(#104)
The battle of the 1-1 pitch. This is the stat to pay attention to. How many pitchers throw a ball to make it 2-1 and give a good advantage to the hitter or how many throw a strike to make it 1-2 and set up stuff the hitter does not want to hit? It’s a game changer either way.
I would love to see hitters cut down the hack and make more contact with 2 strikes. The strikeout numbers in the game are astronomical. All sorts of good things can happen when balls are put in play.
Hitters should go through the two-strike mode for the whole at bat when making sure they can get the ball in play to advance a runner from 2nd to third with less than 2 outs, on the hit-and-run, or when contact is a must to pick up some RBI.
Hitters, pitchers and defensive players must make a “next pitch adjustment” after bad swings, bad pitches, or bad errors. Learn from it quickly, evaluate and adjust, reset to default, and get back into the routine.
At a Hinds game the other night, the Eagle pitcher got a double play ball which hit the umpire in a private location that not only screwed him up for a few minutes, but was called interference which loaded the bases. Not sure why they stand right in front of the shortstop. My grandson Dean (4 years old), said loud enough for everybody in the bleachers to hear, “He got hit in the “winky.” 🙂 Ironically, the pitcher got another double play ball to get out of the inning. A pair of double play balls in one inning, one of which was interrupted by another pair.
It wouldn’t hurt hitters to do a lot of machine work in the cage hitting a variety of curveballs and sliders, seeing it, recognizing it immediately, sitting on and getting in time with it. It’s always amazed me how those machines can throw great, unhittable breaking balls that players consistently smash in the cage. Why? Because they are looking for it, They are sitting on it. They know what it looks like and what it is going to do. The same can be true in a game. Practice, practice, practice, Prepare, prepare, prepare. See the ball and react to what you see. Gamechanger. When you sit on a particular pitch on a particular count, you can end up taking both the fastball and the breaking ball away from the pitcher.
There has to be a distinct mindset for every game situation. Whoever the leadoff man is in every inning, must do anything he can to get on base and get the inning started. The same of moving runners, scoring runners, getting the RBI, bunting to reach base, advance and score runners, making big pitches or big plays, etc.
Fastball first and adjust with 2 strikes. You have to look for the fastball first. Why? Because it’s faster. Quite a bit faster.
I like it when a hitter takes ball 3, making the count 3-0, and immediately looks in the dugout for the green light. Some are not even aware that swinging on that count is a possibility. Savvy stuff.
After a leadoff walk on four pitches, I saw a coach storm out of the dugout, wave away the catcher and infielders, and go in a beeline to the mound for a private conference with his hurler which involved about 30 seconds of head bobbing and spitting tough talk. I love it. The player didn’t break down and cry. His self-esteem was not damaged. (After all, it’s “self” esteem; you can have any kind you want). Not surprisingly, the next pitch was strike one, which is the job he signed up for. Pavlovian dog collars with occasional shocks might work, too… for pitchers, hitters, baserunners and fielders, and yes, sometimes the coach and selected fans 🙂 Umpires? Great idea. Some of the ones I know (names withheld) would be smoking!
Nothing better than a 2-strike, 2-out RBI. Game maker for one side. Game breaker for the other.
The concession stand lady asked Dean, who was wearing a Spiderman shirt, “Are you Spiderman?
He said in a nonchalant, non-sarcastic way, “No, I’m just wearing a Spiderman shirt.” 🙂
The universal rule in baseball is on display in every game. The team with the most runs wins… always, without exception. You can pitch a shutout or give up 10 runs, but you have to score at least 1 more run than they do. Always. The ideal for all teams: Great pitching and defense and a powerful offense with a lot of 3-run homers. That’s what we are shooting for.
Until Volume 3.
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 