Watch Hitters Take Batting Practice

Every pitcher has heard it, not enough actually do it.  So why should you watch hitters take batting practice? For starters, it is one of the easiest and most practical ways to prepare to pick apart a line up.  It is basically served up to you on a silver platter many times. I had a wise pitching coach once tell me, don’t give hitters too much credit, they aren’t that smart.  Exactly, they will expose their own shortcomings.  

Think about it: Aside from the best hitters failing 70% of the time, their weakness are on full display. You just have to apply yourself to picking up on it. At most amateuer levels and even some of the lower levels of pro baseball, hitters will not square up every 47 MPH pitch splitting the plate. Consequently, they will get jammed, pop up, roll over, etc.

You would be a fool not to bask in their flaws. For the hitters who display the obvious blemishes, exploit the ever living crap out them and force them to make the necessary adjustments. That is how this game works. For those hitters who show consistency in BP, the more you battle them in the game, and throughout the season, their weakness will eventually surface.  

 

Watch Hitters Take
Batting Practice
What to Look For

 

Does the Hitter:

• Open up too soon
• Dive out over the plate
• Does he pull the outside pitch
• Go the other way with a pitch on the inner half (Derek Jeter)  

There are various tells, and often simple to notice, in regards to where each hitter will struggle.

Such as:

• Which side of the plate can he not protect?  
• Is he a high ball or low ball hitter?   
• Is he a front foot hitter, or drop anchor on his back leg while swinging for it?
• *** Does he keep his hands back well enough? ***

That is a big one to look for in hitters.

 

Hitters will expose their weaknesses, even on little league fastballs.  It’s just their nature.

Case in Point:  Have you ever been a part of the drill/game, 21 or 27 Outs? Where the coaching is throwing BP and the hitters and fielders play everything live. The defense can fulfill the allotment of outs in just a few minutes.  That 70% failure rate is now looking a bit too low…. Thus, your coach’s ERA is dwindling as he heads into a new contract! I digress…

 

Watch Hitters Take
Batting Practice
Who Can’t Hit The Slider?

For a RHP facing Right-handed Hitters or Lefty vs Lefty, these are the hitters who will struggle mightily at the hand of the Slider:

• Hitters who pull off the ball
• Open up early
• Cheat to get to the fastball  
• Hitters who don’t stay on pitches well
• High ball hitters  
• 1st pitch swingers  
• Undisciplined hitters
• Hitters who don’t take too kindly to being pitched inside
• Hitters who Don’t Keep their Hands Back***

 

RHP vs Left-handed Hitter/LHP vs Right-handed Hitter

Hitters who dive out over the plate. They will be forced to make adjustments, when a Slider is breaking down and in off the plate towards their back foot.  As for Backdoor Sliders, many of the same bulleted points listed just above will create a plethora of your victims.  Go right at them and throw the Slider with full conviction.

In addition to only being able to protect one side of the plate, most hitters have bad poker faces.  They will show you their ‘TELLS’…exploit them with sheer enjoyment. After all, Baseball is a fun game.  Why not get in on the action?

 

Watch Hitters Take
Batting Practice
From Personal Experience

It was my first season in pro ball, 2005.  I was playing in the Frontier League.  We were playing the Evansville Otters in the second series of the young season.  Their stadium is where they filmed the movie A League of the Their Own.  Bosse Field. The 3rd oldest professional baseball stadium in America after Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. Needless to say, it was a very special experience to play there. We got shellacked in the 1st game, as we did in every first game of a road series after sleeping on the bus the night before.  

In Game 2, we were rested with a night sleeping in beds again.  Bosse Field is one of the few stadiums in the Indy ball where the clubhouse is connected to the dugout. Most others have a healthy walk to get there. So with the easy access to the field, I was able to sneak down and watch hitters take batting practice.  Plus, in the old stadium, the dugouts are almost behind home plate. Yes really! So it provided a good view to see a hitter’s swing.

 

Watch Hitters Take
Batting Practice
My Friend of Misery

In the ‘Middle of the Line Up’ BP group, there was a big donkey who was their clean up hitter.  He was driving balls out from gap to gap.  A behemoth of strength. Looking very fluid when he was getting his arms extended on pitches up and over the plate. Honestly, who doesn’t?

However, every so often, a pitch would come in on him. He would beat it into the ground for a slow roller to the pull side. He wasn’t so quick through this zone. Regardless of how much he tried to play it off, a stark lacking of flexibility was ‘On Notice. The big donkey here had a slight hitch on pitches inside. He couldn’t get the bat head to the ball the same way on pitches over the plate.  I made a mental note of it in case I faced him that night. Then I paid attention to the next hitters.

Side Note: During this batting practice round, Metallica’s My Friend of Misery was playing on the PA system in the ball park.

 

Watch Hitters Take
Batting Practice
GAME TIME!

Later on under the bright lights, I came into the game to get the last out in the 7th. Pitched a scoreless 8th, and went back out for the 9th.  Since the boxscore cannot be found anywhere online nowadays, I recall that I gave up and unearned run in the 9th. Just can’t remember how that all played out.  It was still a 2 run game.  We got an insurance run in the top of the 9th for some breathing room. Unappreciated, those are a pitcher’s second best friend.

The situation was now a runner on 1B, and the big donkey walks up the plate as the tying run. It was ON!  The intensity just got cranked up to 11.  The home crowd was standing with hope that their cleanup hitter could tie the game in just 1 swing. Shades of Dottie Henson couldn’t help but run through their heads. Although, this is a more notable image from the Queen of Diamonds…

With substantial preparation, how could I not accept the challenge? The first pitch, I ran a fastball in under his hands.  He was slow with his meathooks and couldn’t get the barrel out in front, just like in BP. The pitch jammed him off the trademark, he hit a weak ground ball to short, 6-4-3 Double Play! The Pitcher’s #1 best friend.  As the double play was unfolding, my emotions resulted in my usual self talk on the mound to the sound of;

I knew I was gonna get your donkey @$ out on that pitch!

Now the bases were empty with 2 outs.  The ultimate rally killer. I struck out the next hitter on a Slider to end the game and earned the Save. 2.1 IP, the old fashioned way! 4,000 some fans went home pissed off!  That’s an amazing feeling to have control over!  

Losing is Misery. Hitting into a rally killing double play is Misery.  As I found out this night, the lyrics of James Hetfield painted the picture even clearer for me. A hitters Misery is another friend of the Pitcher. Thus, it expects you to feed off of it. So by all means!

In closing, when you watch hitters take batting practice, even if you only find one flaw in an opposing lineup, it is worth it.  The research and dedication you put in will have it’s pay off. You never know how big that spot may be. Preparation is everything in how you face hitters. When you pick up on their swing defects, this will allow you to….

 

…Keep Dominating!!!