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What you said is good, your gonna want to have your stride foot down right about the time the pitcher throws the ball... or earlier.
Either Working Hard or Hardly Working
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| Posts: 181 | Location: Va | Registered: March 16, 2007 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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quote: ......your gonna want to have your stride foot down right about the time the pitcher throws the ball... or earlier.
Not necessarily.... 
Read the Bible often...
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| Posts: 3623 | Location: Southern U.S. | Registered: December 30, 2002 | |
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quote: Originally posted by Shantzee:
What you said is good, your gonna want to have your stride foot down right about the time the pitcher throws the ball... or earlier.
Stride foot down early is a misunderstood cue, IMO. I've had coaches tell me that you can get that foot down as early as you want because you can't start your swing until the foot get down. This is wrong. In many cases the lower body starts to open before the foot comes down. Watch video of Barry Bonds if you want to see what I mean. If you can get your stride foot down so early, even before the pitch has been thrown, why stride at all? The stride should be used as a loading mechanism for the rest of your body. Everything starts with the feet (lower body leads the upper body). So if you stride, then stop, you will stop any momentum or power you had created before that. I will never tell a hitter to "stride early," or to "get your foot down early," because IMO that continues into the rest of the body and saps way too much power. Striding on time, however, is the key. You can stride too late, and you can stride to early as well. Timing is everything in hitting. Personally, I look forward to facing guys with good fastballs. I know that they will use the pitch and I like hitting fastballs, so I always relish that chance. For me, when I know a guy has a good fastball, my goal is to turn on it and pull it. This line of thinking gets me in the mode to be a little quicker with the bat while getting my foot down ON TIME. If the guy has an extremely good fastball (a la Lincecum), I may choke up a bit as well. This also is a reminder to be quicker to the fastball. So, orioles13, I would say challenge yourself to get that bat head out and pull that good fastball. You may not pull it, you may just drive a ball the other way but its better than getting blown away or being extremly late, right? IMO thats the best way to ensure you don't get beat by the fastball, by looking to pull it.
"Hitting a baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in sport" - Ted Williams
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| Posts: 253 | Location: Seattle | Registered: June 01, 2007 | |
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quote: Originally posted by beemax: quote: Originally posted by Shantzee:
What you said is good, your gonna want to have your stride foot down right about the time the pitcher throws the ball... or earlier.
Stride foot down early is a misunderstood cue, IMO. I've had coaches tell me that you can get that foot down as early as you want because you can't start your swing until the foot get down. This is wrong. In many cases the lower body starts to open before the foot comes down. Watch video of Barry Bonds if you want to see what I mean. If you can get your stride foot down so early, even before the pitch has been thrown, why stride at all? The stride should be used as a loading mechanism for the rest of your body. Everything starts with the feet (lower body leads the upper body). So if you stride, then stop, you will stop any momentum or power you had created before that. I will never tell a hitter to "stride early," or to "get your foot down early," because IMO that continues into the rest of the body and saps way too much power. Striding on time, however, is the key. You can stride too late, and you can stride to early as well. Timing is everything in hitting. Personally, I look forward to facing guys with good fastballs. I know that they will use the pitch and I like hitting fastballs, so I always relish that chance. For me, when I know a guy has a good fastball, my goal is to turn on it and pull it. This line of thinking gets me in the mode to be a little quicker with the bat while getting my foot down ON TIME. If the guy has an extremely good fastball (a la Lincecum), I may choke up a bit as well. This also is a reminder to be quicker to the fastball. So, orioles13, I would say challenge yourself to get that bat head out and pull that good fastball. You may not pull it, you may just drive a ball the other way but its better than getting blown away or being extremly late, right? IMO thats the best way to ensure you don't get beat by the fastball, by looking to pull it.
excellent advice beemax... |
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| Posts: 185 | Location: DUPAGE COUNTY ILLINOIS | Registered: February 03, 2006 | |
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quote: Originally posted by spike49546:
Barry's big thing was geting the foot down before the pitch was thrown. Gene Clines ,the Giants hitting insructor for Dusty, preached getting the foot down before the ball was thrown.
Barry may have been thinking this in his head, but its not what was happening on the field. I have clips of Barry getting his foot down with the ball about halfway to homeplate, far after the release of the ball. And these are on Home Runs that he pulled. You have to be cognizant of what is being said and what is actually being done. Barry may be thinking "get my foot down before release," but that is definitely not what is happening. quote: Be very carefull with your gameplan. You would be very easy to pitch to, depending on what level you are playing on.
Are you speaking of orioles13's gameplan, or mine? How would you know that either of us would be easy to pitch to? I see your profile says you played 13 years in the big leagues. That's great! We need more guys like you in this forum. When did you play, who for, and whats your name? You can pm me if you don't want to say it on the forum. I would love to pick your brain on hitting if you don't mind.
"Hitting a baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in sport" - Ted Williams
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| Posts: 253 | Location: Seattle | Registered: June 01, 2007 | |
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Thanks BlueDog.
"Hitting a baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in sport" - Ted Williams
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| Posts: 253 | Location: Seattle | Registered: June 01, 2007 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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quote: The stride should be used as a loading mechanism for the rest of your body. Everything starts with the feet (lower body leads the upper body). So if you stride, then stop, you will stop any momentum or power you had created before that.
If you read this quickly, the impact seems to get lost.....I would suggest that anyone wanting to understand the swing read the above slowly and dwell on each sentence... The first thing to move is the feet and legs......When the stride is finishing, the upper body should be loading....This timing is important to understand.........This timing is what creates, and maintains, momentum and stretch.........Consistency and power!  quote: Timing is everything in hitting.
Dwell on this, too! quote: In many cases the lower body starts to open before the foot comes down.
This is what loads the upper body against the lower body......Stretch and momentum...Consistency and power! 
Read the Bible often...
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| Posts: 3623 | Location: Southern U.S. | Registered: December 30, 2002 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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Beemax, I teach hitters to start the stride and stand on just the back leg for as long as they can.......This forces them to pick up the front leg instead of just stepping.... Now, they can feel the back hip loading and feel the upper body loading as they control when to put the front foot down.....And, they can feel the front hip rotating open as they stride.... They feel the synching of timing and loading the upper and lower body while they are recognizing the location and speed of the pitch..... And, this reinforces to them that the feet and legs start the swing process..... Most amateur hitters think the stride is just stepping.....But, it's much more than that....The stride should be, as you said, a loading and timing mechanism for the rest of your body......
Read the Bible often...
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| Posts: 3623 | Location: Southern U.S. | Registered: December 30, 2002 | |
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quote: Are you speaking of orioles13's gameplan, or mine? How would you know that either of us
[quote]Personally, I look forward to facing guys with good fastballs. I know that they will use the pitch and I like hitting fastballs, so I always relish that chance. I believe it is you wogdoggy. keeping the barrel of the bat in the hitting zone for as long as possible will give you the best chance for success. by gearing up and trying to pull every good fastball will limit the amount of time your barrel stays in the zone.It will open up a major hole on the outside 3rd of the plate. A pitcher with a good fastball should throw fastballs off the plate inside setting you up for any type of pitch on the outside half. Just be carefull. |
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| Posts: 11 | Location: Tampa | Registered: February 07, 2008 | |
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quote: I believe it is you wogdoggy. keeping the barrel of the bat in the hitting zone for as long as possible will give you the best chance for success.
I think you are speaking of my response, but that doesn't really matter. I agree that keeping the barrel in the hitting zone for as long as possible is key. However, by saying that I look to pull a good fastball doesn't necessarily imply that my bat will be any shorter through the zone. I am simply trying to be quicker to the fastball in my head by thinking about pulling it and/or "getting the head of the bat out in front." quote: by gearing up and trying to pull every good fastball will limit the amount of time your barrel stays in the zone. It will open up a major hole on the outside 3rd of the plate.
Not necessarily. If you think that when facing a good fastball, maybe you would cut off your swing. I don't feel that I do when I think this. quote: A pitcher with a good fastball should throw fastballs off the plate inside setting you up for any type of pitch on the outside half. Just be carefull.
Why would a pitcher want to throw fastballs off the plate to me? Just because I am thinking pull in my head doesn't necessarily mean I will swing at balls off the plate inside, either. Also, if you think you can cover every inch and corner of the plate, be my guest. IMO, before two strikes, if you are trying to cover the whole strike zone you will have little success. Pick a zone and lay off anything out of that zone until you get to two strikes. Just my opinion from playing experience. Remember, my first post was a very general statement about hitting the good fastball. If you face the guy and see that he has a good fastball, but pitches away with it, then adjutments need to be made. However, I have faced very few guys who throw gas and try to nibble on the outside corner with it. If a guy has a good fastball, chances are you will see it during your at bat and that he will give you something that you can pull with it. Remember, general terms here, but a good approach in my opinion. Spike, can you share some of your experiences in your 13 years in the big leagues? Maybe like some of the guys you faced with good fastballs and what your approach was?
"Hitting a baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in sport" - Ted Williams
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| Posts: 253 | Location: Seattle | Registered: June 01, 2007 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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quote: Also, if you think you can cover every inch and corner of the plate, be my guest. IMO, before two strikes, if you are trying to cover the whole strike zone you will have little success. Pick a zone and lay off anything out of that zone until you get to two strikes. Just my opinion from playing experience.
This is very good advice! Ted Williams had the same philosophy and it worked very well for him. He didn't hit for a great average on low and away and people see that as a weakness in his swing, but I believe it was because the only way he was swinging at something in that zone was because he had to. |
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| Posts: 574 | Location: mid west | Registered: January 23, 2008 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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quote: ......in place of that stride we have a "rotation of the knee" inward.
Coach, my guess is, we are accomplishing the same thing in two different ways..... Loading the back hip and timing the synching of the body......
Read the Bible often...
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| Posts: 3623 | Location: Southern U.S. | Registered: December 30, 2002 | |
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HSBBWeb Old Timer
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| Posts: 3623 | Location: Southern U.S. | Registered: December 30, 2002 | |
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quote: Originally posted by BlueDog: I see the front foot coming down well after the pitch is released....And, the hands go to the launch position pretty late in the swing process, also..........  
It looks like Bonds STARTS his forward stride, just as the pitcher is releasing the ball |
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| Posts: 11 | Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Registered: March 07, 2008 | |
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