stride/ outside pitch

[danocaster]

I hear coaches telling their players to stride closed to hit the outside pitch. I also hear them saying to load up when the pitcher breaks his hands. Doesn't that make striding to the outside pitch impossible?

I've always thought the hitter's stride is the same no mater where the pitch is. The stride happens too early to be able to step toward the pitch.

...and if a hitter is swinging late, what to do tell him to get him load up and swing on time?

[tg643]

Linear hitting teaches stride to the ball. Rotational hitting teaches the same swing on every pitch will allow power to all fields. Rotational hitting is just a term created by Epstein to differtiate the two kinds of swings. But if you look at the concepts of rotational you will see what is better called a major league swing.

After my son's soph year of high school a hitting instructor/pro scout/former D1 coach worked with him on driving the outside pitch with the same swing used to pull the ball. What he was really doing is teaching my son to trust his power the other way and not try to pull everything.

[songtitle]

From the CLIPS thread

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[danocaster]

Exactly as I thought. Stepping to the outside would work........in slow pitch softball I guess

Thanks for the input.

Guess we should add that cue to the "coach speak that makes you cringe" thread.

[Ursa Major]

At any level above age 12, you won't have time to adjust your stride to the pitch. Where kids get in trouble on outside pitches is usually being too erect, and then they can't reach low outsidish strikes. But, if you're properly tilted and let those outsidish pitches run a little deeper, you can get to them and hit them hard the other way.

[CoolHandLuke]

Like others are saying, you don't stride to the location of the pitch. Your stride foot will be coming down at pitcher's release point so that's not where you make your adjustments (your stride has to be committed way before you pick up pitch location). You adjust to outside/inside balls with spine angle (using shoulders), and hands. These are small adjustments, the plate is not that wide.

Never teach a hitter to stride to pitch location. The stride should be linear neutral, then adjust in or out.

[dominik]

the stride starts before the ball is released so you can't adjust the stride to the pitch location.