechanical advantage away and less force is applied and the ball is pulled foul. Using the wrist at the correct time is why we use the hammer drills!

The outside pitch wrist release is different as we allow the ball to travel deeper in the box prior to releasing the barrel to the ball. As a right handed hitter we rotate as needed with the belly button to about where the second baseman's normal playing position would be and the Elvis move puts our elbows in the lane and we release the barrel to the ball via the wrists and hit the ball squarely and you can actually hear the bat click.

The inside pitch wrist release is later however we must catch the ball about 4 to 6 inches in front of the plate since we are using the back corner of the plate as a reference. Our hips must rotate further and the belly button again as a right handed hitter is pointed towards the shorts stop or perhaps even the third baseman's playing position depending on how far inside the pitch actually is. The knob of the bat must travel further prior to the wrist releasing the barrel to the ball.

This is why grip and using a hammer is important especially for the girls as they try to be forearm only and no wrist at all in my opinion.

Hope this helps Howard

 

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Coaches need to read this and understand why so many young girls pull the inside pitch, or cannot hit an outside pitch. Why grip is so important.

 

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That is also why I think hitting the ball off the tee with the hammer/mallet is so important. It teaches when to release the wrists in relationship to contact in order to drive the ball straight. Straight is of course relative based on pitch location but allows the release of the bat head at the right time to drive the ball and keep it fair. The correct wrist release allows for the contact point to be square versus putting english on the ball that puts the slice on balls hit to RF that end up foul that started fair.

 

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That is also why I think hitting the ball of the tee with the hammer/mallet is so important. It teaches when to release the wrists in relationship to contact in order to drive the ball straight. Straight is of course relative based on pitch location but allows the release of the bat head at the right time to drive the ball and keep it fair. The correct wrist release allows for the contact point to be square versus putting english on the ball that puts the slice on balls hit to RF that end up foul that started fair.

I start off with using a hammer vertically first and then horizontally with the top hand then the lead hand. Then we advance to the 24 inch model, then to the 28 inch model. This allows them to actually see the relationship of the hands inside the ball and the mallet is the sweet part of the bat. The hammer bats have a protrusion located in the handle for the bottom hand so it rest where the fingers join at the palm of the hand that allows for the mallet face to hit the ball squarely.

 

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An addition to Howard's post concerning point of contact, wrist release, and rotation...which are dead on:

The perfect point of contact is linear within the hitting zone and looking from outside to inside the angle is about 25 degrees. You can take a piece of cardboard and measure off 17 inches for width (the width of home plate) and 8 inches tall from the right angle. Draw a line across the cardboard connecting the two measured off points and cut along the hypotenuse. This will give you a triangle that will assimilate contact points.

Align the cardboard with the height parallel to the hitters stance and along the near side of home plate with the right angle positioned off the front hip. Take some line paint and spray along the hypotenuse, or use the knob of a bat and scratch out the line, extending the line 6 inches at both ends. Align the tee so the ball is directly over the line. This simulates point of contact depending on ball location.

Len