Comments on: More On Hitting – Thank You Kindly Pass Me By

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:09:08 +0000

Have Gun will Travel – Welcome home Padilla

By: Mark Timmons

Mark Timmons — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:17:01 +0000

Don’t count this guy out to be in our rotation:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100119&content_id=7938660&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

By: Mark Timmons

Mark Timmons — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:15:56 +0000

I never played against Minor League Quality pitching, so maybe it’s not a fair comparison, but even though I had a big long swing, I never struck out much. A key to that, I believe, was that I NEVER tried to “pull” the ball. As a result, I hit most of my HR to RCF, even though I was a RH hitter. Actually, I never remember “trying” to hit home runs, which may have been another key. I just always tried to “crush” the ball. I think if the modern players would do that, they would make better contact.

By: Rory

Rory — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:43:23 +0000

I wouldn’t mind signing one of those guys as a 5th. Problem is, they have been around long enough to demand a lot of money. We can’t meet that kind of demand. We can offer a great “pitchers park”, good weather, big crowds, celebrities, beaches, bikinis, fine restaurants and a chance at the post season. That could mean something to somebody, but without the ridiculous salary these guys demand, they ain’t comin’ here. Bills and Kershaw should give us close to 400 innings of 3. pitching. And for less than $2 million? That is huge. Especially now.

Here is a quick read on a healthy approach at the plate, and how to teach it to kids.

http://www.coachbaseball.info/?id=395&category=Playing%20Guide&search=

If you know that if all you got were fastballs you could hit .350, then why swing at anything else unless you had to? And when you do swing at it, learn to hit it where it is pitched. 7 out of 10 line drives are hits. A breaking ball outside? Hit it on the screws the other way, or up the middle. But, and I can’t emphasize this enough – do not swing at anything out of the strike zone.

There was a pitcher in the MABL league I played in that threw smoke and threw it for strikes. A guy on my team hit him pretty well and when I asked how he did it he said “I sit on his curve. He throws it at least once in the sequence and it just rolls up there about 3/4 speed”.

Get your pitch, and when you do, know what you are going to do with it.