Pitch Tracking and Selection in Baseball
Regardless whether you are in a hitting slump or trying to develop your hitting game, it is important to understand why pitch tracking and selection is a vital skill in baseball. How can you understand what pitches you can handle or realize what type of hitter you are? Should you rely on the observation of your coach or your performance during batting practice? In part, inputs from all of these can help elevate your hitting game, but, nothing can increase your hitting percentage better than knowing how to track and select pitches.
Pitch Selection
Doing baseball hitting drills will give young players a better understanding why it is important to have discipline and patience when you have the bat in your hand. Very few realize that many good hitters tend to swing at bad pitches simply because of poor pitch selection resulting in them being struck out.
In pitch selection, it is vital to have an understanding that the focus should not be on the strike zone only. Due importance must be given to the zones within the strike zone where a good hitter can be extremely effective. This can mean going through drills for rotational and linear hitting styles.
They say that nothing beats the prepared mind. That holds true even in baseball. There are no surprises, every movement is calculated, and waiting, knowing that the right pitch that he can hit most effectively is just a few throws away. This is what pitch selection is all about, being prepared for what comes at you and not merely hoping that you get the pitch that you want.
Are you aware of the quadrants of the strike zone? Do you know that there is a low/in and a high/in as well as a low/out and a high out? Being aware of these 4 quadrants will help you and your coach track your hitting results. With the help of live pitching, players are given a series of 3 at bats and provided with the instructions on what to look for based on the 4 quadrants.
During the second 3 at bats, hitters should already be aware what zones they need to be on the lookout for. This goes on for the third series of 3 at bats with the players being on their own instead of being coached on what to lookout for. You may be surprised that this can result in higher walks and base hits percentage when the hitter focuses on a single zone.
Consequences of Not Tracking
What is the worst thing that can happen when a hitter is not aware of pitch selection or has no idea of how to track the baseball? Just so you have an idea how it can negatively impact your hitting game, here are some consequences:
- Hitters may rush their swing because they do not see the baseball coming resulting in the hitter flying open with the swing.
- Swing and misses at balls completely outside of the strike zone becomes common.
- Balls normally hit the end of the bat because of swinging at bad pitches.
- Hitters do not immediately see the fastball in the hitting funnel.
- Balls travel too deep in the hitting zone resulting in weak ground balls.
When you consider all of these, you will begin to see why pitch tracking and selection is such an important aspect of the game of baseball. Also, to make your pitching practice better, try pitching stride length drills.
If you’re looking for baseballs, visit our store at www.mpoweredbaseball.com