Hitting and Hitters Discussion Hitting references!!

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I would like to help all the people on the OFC who are not hitting gurus. Myself included!! I think it would be great if we could put together a list of books, videos, or websites with information to help people get a better understanding on the art of hitting!!

I will start this off with my favorite book: "The Science of Hitting" by The Great Ted Williams

This is a book that most hitting coaches have studied. Some take the information in this book and make millions. Epstein comes to mind! Yes I know it's a baseball book, but there is alot of information about the basics of a swing that is used in fastpitch!!!


Mike

 

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Hitter.

Just a walking source of batting info.

 

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Hitter.

Just a walking source of batting info.

Would agree....but he had to learn from somewhere!!!

 

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"The Science of Hitting" is my favorite book as well......but you knew that already. There is also a 30 minute show of the same name that was shot in the mid 1970's hosted by Ted. It showed many different hitters styles, but proved that just about every different great hitter ended up in the same position after the end of the negative movement.

A good DVD I have seen is "ASA Fastpitch Hitting Fundamentals" by Mike Candrea. It is essentially the same information found in Mr. William's book but in DVD format so you can slow it down, pause it, etc.

Len

 

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JUST FOR FUN:
There's too much science in today's hitting... Whatever happened to playing whiffle ball at 09:00am, Fast-pitch with rubber ball at 11:00am against your school wall with the strike zone painted on it. Taking a lunch break, to then play a couple hours of LOB LEAGUE ^_^! with all the baseball junkies, until you actually had Baseball / Softball practice at 4pm-6pm. Those were the days...Probably why the natural athelete was the only kid that could really hit the ball back then.... Hmmmmmm!

NOW THAT WAS A GREAT WAY TO LEARN HOW TO HIT....^_^!..... I know the swings weren't pretty but all the fun in-between is hard to beat.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist, as that is exactly how I learned to hit.

 

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Nice post Triplethreat.

Over the years I have had players who have had terrible looking swings but believe it or not they were some of my best hitters. I can't explain it, but they could really hit the ball well even while using a very unorthodox style.

My thought was and still is............"If it aint broke, Don't fix it".

I guess what I mean is.....Some of my players have really wanted to be the very best and have went to the hitting instructors, clinics, and seminars yet I have had others who just loved to "play" and have fun without going to any extra lengths.

I think a good coach has to look at each athlete and see what she is trying to get out of the whole experience and work within that.

 

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I am far from a hitting guru, but i know enough to know what works for one dosent always work for another, be it natural ability or the want to learn new things, lets face it , we are all creatures of comfort and habit, and entrenched ideas are very hard to remove even if they arnt productive.Even instructors that teach the same thing may have different terminoligy.Alot of Parents will spend 300 dollars on a bat, but cringe at the thought of paying for instruction on a regular basis, Find what works for you, read, become a student of the game, and realise that only picking a bat up when you pratice with your school or travel team isnt enough, it takes countless hours and reps to make a child the best they can be as a hitter, theres no magical bat or instant solution , it takes work, time and patience, and a want to be what they believe is the best they can be

 

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Can I return the "Magic Home Run Bat" my daughter insisted I buy her for Christmas?

 

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along with the cleats that make you run 2.4 home to first and the glove that snags any ball in any weather

 

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The 1st 2 RVP instructional CDs (Model IP300-AS & Model IP300-SB) are top notch. There are now 4 to chose from, since it looks like Don Slaught has issued another round of baseball and softball hitting CDs. Here's a link:

http://www.rightviewpro.com/products/instruction-series

Model IP300 AS2, RVP Instruction Player for Baseball Hitting 2, $75
Model IP300-AS, RVP Instruction Player All-Star Baseball Hitting, $65
Model IP300-SB2, RVP Instruction Player for Softball Hitting 2, $75
Model IP300-SB, RVP Instruction Player for Softball Hitting, $75

Well worth the $. I always recommend this for my interested parents.

 

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hitter.

just a walking source of batting info.

dido

 

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No doubt Les - it doesn't get any better than Howard!!!!! I am never easy to convince especially as I was taught to squish the bug all the way through college but after I had the fortune to sit through a lesson w/ Howard teaching Kherrin - I was sold instantly. For me, he is the best there is!!!

Kavin

 

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"IT DOESNT MATTER WHOS THE JOCKEY,WHOS THE TRAINER AND HOW HARD YOU HIT IT WITH A WHIP,A MULE WILL NEVER WIN THE KENTUCKY DERBY"
DADDY DICE

 

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still fun to watch the underdog win!!! Which I guess never happens

 

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ok. I've read this enough now to just have to inquire. What is with the "dont squish the bug" theory? I mean, if you watch Candrea talk about not squishing the bug, what he really means is to not be flat footed in twisting your foot thus putting the weight you just shifted forward, back away from the pitch. I understand, and totally agree with, that. But.... this can still be considered "squishing the bug". Just don't do it on the palm, or worse yet, your heel, of your foot. Up on the toe. Because all this talk about not squishing the bug leaves me in the dark about how a batter will get their hips thru, and keep their weight forward, thru contact, extension, and finish. Furthermore, I have viewed many, many swings from current pro baseball, college softball, and the Olympic players also, and almost every single one of them do what I would consider some form of "squishing the bug". Maybe its just semantics here with me. If someone can explain this I'm all ears as I know I'm never too old to learn something new. My own dd has gone thru periods where she doesn't collapse her back knee and keeps her back foot straight, flat footed, on the ground entirely thru her swing. Why? I don't know. But the results aren't always bad. She still hits the ball pretty good and gets good results, overall, out of it. But that doesn't mean its the right way. Sometimes, consistently, good results come out of "bad" mechanics. There are many examples I could post using pro players who most would wonder how in the heck they are successful with their swing mechanics. But they are the few. Most players seem to apply the same general principles in the mechanics of their swing. And that includes, at least what I would call, "squishing the bug". I'm all ears. I really am.

 

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If Hitter doesn't reply, I'd send him a PM.

 

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ok. I've read this enough now to just have to inquire. What is with the "dont squish the bug" theory? I mean, if you watch Candrea talk about not squishing the bug, what he really means is to not be flat footed in twisting your foot thus putting the weight you just shifted forward, back away from the pitch. I understand, and totally agree with, that. But.... this can still be considered "squishing the bug". Just don't do it on the palm, or worse yet, your heel, of your foot. Up on the toe. Because all this talk about not squishing the bug leaves me in the dark about how a batter will get their hips thru, and keep their weight forward, thru contact, extension, and finish. Furthermore, I have viewed many, many swings from current pro baseball, college softball, and the Olympic players also, and almost every single one of them do what I would consider some form of "squishing the bug". Maybe its just semantics here with me. If someone can explain this I'm all ears as I know I'm never too old to learn something new. My own dd has gone thru periods where she doesn't collapse her back knee and keeps her back foot straight, flat footed, on the ground entirely thru her swing. Why? I don't know. But the results aren't always bad. She still hits the ball pretty good and gets good results, overall, out of it. But that doesn't mean its the right way. Sometimes, consistently, good results come out of "bad" mechanics. There are many examples I could post using pro players who most would wonder how in the heck they are successful with their swing mechanics. But they are the few. Most players seem to apply the same general principles in the mechanics of their swing. And that includes, at least what I would call, "squishing the bug". I'm all ears. I really am.

"Squising the Bug" is used in most instances to make a hitter aware of the "Lack of Rotation" or involvement of the lower body. Although this inference may give the intended result of bringing the hips and lower body into the swing, it leads to far greater problems.

There are many problems that create the imbalance of the upper and lower body, and the catch phrase "squishing the bug" is a patch job that won't fix the problem and will ultimately lead to further problems on down the road. If what you see in video is "squish the bug" then correct...it's merely semantics...but if you tell you hitter to do this to fix a problem....then you have created a problem.

Elite hitters do not "squish the bug"...they have a linear weight shift, into rotational mechanics, with a semi-circular hand path, while keeping the hands inside the ball, in what we term as a "good first move".

 

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A replacement statement for squish the bug is dig your toe to china. That is the statement U of M uses to replace squish the bug and begin the weight transfer.

 

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A replacement statement for squish the bug is dig your toe to china. That is the statement U of M uses to replace squish the bug and begin the weight transfer.

This is still a bad cue...I can have my toe to China, and have my weight out over my front foot...which is not the mechanics of the "Elite" swing. Toe to China is a result of good mechanics but should not be the driving force when teaching what happens in a good swing.

 

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ok. I've read this enough now to just have to inquire. What is with the "dont squish the bug" theory? I mean, if you watch Candrea talk about not squishing the bug, what he really means is to not be flat footed in twisting your foot thus putting the weight you just shifted forward, back away from the pitch. I understand, and totally agree with, that. But.... this can still be considered "squishing the bug". Just don't do it on the palm, or worse yet, your heel, of your foot. Up on the toe. Because all this talk about not squishing the bug leaves me in the dark about how a batter will get their hips thru, and keep their weight forward, thru contact, extension, and finish. Furthermore, I have viewed many, many swings from current pro baseball, college softball, and the Olympic players also, and almost every single one of them do what I would consider some form of "squishing the bug". Maybe its just semantics here with me. If someone can explain this I'm all ears as I know I'm never too old to learn something new. My own dd has gone thru periods where she doesn't collapse her back knee and keeps her back foot straight, flat footed, on the ground entirely thru her swing. Why? I don't know. But the results aren't always bad. She still hits the ball pretty good and gets good results, overall, out of it. But that doesn't mean its the right way. Sometimes, consistently, good results come out of "bad" mechanics. There are many examples I could post using pro players who most would wonder how in the heck they are successful with their swing mechanics. But they are the few. Most players seem to apply the same general principles in the mechanics of their swing. And that includes, at least what I would call, "squishing the bug". I'm all ears. I really am.

In an elite swing, all weight is forward upon contact. No weight at all is on the back foot. The only thing the back foot has on the ground is MAYBE the shoe's toe. I say MAYBE because many elite hitters have their back foot totally off the ground by a fraction of an inch upon contact, even though it appears their toe is touching the ground. Once they have finished their swing (way beyond contact), their back foot collapses down to the ball of the foot, so maybe that is what you are seeing or calling the "bug squish". If a hitter is truly squishing the bug, it means they are a pure rotational hitter (no linear mechanics and their weight is on their back foot), or if they did perform a linear weight shift, then their core is way out of tilt causing their weight to shift back to the rear leg during their swing. Having posted this, you can call whatever you want as "squishing the bug". Afer all, it is your interperetation.

Len