Is your son or daughter hitting well practicing in the batting cage, but wondering why they’re struggling at the plate? Do they seem to suffer from a baseball or softball mental block slump? Discover how to make adjustments and simulate game like LIVE pitching!
Baseball Batting Cages: How To Transition Practice Into Game Swings
CINCINNATI, OH – JULY 9: Anthony Rizzo #44 of the Chicago Cubs hits a solo home run in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 9, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
In this baseball batting cages strategy video, we answer the following reader question…
“I Have Several Young Hitters That Are Great In Baseball Batting Cages But Have Trouble Transitioning Those Techniques Into Game Situations. How Do I Teach That?”
We’ll go over:
Over-coaching OR giving instruction during games,
Promoting focused quality OR unfocused quantity swings at practices, and
Training timing, plate discipline, and pitch recognition.
PLEASE NOTE: this is a complex issue, and to do the subject any justice, a 30-minute video and 4,000+ word post would suffice. However, I don’t have that time after adding a newly minted baby girl to our family.
So, I urge coaches to PLEASE contribute your comments at the end of this post, in the “Comments” section, of any other factors and/or fixes that I may have missed you think contribute to a successful transition from baseball batting cages (including softball coaches) to game at-bats. Many THANKS in advance!
Without further adieu, I’m going to hit the BIG three I think are the primary causes to the above coach’s challenge…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Mike Brey, the head Notre Dame men’s basketball coach, says ‘don’t coach every dribble’ in the following video:
3 things Coach Brey brings up about how to give feedback:
Talk about something they did good,
Then bring up some of the mistakes they made, and end with…
Highlighting something they did good, again.
I call this tactic the constructive feedback sandwich.
Coach Tony LaRussa mentions, in his book One Last Strike, the ‘Pat & Pop’ Method of giving feedback to his players. The ‘Pat’ is the pat on the back (what they’re doing right), and the ‘Pop’ is the pop in the mouth (calling attention to the mistakes they made).
Men’s Notre Dame basketball Coach Mike Brey also mentions the WORST thing you can do is have a player looking at the “bench” after every play…or the dugout…or down the third base line.
Legendary baseball coach at Fresno State, Bob Bennett, who was my coach for three years, would sit in his chair at the clubhouse end of the dugout during games, with one leg crossed over the other, taking notes the whole game. He would rarely offer mechanical changes to players.
He just let us compete. During games, Coach Bennett focused his time on making situational game decisions.
It was at practice the notes he took during games – of the mistakes we made – would come to life. CLICK HERE for an audio interview I did with Coach Bennett over lunch.
So ask yourself the following question,
If you feel your players (or hitters) aren’t transitioning their swing from the baseball batting cages to game at-bats…
Are you over-coaching (‘coaching EVERY dribble), and/or giving instruction during games?
YES/NO?
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
Promoting Focused Quality OR Unfocused Quantity Swings at Practice
Milo of Croton’s body had to adapt (get stronger) to the demands put on it by the growing bull. Photo courtesy: miloandthecalf.com
Training MUST fit the sport’s objective.
In weight training, this is called the Principle of Specificity. Specificity according to FitStar.com:
“Specificity is the principle of training that states what you do in the gym should be relevant and appropriate to your desired outcome.”
During a baseball or softball game, a pitch is thrown once every 10-20 seconds.
A hitter may see THREE strikes in an at-bat, and may accumulate FOUR at-bats per game, so they may see TWELVE good pitches to swing at per game.
True, not all strikes are in the strike zone at the lower levels, but my point is, swing opportunities are lower in games.
So, am I saying to ration out swings to hitters at practice?
No, not at all.
I’m suggesting a change in coaching paradigm.
What I’m saying is, swings in baseball batting cages MUST be trained with focused quality, not with unfocused quantity.
Baseball batting cages training MUST prioritize the following:
Plate discipline FIRST (are we swinging at strikes, YES/NO?),
Timing SECOND (are we on time, YES/NO?), and
Mechanics THIRD (are we swinging effectively, YES/NO?)
After each five swing round, I ask my hitters these three questions…and it’s rare that I get a hitter regressing after 3-5 rounds of focused quality hacks. Training MUST be more challenging (and frustrating), than game at-bats.
In games, hitters MUST NOT worry about mechanics, just make sure they’re swinging at strikes and getting on-time. Competing. Mechanics are for working on at practice or outside of game AB’s.
Free swinging batting practice, although fun as heck, does NOTHING for producing quality game at-bats.
What mechanics are considered effective versus ineffective?
CLICK HERE for a post I did answering that, in addition to how to get hitters buying into this system.
What’s an example of a baseball batting cages drill that is ineffective training for game at-bats?
Rapid fire soft toss.
WHY?
Because a hitter NEVER has to swing like this in a game!
Please go revisit the definition of the Principle of Specificity above.
The coaching rebuttal to the Rapid Fire Soft Toss Drill is, “But we’re working on quick hands”.
Okay, so if the objective of a pitcher was to throw three balls one after the other in quick succession, then rapid fire soft toss would work.
However, this isn’t how pitches are thrown in games work…
Pitchers throw one pitch every 10-20 seconds. Not three pitches every 10-20 seconds.
Game swings are NOT about quick hands. They’re about timing. One of the pitcher’s objective is to disrupt this. If a hitter is behind…they’re late…and THEIR TIMING IS OFF!!
In other words, it may not be a mechanical issue.
Please stay far away from this drill…
Sure, their hands or bat speed may be slow because of something like bat drag, but I’m here to tell you that the Rapid Fire Soft Toss Drill WILL NEVER help bat drag. This coach would be throwing gasoline on a fire, mechanically.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
This is why fixing ineffective hitting mechanics add more reaction time to a hitter, because when a hitter moves better, they perform better.
Effectiveness is doing the right things, and efficiency is doing those things right.
Look, coaches have to understand the principles before coming up with the methods for fixing. Ralph Waldo Emerson said this about principles:
“The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”
Remember, our hitting objective priorities are:
Plate discipline,
Timing, and then
Mechanics.
A hitter’s mechanics may be clean, but NOT swinging at strikes and NOT being on time WILL cause a mechanical breakdown…no matter how clean the mechanics.
So ask yourself the following question,
If you feel your players (or hitters) aren’t transitioning their swing from the baseball batting cages to game at-bats…
In baseball batting cages are you promoting focused quality OR unfocused quantity swings?
YES/NO?
Which leads me to the topics of…
Training Timing, Plate Discipline, and Pitch Recognition
Joey Votto is one of the best with plate discipline. Photo courtesy of Red-Hot-Mama.com
In this section, I have a lot of HPL resources for you, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel here…
The post above is more advanced and is what I learned from Fresno State head baseball coach Mike Batesole my senior year in 2003. Btw, he was the head coach at Fresno State when the Bulldogs won the College World Series in 2008.
However, I recommend the strategy mentioned in the Matt Holliday link to the college level on up. High School coaches can experiment with it, typically when facing higher functioning pitchers. The challenge with it is that most pitchers at the lower levels aren’t as skilled at consistently placing pitches where they want them.
So, my recommendation for the lower levels is to focus on whether they swinging at strikes or not. Make it simple. Talk about the strike zone. What’s a good pitch to hit and what is not.
If you feel your players (or hitters) aren’t transitioning their swing from the baseball batting cages to game at-bats…
In baseball batting cages are you training timing, plate discipline, and pitch recognition?
YES/NO?
Coaches, PLEASE contribute anything I may have missed in regard to factors and/or fixes you feel contribute to a successful transition from baseball batting cages (including softball) to game at-bats.
Again, MANY thanks in advance!
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Hitting-Well-In-Cage-Batting-Practice-But-Why-Struggling-At-Plate-Baseball-Or-Softball-Mental-Block-Slump-How-To-Simulate-Game-Like-LIVE-Pitching-e1659388915424.png281500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-01 09:00:142022-08-02 16:37:37Hitting Well In Cage Batting Practice, But Why Struggling At Plate? Baseball Or Softball Mental Block Slump? How To Simulate Game Like LIVE Pitching!
Discover the best online pitch recognition hitting drills website game app for baseball and softball players. Tips to see the ball and pitch better, fix late swing timing, and help your batter that may be struggling to hit.
Get Rid of Pitch Recognition, Plate Discipline, & Timing Challenges Once and For All
Photo courtesy: News.Missouri.Edu
In this post,
I answer the following three fan questions:
How do you practice picking up the pitch early?
Do you have players swing at everything during batting practice or let them be selective? What drills are good for teaching a player to hit a ball where it is pitched? And,
Why is Timing not taught throughout majority instructors? Great mechanics are good but without Timing principles, you just look good going back to the dugout. What are some of the different ways you would teach/describe Timing?
The following is a compilation of resources I wish I had when I was still playing.
Coaches, if you aren’t taking full advantage of these, then you’ll be slowly losing ground in games over the next 5 years, that I can assure you. Get out ahead!
Onward…
How do you practice picking up the pitch early?
Check out the feedback software you can use to work on getting GREAT at pitch recognition. Dr. Peter Fadde calls this ‘video occlusion’, which allows a hitter to focus on pattern recognition for the first 10-20 feet of ball flight. CLICK HERE for a blog interview I did with Dr. Fadde for more information on the benefits of his ‘video occlusion’ training.
The greatest thing about the GameSense software, is that coaches can keep track of their players’ use of the software with real numbers. What’s measurable is manageable.
As a player, I would’ve eaten this up when I was younger.
And yes, it requires a subscription, and the pricing plans differ depending on usage. On the homepage, GameSense is offering a free trial, so you can check it out and see if it’s right for you.
CLICK HERE to grab your FREE trial of the GameSense app that focuses on pitch recognition training…i.e. picking the ball up early out of the pitcher’s hand.
By the ways, gS Pitch-IQ was named one of the best products at the 2017 ABCA convention in Anaheim!
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Do you have players swing at everything during batting practice or let them be selective? What drills are good for teaching a player to hit a ball where it is pitched?
I’m not sure I’d ever let hitters swing at everything during batting practice. Everything we do at practice, as coaches, MUST have a purpose. And that purpose MUST prepare our players for the game environment.
CLICK HERE to watch YouTuber Trevor Ragan compare the benefits of training “ugly” in a post I did showing how to EFFECTIVELY transition grooved batting practice swings into game ones.
Here’s why swinging at everything in the cages DOES NOT translate into games…motor skill learning in a competitive environment MUST follow these three steps:
READ – i.e. pitch recognition and spin
PLAN – i.e. timing
DO – the swing
You see, when a hitter swings at everything in the cages, most of what they’re working on is in the “DO” portion. There’s very little READ or PLAN present, which is required in a game environment.
“Massed Training”, as defined by SchoolOfThinking.org, is said to be a far less effective strategy for retaining knowledge or developing skills. In other words, practicing the same thing over and over again WITHOUT a break and evaluation period is inferior to spaced and/or ugly training. CLICK HERE for my Hitting Outcomes Evaluation Checklist.
So what does being selective in the cages look like:
After every 5-swing round, the hitter is asked, “How many strikes did you swing at?”(and they’re affirmed or corrected based on their answer)
You can also do what I call is a Reverse Strike-Zone round. This is where they MUST swing at “balls” – within reason, you don’t want them throwing their bat in the cage – and taking “strikes”. WHY would you do this? It helps define a hitters strike-zone/hitting zone, and offers a better variety of body movement which the body’s springy fascia LOVES!! This will melt their brain by the way 😛 lol
CLICK HERE for this post I did on plate discipline – splitting the plate up into 2/3’s and 1/3 is another great way to teach your hitters to be more selective.
This answers the second part to the reader question above…you can also turn on READ, PLAN, DO by limiting what parts of the field you want the hitter to hit to, OR limit certain elevations you want the hitter to hit at, regardless of pitch type, location, and speed. Addressing the former…you can setup targets out in the field preferably in spots where you don’t find any fielders (gaps/down the lines), and hitter has to hit the target as hard as they can. Addressing the latter…I’ve seen some coaches place shagging screens about 30 to 50-feet from the batter’s box creating a barrier to hitting ground-balls, and the objective is to hit the ball hard over the screens.
Random pitch type rounds – an example of this is randomly throwing either a 2-seam fast-ball or a curve-ball, and having the hitter stick to seeking out one pitch over the other for one 5-swing round.
2 or 3-plate drill rounds – where the hitter moves from different plate distances between or during 5 swing rounds. The plates can be placed about 3 to 5 feet apart. This is a GREAT timing drill.
Doing situational hitting rounds…hit-and-runs, move runner over, and bunts/drags/pushes.
I’m sure other coaches have cool deviations of the above, so please SHARE in the comments section below.
The point is, hitters should have a purpose when taking batting practice, NOT just swinging at everything, IF they want to match the game environment.
Why is Timing not taught throughout majority instructors? Great mechanics are good but without Timing principles, you just look good going back to the dugout. What are some of the different ways you would teach/describe Timing?
Totally. I tell my hitters that the most effective mechanics in the world don’t mean a thing if they can’t get on-time.
Surprisingly, some hitting instructors don’t think timing can be taught? I disagree.
Now, let me clear up a common misconception…do you know the difference between timing and reaction time?
I got the following demonstration from my good friend Taylor Gardner, co-inventor of the Backspin Tee. Do this with your hitters…
Tell them to stand in front of you, and hold a baseball/softball an arm’s length away from you at about the height of their head.
Then tell them you’re going to drop the ball at a random time…try varying the times you drop the ball, and you’ll find it’ll be a challenge for them to catch it. Repeat two more times. This my friend is a demonstration of reaction time.
Then tell them you’re going to drop the ball after counting to 3 (no tricks here coaches)…count to three, then drop the ball. Repeat two more times. This my friend is a demonstration of timing. And as you may guess, this will be much easier to catch for your players.
Timing can be taught with the right methods. Here are my top three:
The TWO or THREE plate drill mentioned above,
Switching bat sizes and weights between or in the middle of 5-swing rounds, and
Switching ball types at random…using baseballs, softballs, whiffles, golf whiffles, racket balls, Smush balls, and tennis balls.
Thank you Mike Ryan from Fastball USA for the last two. A hitter will have to re-calibrate their timing between swinging a longer heavier bat than a lighter shorter one. The different balls mentioned will fly through the air at different speeds making for a perfect off speed practice environment. This can be really challenging for the hitter, and a lot of fun.
But be careful coaches, slowly layer in the difficulty, don’t do ALL three above at the start. Some hitters excel quickly, while others take more time.
Do you see how important training beneath the READ, PLAN, & DO umbrella is?
I hope this helps coaches!!
Please share any other effective methods you do with your hitters that improve what was talked about above. THANKS in advance!
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pitch-recognition.jpg437340Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-06-13 09:15:182022-06-13 23:25:32Best Online Pitch Recognition Hitting Drills Website Game App For Baseball & Softball | Tips To See Ball And Pitch Better, Fix Late Swing Timing, & Help Batter Struggling To Hit
Discover how to teach aggressive batting for a baseball or softball player that is struggling to pull the trigger. Oftentimes this comes in the form of freezing at the plate. This has mostly to do with the mental side of hitting, so we’ll discuss mental hitting drills to build confidence if a player may be hitting well in the batting cage or at practice but not so much in the games.
Here’s A Quick Way To Get Your Hitters More Aggressive At The Plate
I answer the reader question of: “How to get youth hitters to be more aggressive to hit and not look to walk?”
There were times when I was playing Fall Ball as a Sophomore in High School, privileged to be playing against Juco competition, that I found myself falling into an 0-2 hole quite frequently. I’d say to myself, “WTFudge, why have I been in the hole my last 4 AB’s?”
Then, I’d make a conscious decision to swing at the first pitch, no matter what the pitch was, or where it was located. In other words, I decided to make a bold adjustment, going from being too passive at the plate, to being too aggressive…
In hopes that with future at-bats was I would land somewhere in the middle. In those days it was just a feeling that I got. Fast forward to a few years ago, a good friend of mine Bob Hall, whose son Quin (a physical incarnate of Bo Jackson), had just finished performing at an MLB scouting camp in Canada. Quin was about 15 years old at the time, and Bob shared the advice Quin received from one of the leading scouts at this camp.
And this is what we’re discussing in the above video:
The Hunter mindset, versus
The Fisherman.
My goal with this video post is to give coaches a practical strategy to use with your hitters (that I use with mine), which will give them a solid game plan at the plate.
PLEASE NOTE: like anything else, you have to work with your hitters on this at practice, if they have any chance at getting better at it.
The Hunter Mindset
Vlad Guerrero – “The Hunter”. Photo courtesy: ProSportsBlogging.com
What does a hunter do?
They stalk their prey.
When would we use this mindset against a pitcher?
When they’re around the strike zone.
We SHOULD NEVER default to such hitting rules as, “NEVER swing at the first pitch.”
This is how I dug myself into holes during my career.
CLICK HERE for this Beyond the Boxscore article which asks the question, “Does hitting performance change based on the number of pitches a hitter sees during a plate appearance?”
Look at what happens to Batting Average in:
0-2,
1-2,
2-2, and 3-2 pitching counts…
Like a snake, strike fast when a pitcher is around the zone.
Think of some of the greatest Dominican, or Latin America, hitters. As the saying goes, “You don’t get off ‘the island’ unless you swing the bat.”
The Fisherman Mindset
Barry Bonds – “The Fisherman”. Photo credit should read DOUG PENSINGER/AFP/Getty Images (Newscom TagID: gettylive963981) [Photo via Newscom]
What does a fisherman do on the boat all morning?
Sit…AND wait.
When would we use this mindset with a pitcher?
When he or she cannot find the zone.
This approach requires a little more plate discipline not to swing out of the zone, AND
To know the strike zone.
Because when the pitcher throws one over, the hitter MUST be trained to jump on it.
Think about Barry Bonds from 2001 to 2004. According to Baseball-Reference.com, he walked a total of 755 times. That’s an average of 188 BB’s per year!
What’s more…
He hit a total of 209 homers, for an average of 52 dingers per year, in the same span. Last time I checked PED use DOES NOT help with plate discipline.
How about his consistency over that same time period?
Bonds’s Batting Average over those four years, starting with 2001 was: .328, .370, .341, and .362 respectively.
How about how many times he struck out?
We have power hitters like Chris Davis and Ryan Howard routinely striking out 200+ times per season.
How about Bonds…?
2001: 93 K’s
2002: 47 K’s (he struck out one more time than homered)
2003: 58 K’s
2004: 41 K’s (he hit more homers than struck out!!)
By the way, his 162-game average strikeouts are 83. 83!!! Over 22-years in the Big Leagues!
My point is, when Bonds got his pitch…he GOT IT!
He knew how to be a ‘fisherman’.
But can plate discipline be taught?
Sure it can!
It’s a muscle in the brain, and like any other body muscle, can be focused on and strengthened.
Here are my favorite 4 resources for training vision, tracking, and plate discipline:
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/How-To-Teach-Aggressive-Batting-For-Struggling-Baseball-Softball-Player.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-04-15 09:00:252022-08-15 17:34:31How To Teach Aggressive Batting For Struggling Baseball & Softball Player | Freezing At The Plate? Hitting Drills To Build Confidence If Hits Well In Cage And Practice But Not In Game
…the application of it basically. And in the beginning, there was the big three is what I call it. So that was showing the numbers, so hitters showing their numbers to the pitcher, there was the downhill shoulder angle. So that’s the side bend side of it. And then there was the hiding of the hands.
Joey Myers 00:20
And I know you came to kind of a conclusion about that front arm shape being barred out or even slight bend, but pretty close to being barred out. So, the hands don’t necessarily they used to teach walk away from the hands, right? So that to me is translated as the hands going back towards the catcher, but it’s actually should go back at an angle back where we say hiding the hands from the pitcher. So, the hands should end up at landing somewhere above or behind the back heel.
Joey Myers 00:49
So if the pitcher is watching this hitter, and again, go look at Mike Trout, go look at JD Martinez. Go look at Mookie Betts. Look at all these guys and you’ll see them number one, showing their numbers. Number two, not all of them have a downward shoulder angle but many of them do; Miggy Cabrera, Ted Williams if you want to go back in the day, a lot of hitters in the Stan Musial, they used to say that it looked like he was a little kid peeking around the corner. Right.
Joey Myers 01:16
And it was that the showing numbers part of it. And you see them all hiding their hands. So, from the minute they start to at landing, you see their hands disappear. So those are the big three and what’s happening fascia wise is we’re taking the front shoulder, we’re taking the front shoulder and we’re bringing it down and in towards the back hip.
Joey Myers 01:37
So that gives you that slight down angle and it gets you… we’ve evolved showing numbers to more creating neck pressure. Because every hitter is different, you and me being a little bit older, although we do a lot of movement work on our own body so we probably move better than people our age. But a lot of hitters are different in how far they can get their head here because one of the biggest…. one of the biggest things that people hated was showing the numbers was that, well, it pulls the hitters eyes off the ball.
Joey Myers 02:04
And yeah, if you do it too much, but the head’s got to anchor down in a position, so if I go sideways, so the head’s got an anchor in a tracking position, not necessarily square off to the pitcher, but intercept where the balls coming in. All Dr. Peter Fadde’s stuff and head anchors and then we just pull that shoulder underneath as far as you can. And that’s going to create some tension in the neck.
Joey Myers 02:28
So it’s like a wringing towel, like we’re wringing a towel out. So, where your head is on top, the top hand and that your shoulders are the bottom hand, and we’re just wringing as far as we can. We’re taking that spine, that section of the spine, and we’re just bringing it as hard as we can until landing and then we just let it go.
Joey Myers 02:44
So it’s kind of like, I call it more of a spring than some people call it rubber bands like get the rubber bands really tight and then let them go like a rubber band system. Kind of but it’s more it’s more spring, springy. So those are the big three if you connect the dots between what fascia is what the spinal engine is, it’s easy way to think about it is a wringing towel, like you’re wringing the towel, it’s loading that system up and then letting it go.
Joey Myers 03:10
And like I said, I ran quite a few swing experiments that proved that showing numbers versus not showing numbers, you add between four to six miles an hour bat speed, and I can’t remember if I did a ball exit speed one, but bat speed and ball exit speed are very similar. They’re like first or second cousins. So it’s very translatable. The down shoulders added four miles an hour of speed. And the showing numbers I think was three miles an hour, or one to two wasn’t quite as much. The big one was showing the numbers or creating that neck pressure.
Jaime Cevallos 03:41
So what this does is it winds up the body so that you can then deliver more force…
How do you Wind up the Body to Deliver more Force?
Joey Myers 03:48
Yes, yeah, it takes the slack out of the system. So slack being a little different than what how the human body because we talked about it’s more compression tension forces that’s taking slack out, but it’s almost like If you think about a car that goes into a ravine and then you have a Jeep with a winch on the front that you can take the cable, hook it up to the bumper of the car that’s been dropped in the ravine and to pull that car out, right, so you turn the winch on…
Joey Myers 04:15
And if you have slack in the cable that’s connected to the bumper, and you turn that winch on right away, because there’s slack in the cable, it’s going to just pull the bumper off, it’s not going to pull the car out of the ravine.
Joey Myers 04:25
So what you have to do first is after you hook it, hook the bumper, is you got to slowly take that slack out of the cable of the winch line and then turn it on and it’ll pull the whole car out. So that’s slack versus no slack. Some people out there have been on a what a toboggan on the lake, and you’ve been on a boat pulling you along, and you’re holding on to the ski line or whatever you hold on to the ski bar, right and they’re pulling you along.
Joey Myers 04:52
And we had a buddy who did this with us. And at the time, I was super strong. I was lifting a lot and he goes I’m going to do it as hard as I can to you, alright do it, bring it, bring it, man. So, he got it to where he’s pulling me at first. So, there was no slack in the line; line was nice and tight. And then he got me to where I started coming up to the side of the boat. So, he kind of slowed it down a little bit. And then I started kind of floating up and started putting slack in the line and then he floored it! And boom, and that I held on and there was one time I think I ended let go, but that amount of force all at once. It was a slack in the line.
Joey Myers 05:30
Oh my gosh. So what happens is…
Jaime Cevallos 05:34
You’re lucky you didn’t hurt yourself.
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Right? Yeah, dude, we were like 25 years old, right? ever get hurt. But that’s the thing. So when youth hitters, a lot of times what I see is these coaches say, keep your shoulders square. Don’t show your numbers to the pitcher for all these different reasons we can go into some other time, but they want the shoulders square. They don’t want you tilting them. They don’t want you turning them in. They want them square and then they want the hips to do everything.
Joey Myers 06:04
And so what’s happening is it’s putting slack in the system. Because to take slack out we just talked about is like that wringing towel, we have to wring the towel and then let it go. And that’s where you get a nice powerful move, consistently powerful move, and it’s safe on the spine versus the opposite where the coach wants this shoulder square doesn’t want any turn it in or down or anything like that. And they want the swing powered by the pelvis or the hips, they say explode the hips, load and explode the hips.
Joey Myers 06:34
And what happens there is you’re taking the equipment of the lower back, the set of five vertebrae is in the lower lower back, who actually are not made to rotate. They’re not made to, they’re not built to rotate the bones. Okay. All they can do is flex and extend. The rotation that you see is about seven to 12 degrees and this is via Tom Myers, and a pretty prominent, I can’t remember his name right now, physical therapists been around forever in the strength conditioning world [Charlie Weingroff, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist, a trainer in New York City, and is pretty high up on the human performance food chain], seven to 12 degrees of rotation is all it’s allowed because of the muscles surrounding those bones.
Joey Myers 07:13
So that’s the rotation you see is that set that seven to 12 degrees rotation, you see, is because of the muscles surrounding the bones. The thoracic spine, so shoulders and then the rest of it that attaches up to the top of the lumbar, the lower back is made to rotate is actually made to rotate 40 degrees, four-zero in both directions.
Joey Myers 07:34
So I should be able to do a good moving human body can move 40 degrees to the left and rotate 40 degrees to the right. So when you employ a part of the body that isn’t allowed to rotate, to rotate and to not only rotate but explode, like absolutely explode. Now what happens is we start wearing holes in the lower back, we see back spasms. We see herniated discs.
Joey Myers 07:35
We see all kinds of stuff in the swings we were referring to earlier about the barrel moves the body, not the body moves barrel. So those ones that are teaching barrel moving the body, what I see in those swings is I see these hitters on Twitter where their back is arching their arching and you can almost draw for righties, you can draw a reverse C shape. And for lefties, you can draw a C shape like from their head, down their back and out their leg because they’re arching so much you can see this kind of C shape going on.
Joey Myers 08:32
And the problem with that is extension is okay, so if you arch your back in just a normal, a normal sagittal plane like a front to back plane, like you do a lunge or squat in a normal extension is fine. An arching of the back is fine. You see a gymnast when they swing the bar when they’re swinging under the bar, right? You’ll see them go into a globally flexed position where their spine kind of looks like this and then as they swing through, they go into a globally arched and global just means the whole body is arch. There’s not one little point that’s arched, say like in my head if I went and I just dropped my head back and I went into an extended position with my neck and not using my body as well, that’s that would be a local extension.
Joey Myers 09:17
Those aren’t usually good when they’re coupled with their rotation. So, when the hitter is going into an arched position, that by itself isn’t troublesome. But the minute you add a rotation in with that, now, when you arch you’re pushing the vertebrae together in your back when you arch. Okay, now that again isn’t a big deal, but the minute you start rotating, now you’re grinding and that is a problem and that’s what I see when you teach hitters the barrel moves the body and to snap the barrel back way back here.
Joey Myers 09:51
When I see those swings, I see those hitters arching their back and turning and it just makes me want to throw up because these coaches either, they’re, it’s like a cat, right? Cats are either really, really smart or they’re really, really stupid. And to me, it looks like those coaches don’t know any better. And they’re getting their information from some guy who doesn’t know any better, who knows better, but he’s not teaching the right thing and it’s just it’s horrible to see these young hitters doing that.
Jaime Cevallos 10:25
So, what you would say is the main thing that separates the great hitters from the average or the just the good has to do with this sort of building tension not creating slack in the torso area and the upper legs basically, of the body.
What is the Main Thing that Separates the Great Hitters from Average?
Joey Myers 10:51
Right, exactly. So if you go back and Ted Williams you look at Stan Musial, you look at even Babe Ruth, and not all of them have them have every single principle like they could have and they could have done better. You could even look at Tony Gwynn, right? There was an article I do that every time I put it up on social media, I said something in the article or in the headline to the effect of, could Gwynn have had more power?
Joey Myers 11:16
And I just did an analysis and took a look at his swing and pointed out areas where he could have maximized or optimized power. A lot of people don’t like that. You know, Tony, how could you be? You know, how many hits? Did you get the big leagues in? How could you take on Tony, when you don’t know what you’re talking about?
Joey Myers 11:31
I was like, no, it’s dude. It’s a thought experiment. I’m not going after the guy, right. He didn’t want to hit for power. Although, when he had his talk with Ted Williams, his power numbers sure went up a little bit because Teddy told him, Hey, you might want to pull the ball and own your pull field a little bit more. And that year after he had that talk with him, I think he went from like 11 home-runs a season I think he hit maybe 20 or 18 or something like that.
Joey Myers 11:54
But this idea that Ted Williams is probably one of the best one of the best at it, you see the showing numbers, or his in his case “the number” nine, you see his down shoulder angle. You see him hiding the hands. You see this locked out front lead arm when he started his swing. Like he’s got it all, all of it.
Joey Myers 12:14
The only thing I don’t agree with that it’s not a bad thing per se. Extra motion, is the idea where he turned his hips in slightly. So, he kind of turned the hips in like he was turning towards the catcher. And I did this read a book you know that in high school and college and stuff like that because that’s where I thought power was in the pelvis.
Joey Myers 12:37
But if you think about, when I turn my hips in and I’m creating my neck pressure showing my numbers and I’m pulling the shoulder in well if my hips going away from my back hip, which I’m supposed to be taking my front hip and bringing or my front shoulder and bringing it to my back hip, with my back hip is going away and my front shoulder is chasing what you’re continually chasing. So, you never get to that point. Right?
Joey Myers 13:00
So if we just keep the pelvis in neutral, so belt buckle, pointing at home plate we don’t inward turn or anything, and just let the shoulders do what they do. Creating neck pressure showing numbers going into that position there. Then now we’re compressing where we need to and what happens is when you inward the pelvis and we’re seeing data on this, ZenoLink.com – Chris Welch.
Joey Myers 13:26
So he does a lot of experimentation. He’s kind of physical therapist guy, and very, very knowledgeable and he’s got a lot of data. He’s got force plates he’s got all this different stuff. And so, I had one of my online hitters went to him, Chris’s on the East Coast, went to him to go through all his testing evaluation stuff.
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And Chris was saying that this particular hitter’s barrel speed was super maximized behind him, which is again, the same people that teach barrel swings the body right so the barrel speed was increased or was maximized behind him, but by the time he got to impact it was slowing down. So answer that, how are we teaching something that’s actually slowing down your barrel by the time you get to impact…
Joey Myers 14:15
And there’s a couple different factors in that we can go into if you want, but that was the whole thing he was in inwardly rotating his pelvis and he was a lefty. So he was taken in rotating his pelvis in towards the catcher and then get to landing and then he would he would rotate, he would rotate back, you know the pelvis back and explode into the ball, but that was causing him to have a premature maximizing of bat speed. It wasn’t helping him it wasn’t maximizing his ball exit speed.
Jaime Cevallos 14:46
Now, so the most important thing, you mentioned three things, say those, again…
What are the 3 most Important Things to Consistent Power?
Joey Myers 14:54
The spine, of the spine?
Jaime Cevallos 14:57
Well, just that I think there were just three things that were…
Joey Myers 14:59
You’re talking about?
Joey Myers 15:02
Oh, oh, oh…the three things the big three, okay, so showing numbers or create neck pressure. If I’m here, I’m here. So, my head anchors in a tracking position, shoulder comes pulling underneath as far as I can just like you’re wringing a towel out right, my head and my shoulders. I’m bringing that towel out, creating pressure in the neck. So that’s number one that’s showing numbers neck pressure.
Joey Myers 15:27
Number two is downward shoulder angle. From this view, is more of a slight down shoulder. So, it’s like you’re doing a side bend. So, the shoulders the back shoulder goes up, the front shoulder goes down. And with that, you don’t want it to be too much. The sweet spot there is like six to 10 degrees down so it’s not a lot, but what helps a lot of times is controlling where that elbow goes.
Joey Myers 15:54
I back this up a little bit, give you guys a little bit more room. If I can use my elbow to pull the elbow or pull the, or bring the shoulders down, steer the shoulders down. That’s a way to do it. But you can also focus on taking this front shoulder down and then towards that back hip that’ll help to create this down shoulder. Right.
Joey Myers 16:14
And what’s interesting in the swing, if we want our body to accelerate and decelerate properly, is we want the shoulders to start down. And then as we swing, then they’re going to tilt. This front shoulder starts down, left shoulder, and then as I swing, it’s going to go up. And then in my finish, think about the Ted Williams pictures and Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth and all these guys, how did they finish they end up finishing in this position.
Joey Myers 16:45
So what we should see is we should see… left shoulder starts down, pops up, and then it should end down. So down, up, and then down on the finish. You know those Ted Williams pictures where he’s like, position right. It’s this one, it’s his left shoulder as a lefty starts, or he starts here. His left shoulder here starts up, and then it goes down. And then it finishes up. Right. So that’s a proper accelerating decelerating into the spine. So that’s the second thing that’s the down shoulder.
Joey Myers 17:23
And then the last one is the hiding hands from the pitcher. One more time again. We got so if I start my swing, this way, you can see my hands and the minute I get to landing, I’m creating what you see this back elbow peeking out behind me. So that’s they call it a SCAP row, or SCAP load, SCAP pinch wherever you want to call it. So that’s the move there. Where now you can’t see my hands.
Joey Myers 17:49
And now what I’m doing is this front shoulder for those those Kines geeks out there. The front shoulder is a Scap protraction so the scalp is coming in the scapula is coming this way coming across. And then my back SCAP is retracting. They’re doing the opposite of each other protraction retraction, right?
Joey Myers 18:10
So if you watch any gymnastics, or Olympian doing a spin, ice skater, if they do a spin, that’s what you’re going to see. And a lot of people out there will say, Well, I like to scap pinch, but I don’t want this front shoulder coming in. And like you’re not, that’s not how the human body works, dude, you’re not getting 100% optimization out of the rotation.
Jaime Cevallos 18:35
So the showing numbers has been something that people didn’t want to do? I was not aware of that…
Joey Myers 18:41
It was and still, yeah, it’s crazy.
Jaime Cevallos 18:45
Why did they say you didn’t want to show numbers?
Joey Myers 18:47
Good question. The irony by the way, these same people that don’t like it, swear by video, swear by video analysis. They say well we’re going to look and see what the best hitters do and that’s what we’re going to do. And you see them do it. You can again look at Miggy look at Ted Williams look at Trout look at just look at the top 10 power hitters right now and even in the in the day, and you see all of them do it.
Joey Myers 19:13
So I don’t understand why they’re all about video analysis, but they choose to see what they want to see. Right. So what they say is the problem they say with it is that it takes the hitters eyes off the ball, but I just talked about, we create neck pressure. The head is the important part. That’s the piece that’s the anchor. It’s like a boat and I ask my hitters, what does an anchor do on a boat, it either stops the boat or it slows it down, right?
Joey Myers 19:37
So the head is the control piece. Wherever the head goes, the body follows. So the head takes a tracking position and anchors down and then it’s the shoulder that comes in as far as it can while we’re wringing the towel out. And that’s what’s going to get you to the show numbers.
Joey Myers 19:53
Now lefties if you watch lefties because the camera angle at Major League ballparks is slightly off center towards left field right… (To be continued in Part-3…)
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/joey-myers-jaime-cevallos-interview-part-2-youtube-e1594274351414.png281500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2020-07-09 06:09:152020-11-09 06:24:12How To Wind Up The Body To Deliver More Force
Discover how to improve pitch recognition skills for ANY hitter with the best in training aids, online courses, and drills in this PART-2 interview with Bill Masullo…
This is Part-2 to the Facebook LIVE conversation I recently had with Bill Masullo, who is the Co-Owner and Senior Baseball Instructor at the Ultimate Edge @ Goodsports. In case you missed Part-1, where we talked about the effect Fortnite has on our hitter’s mental health, then CLICK HERE.
The subject of this interview is complimentary to a post I did titled, “Why Fortnite May Be Dangerous To Building Hitters Who Crush”. HEADS UP: us two knuckle-dragging hitting coaches were having technical difficulties (I know SHOCKER!) before the start of this video. This is probably the fourth and final take!
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
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Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
At the 0:50 minute mark, how does posture effect the swing, studies show young athletes sit 80% of their day, certain groups of muscles get tight and others turn off, Gymnastics, Dance, Martial Arts, Swimming are great counter disciplines to friction free movement, rock climbing is also a great “counter” to chronic sitting positions.
At the 4:00 minute mark, how working on screens (mobile, tv, computer) for extended periods of time effect ball players, for every 20 minutes of screen time, the eyes need 5-minutes off the screen, Dr. Peter Fadde and “video occlusion” training using his Game Sense Sports app, pitch recognition training, The 6th Tool: Training Baseball Pitch Recognition book by Dr. Peter Fadde.
At the 9:30 minute mark, Major League hitters track better than amateurs (but ALL hitters can improve), below average, average, and above average “learn-ability”, Aaron Miles High School story about coach, in mid-90’s, putting particle board in way of hitter during pitcher bullpens (similar to Dr. Peter Fadde’s Game Sense Sports app), Jaime Cevallos pitch recognition hitting aid interview post.
At the 13:00 minute mark, Bill asks what parents should know about vision training, Perry Husband foremost expert on timing, vision, and training research, simulating pitch plane, don’t throw to 7yo from standing position 20-30 feet away – like hitting up a mountain, throw seated on a bucket, size of ball short distance makes a difference – baseball players hitting golf sized whiffle balls from 30-40 feet, perceived ball size from 60-feet, 6-inches, or 45-feet.
At the 16:45 minute mark, pitch recognition cues, “fat” wrist versus “skinny” wrist, shape of the arm coming through, curve-balls sometimes look like a “bicep” curl, gets challenging when pitchers slot their arm in the same arm slot, Effective Velocity (EV) Tunnels, more strikeouts than hits in the MLB now, Perry Husband coined this concept, perceived velocity to the hitter, easier for corner-back to cover wide receivers running similar routes (deep & post), versus more difficult for one corner-back to cover two wide receivers when one runs deep and another does a 5-yard 90-degree cut, a pitch farther away from the hitter (low-away), perceived velocity is slower, a pitch closer to the eyes (up-in), perceived velocity is faster.
At the 22:00 minute mark, I asked Perry Husband how do you counter pitchers exploiting EV tunnels in hitters? Learning to “hunt” pitches, hunting specific pitches in specific locations, “belly button”, back foot, and real catcher’s glove barrel entering the zone positions(CLICK HERE for more on this), random pitch rounds, my son “hunting” Ford Mustang cars when driving on the road, hunting pitches is less relevant with younger pitchers, and college and professional ball – hunting pitches becomes more relevant, data collection.
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
Leg Kicks May Be Dangerous To Pitchers (And Hitters That Don’t Perfect Them)…
Before I get into the Rhys Hoskins swing breakdown video featuring Mark DeRosa & Cliff Floyd above…
I wanted to give you a heads up of what’s in this post:
Lesson learned from my school of hard knocks,
How to fix striking out every at-bat in tournament, and
Rhys Hoskins swing breakdown.
Lessons Learned from School of Hard Knocks
Rhys Hoskins says his thought is “down to the ball”, then adds, “obviously you’re not swinging down like you’re chopping wood.” He’s hoping that thought process will keep him on a level plane in the strike-zone as long as he can. Photo courtesy: Sports Bay Area
I recently worked with a newer 12/13u hitter of mine, where he shared he had a terrible tournament, where he struck out virtually every at-bat the weekend before.
This immediately raised a red flag for me.
The easy thing to do for a player – and a dad or mom – is to point to a breakdown in hitting mechanics.
As a hitting coach, if this isn’t your first rodeo, then you know this is not the case a majority of the time.
Quick back story,
My last year of Little League was insane:
Hit .880 regular season, .770 in All-Stars,
30+ dingers,
40+ doubles, and
Struck out a grand total of 3 times in the span of 6 months.
By the way, looking at old VHS video of that swing, I was doing what I teach now. All those strikeouts were early in the regular season, and once I settled down, they vanished entirely.
I was ignorance on fire!
Brace yourself for the “fall”…
The next year I made the move to the big field, with no pitching distance transition like there are nowadays. I found myself swinging and missing A LOT.
I got so frustrated with myself, and what do you think my dumb brain thought was the problem?
Right-O!! Mechanics.
Do you know the REAL cause?
Let me give you a clue…the word starts with a “T” and ends with “-iming” 😛 lol
I was being driven by my fear of getting “caught up” to by other players. And yes, the whispers started in Middle School when I struggled to recover my old swing.
Do you know how much of a nightmare that is for a hitter who’s super driven to succeed like I was?
This fear drove me into the bookstore to read every book on hitting I could get my hungry teenager hands on. Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Charlie Lau, Mike Schmidt, and on and on. Nothing seemed to help. I obsessively watched film of that swing trying to figure out what I was missing or leaving out.
Hey, at least I wasn’t out stealing cars!
It was a 4-year mind-fudge that ended in recovering my batting average – somewhat – but not my power the last two years in High School. Thinking back now, it’s a miracle I ended up with a scholarship at Fresno State.
The point of this story is, negative tournament outcomes don’t necessarily mean a breakdown in hitting mechanics.
Back to my young hitter…
How To Fix Striking Out Every At-Bat in Tournament
So I had three questions I planned asking my hitter, in diagnosing the challenges he had with his last tournament:
The first one is, were you focusing on the new stuff we worked on last lesson(which was a week before), during game at-bats?
If the answer is NO to that question, then I would ask, how many strikes did you swing at, OR not swing at?
If they’re swinging at good pitches, then on the swings you took, how many were “on-time”?
If they pass the first three questions, then we look at seeking and fixing the ineffective swing mechanic.
However, this particular hitter failed question one. I hadn’t warned him about bringing new swing techniques into game at-bats. I told him that in games, your focus MUST be on swinging at good pitches and getting on-time. It’s to compete.
I teach hitters my painful lesson.
The good news is, this hitter will be on the up and up again, and won’t have to go through the frustration, struggle, and anger I went through attempting to fix something I knew nothing about at the time. And frankly, the only one who had a clue was Ted Williams, but his message was drowned out in the other white noise I was hearing, reading, and watching. Paralysis by over analysis.
Now, let’s tie in the Rhys Hoskins video above…
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
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Below you’ll find video notes I took. Afterward, I’ll only focus on about a couple of these, I think others will make for good conversation in the Comments section below…
About 1:20 min mark, DeRosa: “Hands go along for the ride…not a lot of hand load”
About 1:40 min mark, DeRosa brings up examples of “violent hand loads”featuring: Cecil Fielder, Vlad Guerrero, Gary Sheffield…and Manny Ramirez, Buster Posey, Justin Turner, and Daniel Murphy used as examples of “not a lot of hand load”
About 2:20 min mark, DeRosa: asks Rhys is he’s conscious about his pre-swing hand movement. Rhys says all he’s worrying about is having some separation between his body and where his hands are during load
About 2:50 min mark, Rhys: “The only thing I’m thinking about is getting my leg up”. Cliff Floyd talks about having a leg kick is a perfection type of approach. Pitchers are trying to disrupt a leg kicker: tempo, changing speeds, etc.
About 3:20 min mark, Floyd says Rhys has something you can’t teach: “He hits the fast-ball, he hits the curve-ball, he hits the change-up”…Floyd says it’s going to be tough to get him out when he covers the plate well and doesn’t like to strikeout.
About 4:00 min mark, Cliff Floyd goes into more detail about a hitter focusing on perfecting the timing of a leg kick, and not worry about anything else, or else you’re screwed. Rhys talks about getting “inside the pitcher’s rhythm in the on-deck circle”. Cliff Floyd comments: “Did I pay attention to what that pitcher really does consistently” with his timing and rhythm in the on-deck circle.
About 5:10 min mark, Mark DeRosa is wanting Rhys to explain the use of his hands and back elbow. Cliff Floyd says if you want the kid to go into a slump keep talking about hands and elbows. Rhys says his thought is “down to the ball”, then adds, “obviously you’re not swinging down like you’re chopping wood.” He’s hoping that thought process will keep him on a level plane in the strike-zone as long as he can.
About 6:10 min mark, talks about “knee to knee”“hover” leg kick. More balance, don’t get over backside.
A lot more good than bad in this video. I wanted to focus on the timing aspect though…
Just to be upfront with you, I’m not one of those instructors that teaches a leg kick to ALL my hitters. I think this is a BIG mistake. If my hitter doesn’t have what I call a “Float” (aka stride type) built into their swing already, then I ask them to experiment a little. Or if what they’re using isn’t effective at getting them on time and dynamically balanced, then we get resourceful.
We experiment with:
A leg kick (medium or high),
Slide step, and
Toe-tap.
By the end, they find that one of these techniques allows them to time the ball better, and it may not be what they started with. We’re looking for what they’re comfortable with, and can execute the swing dynamically balanced.
You heard Rhys Hoskins say,
“The only thing I’m thinking about is getting my leg up”
This was after DeRo prodded him to explain what his hands and back elbow are doing. Cliff Floyd got on DeRo that he’s going to force Rhys into a slump with all this hands talk! lol
Floyd also said that a lot of time and energy needs to be spent on perfecting the timing of the leg kick. He added, “Did I pay attention to what that pitcher really does consistently” with his timing and rhythm in the on-deck circle. This is very important.
Some of my good hitting friends online, who I highly respect in their knowledge, don’t believe timing can be taught or calibrated. I respectfully disagree.
I’ve also heard pitching coaches on the Socials say they lick their lips when seeing a hitter with a leg kick. And you heard Cliff Floyd address a pitcher’s job is to disrupt a leg kicker by changing their delivery tempo, changing speeds, etc.
But then Floyd turns around and compliments Hoskins saying, “He hits the fast-ball, he hits the curve-ball, he hits the change-up”…and adds, it’s going to be tough to get him out when he covers the plate well and doesn’t like to strikeout.
Calibrating a hitter’s timing and pitch recognition training are a deadly combination for pitchers who salivate over seeing a leg kicking hitter. I asked this coach whether he’d salivate over facing Josh Donaldson, Justin Turner, or Mike Trout. He didn’t answer.
Coaches, if you don’t give hitters tools for their toolbox, then they’re up there hitting blind. Don’t make them hit the pinata blind folded!
Here are some resources to take back to your hitters on timing and pitch recognition:
2-Plate and Float Variance Drills(you can also have hitter switch bat sizes and randomly throw different ball types to train timing as well),
You can teach timing. You can teach pitch recognition. Woe to the pitcher that pitches to hitters who train both. The winds of change are a blowin’ for hitters over pitchers. When troubleshooting with your hitters, remember:
The lesson from my school of hard knocks,
How to fix striking out every at-bat in a tournament, and
Timing lessons from Rhys Hoskins.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/rhys-hoskins-swing-breakdown-e1504806470828.png254500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2017-09-07 18:34:022018-05-17 19:55:16Here Is A Method That is Helping Rhys Hoskins Give Salivating Pitchers Nightmares
You Too Can Get Your Hitters To Sharpen Plate Discipline, Re-Calibrate Timing, & Barrel The Ball More Often In Two 5-Swing Rounds Per Week With Distraction Training
(SAFETY DISCLAIMER: those that have had or are prone to epileptic seizures, SHOULD NOT use these goggles)…
Ongoing studies are revealing distraction training using Strobe Goggles are giving dramatic results from little use.
Here are a couple studies that were conducted…
PLEASE NOTE: The players and coaches were reminded of individual swing issues before and after each experiment period. During they were not. They were reminded of breathing, composure, and head position during the distraction. Generally and very often as encouragement and reinforcement.
A recent 6-week test was 5 swings without the goggles, 5 with, and 5 without, so 15 swings total per week. These hitters increased Ball Exit Speeds between 2 to 5-mph after the 6-week period.
Another recent 8-week study had hitters using goggles for 1-hour throughout the week, totally 100-150 swings per week. Swings without the goggles were mixed in throughout the week as well. These hitters averaged 14.3-mph Ball Exit Speed increases at the end of the 8-week period.
We can safely say that between those numbers we’ve seen a relative increase in positive performance output using the goggles.
My good friend Ken Carswell (KC) at HittersCode.com is SUPER busy cooking up brand new training gear disrupting how coaches practice:
Plate discipline,
Timing, and
Barreling the ball more often…
…with their hitters.
If you remember, I did an interview with KC earlier in 2016, CLICK HERE to read that.
The Hitter’s CODE stands for:
Cognitive
Occlusion
Distraction
Environments
If you remember, video occlusion training is what Dr. Peter Fadde talked about in this interview I did with him – CLICK HERE.
Also, CLICK HERE to see how Perry Husband uses a pinch of distraction training to calibrate tracking and timing in this HPL interview.
Basically, KC the “Mad Scientist”, is putting together a “smart” hitter’s helmet that will benefit the three categories I mentioned before.
Here’s a taste of what’s coming (and is already here) with the distraction training helmet:
Strobe Goggles as shown in the video above (Phase-1 and is a prelude to the helmet),
Audio Distraction – this includes rhythm, disruption rhythm, crowd noise – boos v. cheers (Phase-1 and is coming when helmet is ready to launch at 2017 ABCA January conference in Anaheim, California),
Phase-2 and details are in the works…
Believe me, distraction training WILL BE the FUTURE of hitting.
KC will reserve a spot for those interested in the distraction training helmet, so CLICK HERE to RESERVE YOUR SPOT today!
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.png00Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2016-11-26 01:53:052018-05-17 19:53:20Distraction Training: Don’t Try Without Watching This Video First
A Simple Way To Train Pitch Recognition That Works For Collegiate & Pro Hitters
Dr. Peter Fadde applies sports science to batting drills focusing on pitch recognition. He’s a Professor in Learning Systems Design & Technology at Southern Illinois University.
CLICK HERE for a great case study featured in the Baseball Collegiate Newspaper titled, “Pitch Recognition Can Be Done By Hitters”, where Dr. Peter Fadde was asked to consult with Southeast Missouri State hitting coach Dillon Lawson on the subject of pitch recognition with his hitters, in March of 2014.
I heard about Dr. Peter Fadde through a few of my readers who saw him speak at the 2015 ABCA conference (ABCA “Doing Damage at the Plate by Training Pitch Recognition” video above).
Since, I’ve read his ebook “The 6th Tool: Training Baseball Pitch Recognition” in less than an hour, corresponded with him via email, and felt it a MUST to put together an interview with him sharing his insights with you.
(NOTE: if you purchase his ebook, and after reading it you like what he has to say, PLEASE leave him a review on Amazon.)
You can see the presentations he’s done, recognition he’s earned, and his current work at his website:
By the way, the pitch recognition hitting drills that Dr. Peter Fadde proposes in The 6th Tool book link above, work well with both baseball and softball hitters at ALL levels, not just at the collegiate and pro levels.
Also, Dr. Peter Fadde is one of the experts in the area of vision, tracking, and timing that has contributed videos to the Reaction Time Mastery online video course.
Without further adieu, here’s the interview… (rhyme intended 😉 )
What are some great drills to practice vision/tracking?
Dr. Peter Fadde meet my readers, readers meet Dr. Peter Fadde 🙂
What I focus on for Pitch Recognition (PR) is separate from vision skills (peripheral vision, dynamic tracking acuity) and tracking.
Sports science calls it a “perceptual-cognitive” skill, meaning that it is vision-based but a mental skill. It’s picking up cues in the pitcher’s wind-up, release, and the first 10-20 feet of ball flight. By picking up advance cues, expert hitters anticipate pitch movement earlier.
The best drill for practicing PR is Bullpen Stand-In Drill. Batters have been standing in forever. The difference here is the batter needs to call out loud “Yes” or “No” BEFORE THE BALL HITS THE CATCHER’S MITT. That’s what turns it from passive tracking to PR practice.
You need to recognize the pitch right out of the pitcher’s hand to get your call made in time. “Yes” can stand for a pitch type (usually Fastball), or for FB in Zone, or Strike, or Swing Ahead in Count — whatever a coach or hitter wants to work on.
Call LOUD so that it is good feedback for pitchers. Bullpen Stand-In Drill is one of six PR drills shown in the “The 6th Tool” eBook.
How do you teach kids to pick up the seams and stay balanced on off-speed pitches?
Kids should practice calling breaking pitches out of the pitcher’s hand, so that they recognize that most curve balls need to “pop up” out of the pitcher’s hand in order to come down in the strike zone. Their eyes and natural tracking want to give up on that pitch. Learning to see it early and plan to attack it should keep mechanics sound.
How do you use vision drills for high school hitters?
A high school hitter can learn the PR drills in the “Sixth Tool“ eBook and then teach a parent or coach as a hitting facility for one-on-one drills. I also have several occlusion videos of High School and College pitchers that are available to coaches or players who get the eBook and email me.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
How can I get my players to recognize which curveball is the right one to hit and which one to take?
Wade Boggs said he could feel his eyes bob up in his head for the hanging curveball. Every batter can use his own clues. The point is to TRAIN yourself not to give up on that pitch. Few high school pitchers can throw a tight enough curveball to have it come out flat and not drop below the strike zone. Learn to jump on that pop up curve rather than giving up on it.
What’s an easy way to explain the concept of vision,tracking, timing a pitch?
Without trying to make things more difficult, I am adding PR as another dimension to Vision and Tracking. The good news is that a batter can get better by improving any or all of the three. A good program includes all three.
What keys does a batter use for tracking the ball prior to the pitch and on the release?
Especially at high school level or lower, pitchers often give pre-release cues. I don’t mean pitch tipping things, like glove position. More like learning to “feel” the pitcher muscling up for his fastball, or throwing up hill for a curve. At release, some batters pick up “skinny wrist” for curveball. Some batters pickup more white or less thrust out of the pitcher’s hand for changeup.
How can I concentrate better and see “the ball hit the bat”?
The science suggests that hitters don’t see the ball hit the bat. Ted Williams said that, contrary to opinion, he did not see the ball hit the bat. “But a master carpenter doesn’t need to see the nail to hit it square every time.”
Concentrate on seeing the pitcher’s motion and release. These aren’t natural and so need direct practice. Tracking to (or near) contact is natural so needs less direct practice. Good PR approach and sound mechanics should generate plenty of good contact.
Again, Dr. Peter Fadde can be reached at the following places online:
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
This post will clarify why the “Snapping Towel” concept is far superior than a hitter who “Sits Back.” An efficient swing uses the Un-Weighting Principal, or Forward Momentum. Basically, it’s a hitter getting a “head start”, and making an aggressive move towards the pitcher.
CLICK HERE to watch the Troy Tulowitzki Experiment and see how un-weighting can boost bat speed.
Most coaches, instructors, and even decent Major League hitters HATE what I’m about to tell you. They say, early head movement speeds up the pitch. They say, you can’t commit your body-weight to the front leg because you’ll be out in front of off-speed and breaking stuff.
This video blog post will REVEAL, they’re dead wrong:
WHY the Snapping Towel?
Importance of “getting shorter” in Fight Position, and
Would you rather have head movement before or after front foot landing? The question isn’t IF the head is going to move during the swing, it’s when. Thanks to proprioception.
Imagine how you snap a towel…here’s the “Snapping Towel” effect applied to Hanley Ramirez’s 2013 homer to left field off a Cliff Lee cutter going 85 mph:
Head moves forward and slightly down before landing,
Floats (slight pause) right before his Free-Fall forward,
Commits body-weight to front leg during Fight Position (landing), and then
Effectively snaps back into a spine angle up and over the catcher (notice head DOES NOT move here).
Can Hanley Ramirez’s Fight Position get better? Sure! He’s not using Gravitational Forces like he can by flexing his front knee a little more at landing. I call this “getting shorter”. Which brings us to the next point…
Importance of “Getting Shorter” in Fight Position (landing)
Because Hanley Ramirez DOES NOT “get shorter” into the Fight Position, he compensates by reaching for the Cliff Lee cutter. Landing taller forfeits setting the pitch plane early. And a compensating shoulder angle on a low pitch (more parallel to ground) limits force production. It’s like letting the air out of a balloon.
But most importantly, in respect to hitting the curveball…
Getting shorter into the Fight Position also creates a defense mechanism to breaking and off-speed stuff. Jaime Cevallos calls it, in his book Positional Hitting, a “cushion” or “double cushion”. JK Whited of Baseball Rebellion calls it “pushing the pause button”.
How-To Train Crushing a Curveball
Mike Trout tilted shoulder angle on low pitch homer (he’s the BEST at this) photo courtesy: MLB.com
Here are my top ways to train a hitter to crush the curveball, like Hanley Ramirez. First of all, utilize the Break-It-Apart Drill to get hitters comfortable operating from a “paused” Fight Position. Use the Rule of Variance in one or a mix of these THREE ways:
Timing – move pitcher’s L-screen up or back 10-20 feet from hitter after a round of five swings. OR keep L-screen where it’s at, and have two home-plates for hitter to move to between rounds,
Plate Discipline – carve the plate up into inner or outer 2/3’s (green light to swing), and other 1/3 of the plate is where the hitter takes (red light). This is for a zero or one-strike approach.
Mixed pitches – pitcher doesn’t tell hitter what’s coming. No pitch is off limits. Hitters, please wear helmets 😉
Pitch Recognition – Dr. Peter Fadde’s interview post on this is HUGE, along with Perry Husband’s interview post on Effective Velocity.
#1 focuses on making adjustments to a change in speed (or reaction time). #2’s objective is looking for a specific pitch in a specific location (not recommended strategy in games until High School Varsity). #3 is the name of the game.
Grab This FREE 'Timing Master Class' Video
Struggling to get your hitters ON-TIME in games? Discover HOW TO build effective laser-focused timing, so your hitters can be ON-TIME more often. These principles are validated by REAL science.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that has been downloaded over 6K times!
, the ‘Pat & Pop’ Method of giving feedback to his players. The ‘Pat’ is the pat on the back (what they’re doing right), and the ‘Pop’ is the pop in the mouth (calling attention to the mistakes they made).
book by Dr. Peter Fadde.
).
Training Baseball Pitch Recognition” in less than an hour, corresponded with him via email, and felt it a MUST to put together an interview with him sharing his insights with you.
” eBook.
“ eBook and then teach a parent or coach as a hitting facility for one-on-one drills. I also have several occlusion videos of High School and College pitchers that are available to coaches or players who get the eBook and email me.
: Training Baseball Pitch Recognition
, a “cushion” or “double cushion”. JK Whited of Baseball Rebellion calls it “pushing the pause button”.
