Batting: In Baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one’s team. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive runners home or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home, but the techniques and strategies they use to do so vary.

 

Goals: In general, batters try to get hits. However, their primary obejective is to avoid making an out, and helping their team to score runs. They may draw a walk if they receive four pitches located outside the strike zone.

 

Success in batting: In Major League Baseball, no batter has hit over .400 in aseason since Ted Williams in 1941, and no batter has ever hit over .367 in a lifetime- Ty Cobb hit .3664. In modern time, the statistic On-base plus slugging (OPS) is seen as a more accurate measure of a player’s ability as a batter; this stat combines the player’s On base percentage, a percentage of their plate appearances where the bater gets on base (by a hit, by pitch or base on balls), with the player’s slugging percentage, an average of total bases with at bat. An OPS at or near 1.000 is considered to be the mark of an exceptional hitter.

 

Types of hitters:

·         Power Hitters: The term “Power hitter” is used to describe players who drive the bal, often hitting home runs and other extra base hits.

·         Slap Hitters: Slap hitters are batters who rarely try to drive the ball; instead these hitters simply try to “slap” the ball through the infielders to reach base.

·         Complete Hitters: players who can not slap the ball, but can come up with extra base hits.

·         Designated Hitters: used primarily by the American League as a substitute for the pitcher, but only for batting. National League may use a DH when in an AL ballpark. If an American League team is playing in a National League ballpark, the DH may not be used.

·         Switch Hitters: capable of batting left or right handed.

·         Pinch Hitters: a substitute hitter for the scheduled batter in the lineup. A DH acts as a permanent pinch hitter for the pitcher. Once a pitch hitter bats, he will replace the previous batter in the lineup unless a substitute is made. The Natioanal League occasionnally uses pinch hitters in place of pitchers when not playing in an American League ballpark.

   " Baseball gives every American boy a chance to excel, not just to be as good as someone else but to be better than someone else. This is the nature of man and the name of the game" ------ Ted Williams

Keys to a level Swing: courtesy of www.getgreat.com

·         The ideal swing is level, which really means that the bat stays along the same plane as the incoming pitch for the longest possible time while the bat moves through the hitting zone

·         A swing that is not level is less likely to produce solid contact, because the barrel of the bat crosses the path of the ball only very briefly

·         If you combine a short, compact swing that utilizes the hands, wrists and forearms with a level swing, you have the making of a great cut

·         A level swing also helps to keep the front shoulder from flying open, which can lead to a slower, longer swing that generates more pop-ups and weak fly balls.

·         Remember to “get there quick and stay there long.”

Over the years, rotational interest has become a standard part of the youth coaching vocabulary, much as a result of its success with pro stars like Albert Pujols and Ken Griffey, Jr.