Hitting and Hitters Discussion Hitting the change up

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It's pretty difficult to get full extension and still slap your back. What I find most perplexing are the players who do the "slap the back" thing for their practice swings in the box even though they appear to be attempting full extension in their "real" swings. Talk about confusing the muscle memory . . .

I saw a lot of that in a HS game yesterday. Confusing is right!

 

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It's pretty difficult to get full extension and still slap your back. What I find most perplexing are the players who do the "slap the back" thing for their practice swings in the box even though they appear to be attempting full extension in their "real" swings. Talk about confusing the muscle memory . . .

In my opinion you hit any pitch you think you can handle. I do not have a strike zone and would prefer to think of it as a hitting zone.

Each umpire has their interpretation of what the strike zone is. I consider it the hitting zone and the only thing I want the umpire to do is call safe or out and let the hitter determine what they can hit. We teach to hit balls 5 to 8 inches out of the strike and they do well. I especially like the look on coaches faces when we hit intentional walks with runners on base as most coaches do not protect the lines or throw it off the plate far enough.

Now the finish...if the grip is not proper and if the hand path is not done correctly the end product is usually hitting the shoulder or back.

To the ball and through the ball....in my opinion the bat and ball collision last about 2 milliseconds and what you do prior to contact will effect how you finish and is a result of prior to contact. We see many girls who have been told to roll the wrist and swing down on the ball. When these hitters do this usually the ball looks slow off the bat and the ball just seems to die off the bat.

This is why I like the TCB balls as you can not drive it off the ball without a good grip and hand path in my opinion.

Many can not get the TCB balls past the pitchers rubber.

Howard

 

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In my opinion the change-up is the most devastating pitch in our game, period! Keep in mind I am referring to a good change-up, same wind up, same arm speed, etc. A great change-up is pretty difficult for most pitchers to master, with that in mind there are a pretty good amount of change-ups being tipped and/or the batter can see it coming. Hitting is so much about timing and what is more devastating to a batters timing than a well throw, well disguised change-up?. Picking the change-up is the best way to have a fighting chance, even when you know it's coming it can be tough to hit, remember that timing thing? Here it is... If you can't pick it and the pitcher has a great one, hit early in the count, or try to see if there is a pattern and sit on one. Many pitchers with a great one love to showcase it, just pay attention. If the pitcher isn't overly fast try this with two strikes, look slow and adjust fast, this does not work very well with pitchers throwing gas.
Sinking, staying back and holding your bat angle is a great way to give yourself a chance once you've committed to the pitch and are fooled, easier said than done!

 

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I saw a lot of that in a HS game yesterday. Confusing is right!

This is what I am saying. We really preaching finishing long and thru the ball. We want explosion at contact.

When my daughters are hitting the ball right they finish with their arms extended pointing almost right at the 3rd base coach........then she spins her bat like Tiger Woods and drops her bat...........:lmao: OK she doesn't spin her bat.......but it kind of looks the same......I have never put that together.
Interesting

 

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In my opinion you hit any pitch you think you can handle. I do not have a strike zone and would prefer to think of it as a hitting zone.

Each umpire has their interpretation of what the strike zone is. I consider it the hitting zone and the only thing I want the umpire to do is call safe or out and let the hitter determine what they can hit. We teach to hit balls 5 to 8 inches out of the strike and they do well. I especially like the look on coaches faces when we hit intentional walks with runners on base as most coaches do not protect the lines or throw it off the plate far enough.

Now the finish...if the grip is not proper and if the hand path is not done correctly the end product is usually hitting the shoulder or back.

To the ball and through the ball....in my opinion the bat and ball collision last about 2 milliseconds and what you do prior to contact will effect how you finish and is a result of prior to contact. We see many girls who have been told to roll the wrist and swing down on the ball. When these hitters do this usually the ball looks slow off the bat and the ball just seems to die off the bat.

This is why I like the TCB balls as you can not drive it off the ball without a good grip and hand path in my opinion.

Many can not get the TCB balls past the pitchers rubber.

Howard

Ok, I'll bite, what are TCB balls

 

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TCB balls are training balls that give immediate feedback on contact. They are somewhat pricey, but well worth the investment. The website is www.totalcontrolsports.com

 

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a strike is a strike... when the "batter calls it"... sooo, why would anyone say ah shucks, wait till the change-up doesn't come across the plate to swing. We blast all strikes regardless of count unless "signaled" otherwise. I hate stealing 33% of batters opportunities at bat by saying wait at 0-1 or 1-0 or any count. Teach them to recognize and adjust the timing to release the elbow - knob - and let'er rip. Again, the coaches signal in strategy, the batters execute the strategy, all of which is based upon their cat like reflexes to see, identify, track, and attack the ball.

Besides, we love throwing many change-ups in a row... so... go ahead, don't give'em the green light. We'll see those three change-ups at 35-40 mph float right on in there and we'll let the umpire call the pitches.:cap:

 

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We are utilizing somewhere in the neighbor hood of 3 dozen on our team alone. Pool up the orders in the organization and you can get a slightly better deal. Either way, the gains from pre-game warm-up alone are worth it in itself!.

http://www.totalcontrolsports.com/

Wse the 3.2" ball. All of the parents bought them to use at home since they players can blast it without sending them 4 houses away and they get a quality workout and no need for a softoss net. And you don't have to worry about getting a shot to the body or face. They typically travel 5-20' and are clear indicators of solid contact. Nice tool for many to use easily!

 

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The UT head coach had a strategy of not swinging at a change up unless they had two strikes....so the AZ coach had T Mowatt throw three in a row and then something a little faster and UT lost the WCWS that year.

Chip is correct on arm speed. T Mowatt has a 66 MPH rise and a 51 MPH change up and the arm speed looks the same.

45 MPH at release would take about .576 hundredths of a second to cross home plate.

50 MPH would be about .518

55 MPH would be about .471

60 MPH would be about .432

65 MPH would be about .399

Time relevance plays a big part in trying to get a hitter to comprehend what this means and the factors that effect it.

For example blinking the eyes twice is about one second as to time. So in about a blink of an eye the 45 MPH pitch crosses the plate and in less than a blink of an eye the 65 MPH pitch crosses the plate.

So the difference is .177 of a second. Where could you gain that time is probably up for debate. We feel if we are loading while she is coming from her K position and separating to touch at release we can hit either pitch.

We use the EEEEEE, on load and R on separate which is Chinese for one and two and it offers a timing mechanism. We also teach using a half bottle of water to demonstrate how a body in motion tends to stay in motion until an equal or opposite force is applied. I hold the bottle side ways in my hand while they put their hand under mine. Then I shift the water from one end to the other and say EEEEEE and then R.

Then they hold the bottle side ways about three inches below the belly button and load while saying EEEEE and separate to toe touch on R and feel the water shift in their hands!

Now land on the inside edge of the lead foot (eversion) on a flexed knee, allows the weight to be shifting forward as we decide if we want to swing. Planting the heel hard induces the body to come up and the front side to open and the weight to be over the front foot making it more difficult to control the shifting of the weight and controlling it.

When Don was in town back in Dec. at a clinic and he talked about Manny thinking everything was a fast ball and thinking in, and adjusting away and adjusting to off speed by allowing the weight to settle down on the lead leg by bending it more to do it. While keeping the hands back it allowed him to accelerate the hands when he wanted to do it. The key was not to stop the weight!

Hitting is a process and hitting up the middle first to learn bat control and then outside to learn how to wait and then inside last as most are always to early seems to work well.

Howard

 

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OK, again I feel foolish after reading Howard's analysis...can I change my vote?

 

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OK, again I feel foolish after reading Howard's analysis...can I change my vote?

Funny how he does that

 

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He,s da man

 

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Tim the attack mode with two strikes has worked very well also.

I have seen some use the attack mode on the first pitch as well so it becomes a cat and mouse game when the hitter shows a difference in their stance.

Schutt does not make it anymore however the little Schutt Shorty Tee was a great item as it only adjusted from 14 to 16 inches.

A change up drill I use is to put the Shorty Tee on the outside back corner with a ball on the tee. The hitter looks ahead or through the net, when my hand goes down they separate to toe touch and if I toss the ball they hit that one. The person tossing the ball must toss it inside to promote the concept of think in, in and adjust away. The tosser MUST toss inside IF they toss the ball. If I do not toss the ball the track with their eyes to the ball on the outside corner and hit it.

When they first start this drill they want to look away and back in and then they start to get the idea of in, in and adjust away. With the weight shifting forward on a flexed front knee and the hands back it works pretty well.

The other thing we have used is a foot switch used for Christmas tree lights. With a pitching machine plugged in and running you can turn the machine off without tipping off the hitter. I have put a bat bag in front of me so they can not pick up the foot movement. It seems to work well as the machine coasting slows the ball down.

The Barry Bonds drill however has worked better than anything I have ever used as to timing and rthymn.

Howard

 

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Im a huge fan of the attack on 2 strike count as you know, teach it and preach it. Im not sure if pitchers pick up on the pre load or not but we have never had an issue. Now if a batter were to pre load every at bat to me that would and could open up a can of worms At the older level.
The only time I would do the attack on a regular basis is if its a younger player who is learning the system and having issues on her timing. once confidence is gained than she can start to use the thru swing.

The BB drill is a must in a cage. To add the the BB drill I really believe in the tracking drill in the cage with the glove. It freaks kids (and parents ) out the first time thru but it defiantly adds a whole different level for concentration purposes.

Tim

 

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HAHA...first pitch first at bat in championship game this past Saturday, DD gets a change up that she stays back on, then puts it over the visiting teams dugout on a rocket...looks down the first base line at me like - oh no! I had to laugh, I hadn't shared my recent learning from Howard with her yet...

 

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So Sunday our #4 hitter takes a changeup for strike 2 - count 2-2 .. she looked down at me at third and turned her head back and forth like she didn't like that one, next pitch was a FB that she turned on and drove it over 200 to left center. Next hitter got the change on first pitch and knocked it to right center for a double. An at bat is a process - working an at bat to get the pitch or pitches that maximize your plate appreance is what seperates the great hitters.

I would rather my hitters see 4-5 pitches of an at bat - esp early in the game - than swing at the first ball that is close.

We tell our girls to lay off the change early in the count unless they feel like they are on it - of course some girls hit the change better than others. Funny part was coach of other team told me afterwards we were the best changeup hitting team he has seen. I asked him how many hits he thought we got - he said 4-5 and only 1 for an out .. I asked him how many his pitchers threw that we took as strikes .. that's when he smiled and said quite a few actually...

 

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Watched Wilmington College and Muskingum play Sunday. Both pitchers used the change up with a great deal of success. (Muskingum more so) Saw many hitters for both teams get made a fool....and saw some nice hits as well. Best was when WC subbed a big girl (she had to be 6' 5" or better) in at the bottom of 7.... first pitch change she sent over the fence with an effortless swing. And if it was a 220' shot... it was 200 foot high... :lmao:

 

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our pitcher was struggling with her release on her change last week - it came in flat - same as her drop but slow and fell on the plate pretty much - it tore up the hitters - most change ups they see come in higher at a completly different - more - arch'd approach and they can recognize it quickly.. this looked like the drop / FB just slower.. odd, how they could not lay off of it and not hit it.. we tried to have her throw it the same way yesterday - not bad, just not as good/effective as last week.

 

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Best was when WC subbed a big girl (she had to be 6' 5" or better) in at the bottom of 7.... first pitch change she sent over the fence with an effortless swing. And if it was a 220' shot... it was 200 foot high... :lmao:

That's the girl from Sweden, right?

 

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That's the girl from Sweden, right?

That would be her.... first time I had seen her on the field.