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| SOFTBALL LINKS |
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Train Your Mind As You Train Your Eyes
by Dave
Thursday, September 15, 2005
It is often said that batting is reactive. The pitcher knows what she is going to throw, you don't. She is only 40 feet away and throws at 60. You only have abut a half second to decide what to do. Obviously all you can do is react, right? You could guess the type of pitch and the location before she throws it but chances are pretty good you'll be wrong. You could work on your powers of ESP and really concentrate hard to detect what the pitcher is thinking but what if she misses her spot? Batting is not reactive, guess work or ESP. It is a discipline which is mostly self-taught.
Have An IdeaWhen you go to the plate to take your turn, you must have knowledge and a plan of attack. You cannot know what the pitcher will throw and guessing is a sucker's bet. What you want to do is approach each at bat with the best knowledge you can piece together quickly and then attack the predicted events in a manner which plays to your strengths and away from your weaknesses.
The Strike ZoneThe first, most obvious aspect of batting is knowing the strike zone. People often break the zone down into 9 equal sized blocks. To visualize this, think of a tic-tac-toe grid. But that presupposes umpires make perfect calls. The reality is you must extend the lines of the grid outside the standard strike zone since umpires may very well call strikes just outside of one or more of these 9 boxes. Hopefully a given ump on a given day will consistently apply their strike zone so you will be able to judge for yourself whether a given pitch is within today's zone or not. But humans are imperfect and some umps are better than others. This is the single best reason to watch every pitch of a game to prepare for your at-bats. You must walk up to the plate knowing if this ump has an overly broad or tall idea about the strike zone and whether he or she is likely to make inconsistent calls. The last thing you want to do is take a fairly close pitch (though one that is obviously, to you, a ball) on an 0-2 count with an umpire prone to making wild calls.
Also, truth be told, you might hit better on some pitches outside the grid than you do some within it. Many great hitters hit balls just outside the zone better than they do a ball pitched right down the middle. Lot's of hitters do better on pitches just off the inside or outside corner of the plate, a little low or a little high. Just about everyone has a tendency to do a little better with certain sections both in and just outside the strike zone. You have to know what your strengths are and make conscious choices about your personal power zones.
The Pitcher's HabitsThe second aspect of hitting you should be aware of is that pitchers are human beings. As such they are creatures of habit. Pitchers throw 100 or more pitches every game, perhaps a couple games per week, perhaps more at important tournaments and a few dozen games over the course of a season. They do the same thing over and over again. It is virtually impossible to come up with a novel idea 100 times per day, a couple days each week. Pitchers fall into habits. Maybe the girl you are facing today likes to throw her changeup high and just outside on 0-2 counts. Maybe she likes to start every batter off with a fastball low and down the middle. Maybe her curveball is used most when she is behind in the count or maybe when she is ahead. Perhaps the rise ball is her strike-you-out pitch. Maybe it is the drop. Those habits may vary some over time but they generally are predictable enough to make use of, particularly in the short run. Regardless what she does and when, she will undoubtedly have patterns which you can recognize, keep in your head, and make use of at important moments.
The CountAnyone can tell you to always take 3-0 and always protect the plate on 0-2. But every count situation is a different situation for the pitcher and the batter. You stride to the plate carrying your bat, some sense of where today's strike zone is, and the pitcher's habits or tendencies. The count is 0-0. You should expect something from the pitcher and know what you are looking for. You should have a strategy wherein you are looking to work the count to a particular point where the pitcher is more likely to give you what you want to hit.
There are so many possible permutations of pitches and counts, it is not possible for me to list them all and then pair them up with various strengths to develop a plan for every person. But there are some general thoughts about the count which I want to share. I believe you should always take on 3-0 and always look to swing on 0-2. But let me extend this a bit. On 3-0, you should never, ever swing. Instead use it as an opportunity to watch the pitcher more carefully than you otherwise get the opportunity to do. It is a freebie which tells you what she will throw when she really, really wants to throw a strike. That information may come in handy with two outs in the bottom of the ninth on 2-2 when all she needs to do is strike you out so she can go back to the hotel and dive into the pool.
On 0-2, you do not have the luxury of watching the pitch. You are going to have to swing unless it is a fairly wild ball. But the pitch which is chosen to throw to you tells you what the pitcher and catcher think your weakness is. The other team is probably trying to offer up something to get you to swing at a bad pitch. Their choice says something about what they think of you. And 0-2 pitches are not always balls. Sometimes the pitcher is trying to lay something right on the edge of the strike zone and at the place she thinks is your greatest weakness.
When you first go to the plate on 0-0, you should have a picture in your head of a narrow section of the zone which, if the right pitch is delivered there, you will swing. You are patient and if things work out for you, you will be waiting for a particular spot in the count. If you get the right opportunity before then, you will be ready to hit. Maybe you have watched this girl pitch to the first three batters and she likes to start off with a fastball down the middle, expecting girls to take the first pitch. If that's your strength, you should be ready to swing but also consider that she may miss her spot. Go up looking for the pitch but be ready to hold up if it rises high and this is not your strength.
On 0-1, maybe you might think "advantage pitcher." I know everyone in the stands does. But as long as you are still at-bat, you have a chance to get a hit. And maybe you hit better 0-1 than at any other time. Or maybe 0-1 is when this pitcher likes to throw her changeup, nice and fat. Basically you need to have a broader view of the strike zone on 0-1 than you did on 0-0. But it is certainly not panic time and you are still in control. Broaden your zone a bit but don't be in protect mode. You're still looking for your pitch. You're still gaining knowledge on this pitcher.
1-1 happened either because you got a ball on 0-1 or because you got a strike on 1-0. If the count was 0-1 and she threw something to make you chase, the next level of the analysis is what does this pitcher habitually do. Does she like to get a strike and then make you chase, get another strike and then make you chase? Whatever her tendency is whether you have seen her many times before or if you have only seen her today, you should adjust your expectations accordingly. If you haven't had time to analyze her yet, expect a strike on 1-1. If the count was 1-0 and she threw a strike, expext her to be looking to go up 1-2 on you with this pitch unless she is fairly wild and just got "lucky" with the last pitch. If that's the case, treat this next pitch as if the count is 0-0. Acquire knowledge or drive one that is in your power zone. Wild pitchers sometimes throw great hitters pitches as they try to get ahead. So don't just be back on your heals.
0-2 is a little worse than 0-1. You still know what you like to hit but you must now protect or risk being called out on strike three. Protect does not mean wave harmlessly at any ball you think might be called a strike. It means you are looking for a ball to drive but you are going to have to swing at anything close. I hope you have practiced hitting foul balls. If a pitch on 0-2 is something you really don't like but it is close, your next course of action is to foul it off, if you can. You can continue this for as long as it takes to get something you can sink your teeth into. But if the pitcher is trong willed, she may continue to offer that up. So you need a fallback position. I hope you have also practiced hitting the ball where you want to. The situation will dictate what options are available. If you've got a runner on first and there are no outs, you want to at the very least put the ball into play in a manner that can move the runner along. If there is a runner on third with no or one outs, maybe you can hit a sac fly to right. The important things are to know the zone, know your strengths, know what the pitcher is likely to send your way, and understand the options you have before you.
1-2 may just as well be 0-2. There is nothing different between the two situation accept that the pitcher has thrown a ball. If she went up 0-2 and then threw a ball trying to get you to chase, 1-2 is possibly no different. the only thing that can happen is the pitcher may decide to not "play" with you. She may just try to blow you away with her out pitch. You should expect the next pitch to be an attempt to make you sit down whether it is via a chase pitch or her best pitch.
1-0 is a positive count you may find yourself in. The pitcher is going to look to throw a strike here. Your mental picture can be a bit more narrow than it was on 0-0 but not much since hopefully you came up to the plate with an idea of what you wanted to do in the first place. The pressure is on the pitcher but only slightly more than it is on you. Frequently you can get a pitch to drive on 1-0 but sometimes the pitcher is just having trouble getting it over or has just set you up for the next three pitches. You are aware of what she likes to throw on 1-0. You have narrowed your zone. You are not over anxious.
2-0 is quite a bit different from 1-0. The pressure is really on the pitcher to get a strike on this pitch. She doesn't want to go 3-0 on you unless she is working around you. Your view should not be much different than 2-0 but you should expect that she may throw the pitch you have been waiting for here. 2-0 is a good hitter's pitch. Be ready. but remember, if she doesn't throw your pitch this time, the worst thing that will happen is the count will be 2-1.
2-1 is frequently called "the hitter's pitch." This is because the pitcher has thrown a strike in the count so she knows she can. She doesn't want to go down 3-1 where she has to either groove one or walk you. She still thinks she can get the upper hand. She is likely going to throw something you can drive on this one. You don;t want her to go up 2-2, one pitch from a K, so you must be ready for action. Look for your pitch, or alternately, look for something you can do something with like getting that sac fly we talked about a moment ago.
2-2 is a bit tough because you are one strike away from that K. Also, the pitcher knows you are tense. She can throw something outside the strike zone and get you to chase it. Or, if that pitch is close enough, she may get a called third strike, same result. She is far less likely to throw you your pitch than she would be on 2-1 or 3-1. To a pitcher, 3-2 is not much worse than 3-2. You mus be prepared to drive a good pitch in a broader area than you were on 1-0 or 2-0, but you do not want to chase a bad pitch which is somewhat likely in this situation. You can take the same approach as 1-2 and 0-2 where you want to protect against anything close. But you do not want to really go after an apparently fat pitch outside the zone. This is the situation which probably calls for the greatest discipline on the part of the hitter. Keep in mind that you may have noticed a tendency on the part of the pitcher to do something predicatble on 2-2 like throw the change or a riser out of the zone. Keep that in your mind.
3-2 is similar to 2-2 but it is far more likely you are going to see either a strike or something at least close. You have already watched 5 pitches, perhaps more if you have fouled some balls off. The pitcher has also thrown you 5 or more pitches. She is probably a little uncomfortable about how many pitches she has thrown. If you, as the pitcher, throw 5 pitches to every batter, you are havng a long day even if you got all of them out. If the pitcher has had baserunners on all day, it is a very long day indeed. But pitchers don't just get physically tired at the end of long days. They also get mentally tired at the end of long innings or at-bats. 3-2 is a long at-bat especially if several fouls are involved. Look for the pitcher to make mistakes when she is tired.
3-1 is obviosuly somewhere between 3-0 and 3-2. Pitchers sometimes "give up" when they have gotten to 3-1 from 2-1. Sometimes they make a mistake here and you should be ready for that. But your hitting zone is smaller than it was on 2-1. You are thinking almost like 3-0 when you never swing. It isn't quite a free look at the pitcher but it is close.
You have thought about different counts to match up with your knowledge of today's strike zone ond the pitcher's habits. Keep in mind that while the count is very important, sometimes how that count came about is as important, sometimes more. You'll have to think this out but if the pitcher has walked the two batters before you and just now thrown a strike on 2-0, this is quite a bit different than a 2-1 count where the two batters before you were retired on one pitch each. the count is important but the progress of the game and the inning itself can be equally important. You don't want to get ready for a 2-1 pitch thinking this is going to be a ball because she has been wild all day and is tired now. But you do want to have a sense of what her fatigue level is and expect either a mistake or a good pitch. The count for a single at-bat does not exist in a vacuum. You must think out the situation.
Your WeaknessesIn addition to the things we have discussed, there is one final important piece of information you carry with you when you approach the plate. You bring to the plate your personal batting report card which contains a list of your weaknesses. These might be a tendency to swing at high outside pitches on 2-1, always swinging at the first pitch because you are anxious, or the inability to lay off outside curveballs on 0-2. Whatever your weakness is, you want to work to fix it. One of the things you have in your battle plan is the desire to eliminate your weaknesses. Obviously you must work this into an overall plan and the other knowledge you have with you today. A glaring weakness is something you want to perhaps keep right in front of your mind. If you swing at high pitches outside the zone, try visualizing what it will feel like to completely lay off such a pitch right before you go up. It is probably best to work towards eliminating one glarinf weakness at a time. You don't want to get into the situation where all the other aspects of hitting are too much to think about.
ConclusionI have, I think dispensed with the notion that hitting is reactive, that it involves guesswork or ESP. I think I have shown that hitting is a discipline which requires you to train your mind as much as it may require you to train your eyes. I have raised some important points for you to ponder. Please remember that softball is a thinking girl's game. There is as much work to do with your mind as there is with your body. Think about the things written here and then return to refresh. Over time, you will make these thoughts a part of your approach at the plate. Then it will only appear that when you are at the plate, you are reactive.
 
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