Tweet
my son is having a problem popping up it seems, he is 10 and playing travel ball (3rd year playing all-star travel ball) he has always been a very good hitter, not tons of power but very good avg., ob%, and slg. he also very seldom strikes out. we have been going to the cages 1-2 times a week as a team and on our own for about 6 weeks now ( getting ready for an indoor league that starts in march) ive noticed he is hitting alot of weak pop ups and fouling alot of pitches straight back.( much more so far this year than ever before ) i cant really notice anything in his swing thats seems to be causing this, his mechanics seem good (no video unfortunatly) what should i be looking for as a cause for this?
-
-
Check to see if he is swinging down. That causes pop-ups. Watch his hand path from the sideview and see if his hands go toward the height of his front hip and continue too long on that path.Originally posted by SiouxNation View Post
The hands start down, but then they must stay above the ball.
Like this;
To fix it, get in a cage with a tee and have him adjust his swing plane until he hits the ball on a line to the back of the cage. No hitting it on the ground. -
Jbooth - I'm planning on shooting video of a group of kid's swings. I'm going to do both live pitching and off a tee. For the tee shot, assuming a neutral stance, where do you suggest setting up the tee, as in height, and relationship to the plate. As you describe, I want to see how they are contacting the ball.
Thanks!Comment
-
Also check to see if his head is sliding forward while hitting the ball.
drillYogi Berra was asked by a reporter "How do you catch a knuckle ball?" He came right back and said "When it stops rolling"Comment
-
He could be over-striding and sliding under the ball.Originally posted by SiouxNation View PostObsessed with Pitching Mechanics.Comment
-
Hit the top half of the ball...Comment
-
Why? So, he can hit a weak grounder, instead of a pop-up?Originally posted by Go Cardinals View Post
How about, hit it in the center with a swing on plane with the pitch.
Plus he's probably already trying to hit the top of the ball by swinging down at it, and he's cutting though it and popping it up.
Just a guess, since I haven't seen him swing.Comment
-
Well, we both guess in different directions. I assumed he is dropping his hands (something of that fashion) and that he is hitting the bottom part of the ball.Originally posted by jbooth View Post
Lets hope I'm correct (means he doesn't have the bad hit down on the ball, squish the bug swing).
Really, we shouldn't jump on anything without video of him.Comment
-
thanks for the tips guys, i dont think its a stride problem, his stride is 4-6inches at most, almost more of a pick it up put it down, after looking at some video from different sites i saw on this forum im thinking it may be that he is dropping his hands a bit, also he may have a bit of a rear hip slide, he had the hip problem his first year of coach pitch baseball 4 years ago, we worked hard to get rid of it i hope its not back. the pitches he is having the most problems with popping up are the ones a little higher in the zone, would the hands dropping or hip slide contribute more with higher strike zone pitches?Comment
-
Remember the hanson principle...Originally posted by SiouxNation View Post
Compare what you learn to the video of the best:
Watch bonds' hands drop:
When is this dropping of the hands that you think is occuring? As he swings or in the load?Comment
-
This could suggest a problem with bat drag. Especially the part that it's getting worse.Originally posted by SiouxNation View PostObsessed with Pitching Mechanics.Comment
-
i think its in the swing, ive watched the load and stride pretty close since i noticed it happening, those are the first things i look at when he develops a little hiccup in his batting, the load looks fine and the stride is very small, when we hit in the cages we try to set the machine to hit all areas of the plate, some low in the zone, inside, outside, and up in the zone, he seems to be popping up alot more balls that are up in the zone than any ohter area (probably more there than the others combined)Comment
-
Try having him think about the top half of the ball on the high pitches... he's probably getting under it.Originally posted by SiouxNation View PostComment
-
Are these strikes?Originally posted by SiouxNation View Post
It's not surprising that he's hitting the bottom half of balls that are up in the strike zone.
It's only an issue if he's under the ball for balls that are in the top 1/3 of the zone, because that creates a hole in his swing.Obsessed with Pitching Mechanics.Comment
-
Maybe he just needs a break?Originally posted by SiouxNation View Post"He who dares to teach, must never cease to learn."
- John Cotton Dana (1856–1929) - Offered to many by L. Olson - Iowa (Teacher)
Please read Baseball Fever Policy and Forum FAQ before posting.Comment
Comment