The ability to spray the ball to all fields becomes more and more important as a player gets older and pitchers begin to locate their pitches. Show me a hitter who cannot hit the ball to the opposite field and I will show you a player whose time in the game is limited. At some point, regardless of how good their hands are, they reach a point where their inability to hit the ball the opposite way puts a ceiling on their playing career. In this post, I will be discussing the thought process behind hitting the ball to the opposite field, a few common mistakes coaches make, some good cues to give your players, and a progression of drills to help them translate what you do in practice to the game (which is the ultimate goal).
Thought process and cues
One of the largest hurdles young players have in hitting the ball to the opposite field is mental. At the early youth level, the best pitchers do two things well, they throw strikes (probably not yet locating) and they throw hard. Hitters quickly learn that in order to hit the best pitchers in their league, they have to get the bat to the ball fast. Many times they end up cheating by lunging forward, trying to start earlier, and greatly shortening their swing. As they get older, the best pitchers not only throw hard, but can locate pitches on both sides of the plate, and change speeds effectively. At this point, those “cheats” that may have been successful in the past, now make you susceptible to pitches on the outer third and off speed pitches. At this point the good hitters are the ones who are quick enough to catch up to fastballs, but have the ability to wait on fastballs away and off speed pitches.
The first step in teaching hitters how to go the other way is to ensure that they are working with a solid mechanical base. If a hitter cannot demonstrate proper mechanics on a ball down the middle, trying to teach them to hit to the opposite field will be a lost cause. Feel free to introduce the skill of hitting to the opposite field early (9 or 10 years old) to more advanced players, but for average players, this is a skill best taught with emphasis a year or so before when most pitchers begin to be able to locate (12 to 14 years old).
The phrase I like to use to introduce the theory of opposite field hitting is “let it get deep.” This means that hitters need to hit the ball near the middle (or toward the back corner of the plate) of their body instead of out in front of the plate where they used to hitting it. This is a difficult adjustment for many young hitters because they are afraid of being late. To help them get over this fear, have them watch a major league game and see how many foul balls go the to the opposite field, and how many foul balls go to a hitters “pull” side. Major leaguers are late all the time, by design.
Getting your players to wait to let the ball get deep is the single most important concept to master when a players is trying to hit to the opposite field. This will allow them to not feel as though they have to “guide” the ball to the opposite field. You will know a player is trying guide the ball when they drag the barrel under their hands and have a very tentative swing. It will appear as though they are “aiming” the ball that way. The phrase we use to avoid this is “let it get back, and attack.” This reminds them that they can take their normal aggressive swing as long as they let the ball get deep in the zone.
Drill Progression
Deep tee slow to contact - Set up a tee on the outside corner toward the middle of the hitter’s body. Have them take slow motion swings to their contact position. Emphasize proper hitting mechanics, and not changing the swing to hit the ball to the opposite field.
Deep tee drive - The set up is the same as the previous drill. This time, the hitter is taking a normal stride and load, and “driving” the ball to the opposite field. Emphasize that they take a normal, aggressive swing with the ball deep in the hitting zone. Do not move to other drills until this drill is mastered. If they cannot hit properly to the opposite field off a tee, they will not be able to hit execute when a ball is coming at them.
Inside/outside tee - Set up one tee on the inner half (out in front of the plate) and one tee on the outside corner (deep in the hitting zone). When the hitter begins their stride and load, say either “inside” or “outside.” They are to hit the appropriate ball to the correct field. If their mechanics begin to break down, or they begin guiding the ball to the opposite field, back up in the drill progression.
Outside front flip - From behind an L-screen, flip the ball to the outer third of the plate. Emphasize that they let the ball get deep and don’t guide or “aim” the ball to the opposite field.
Angle front toss (Described for a RHH, a LHH would be reversed) - Angle the plate to so that the front of the plate is lined up to where the shortstop would play. Have the hitter line up as he normally would on home plate (he will also be angled toward the shortstop). The pitcher will be tossing from the same spot as normal (will be at an angle to the hitter). When the pitcher tosses, the hitters goal is to hit the ball back at the L-screen. In order to do this, he will have to let the ball get deep in the hitting zone and drive the ball the other way (in relation to the hitter). Do not allow them to start early and hook the ball.
Front toss mix up - Once they have mastered front toss drills where they know the ball will be thrown to the outer part of the plate, you can do front toss drills where you mix up outside, middle and inside pitches. After each pitch, have the hitter tell you if they hit the ball to the correct field.
Outside short toss (overhand) - Set up the L-screen about 40-45 feet from home plate (less depending on age group) and throw pitches only to the outside part of the plate. Since this is easier said than done, you will miss sometimes. For the purpose of this drill, have them try to take everything to the opposite field by letting the ball get deep in the hitting zone.
Short toss mix up - Using the same set up as the previous drill, mix up inside, middle, and outside pitches. Similar to the front toss mix up, have them verbalize if they hit the ball to the correct field or not based on the location of the pitch.
If at any point the drill seems too advanced or mechanics break down, move backward in the drill progression. The ultimate goal is that the hitter is able to recognize the outside pitch and react appropriately. In order to do this we must get players to make decisions on their own once they have the proper muscle memory.
Teaching your hitters to hit the other way will not only help your current team, but it will also help your hitters reach the their fullest potential at the plate.
No comments:
Post a Comment