How to hit the curveball

"The best way to hit the curveball is to hit the fastball" That quote from a major league hitter has alot of truth in it. Before we talk about hitting the curveball a hitter must understand that his timing and approach are always geared to the fastball. There have been many excellent hitters who don't hit the curveball very well, but there have not been any who cannot hit the fastball.

The three main things a hitter must learn to hit any curveball is to: 1) pick up rotation, 2) learn the hitter's zone for the curveball and 3) hit it with the fastball swing. The best way to get better at 1 and 2 are to stand in on pitchers when they are throwing in the bullpen.

1) When the hitter is standing in during a pitcher's pen he can have his full concentration on just watching the flight of the ball without having to swing. This allows him to begin to learn to pick up the ball early (out of the pitcher's hand) and stay with it long (into the hitting zone). He will also begin to pick up rotation earlier and earlier. 2) He will learn that a curveball that start at the bottom of the hitting zone is not a good pitch to hit, while a curveball that starts at him or above the hitting zone may become a very good pitch to hit.

3) Many young hitters slow down or "feel" with their hands on a curveball. The hitter must let himself take his good swing at the curveball - not change it.

How to make defense fun.

Watch any game from high school on down to tee ball and you will probably see players in the field who are just standing around and don't seem to be involved in the game even when a ball is hit.

To put it more bluntly -- they are bored.

These players have not been taught the importance (and fun) of playing team defense. Whenever a ball is hit every player on the team should be in a sprint. They are either making the play, backing up the play, backing up a throw, covering a bag, or setting up in a relay position. In fact, we tell our players that they are more important to the team when the ball IS NOT HIT TO THEM.

Look at it this way, if a shortstop makes a bad throw to first, but the rightfielder hustles and backs up the throw, the runner will be at first -- it will be a one base mistake. But, if the rightfielder does not back up the throw the runner may get to third -- a three base mistake.

Defense is fun when we make the great play, but it can be just as fun when we hustle and keep a teammate's mistake from becoming a two or three base error. Also, when we know that our teammates are going to back us up, it allows us to attempt great catches or throws which makes the game fun to play.

COACHES -- WE TEND TO YELL ABOUT BACKING UP WHEN IT HASN'T BEEN DONE AND IT HAS COST OUR TEAM A RUN. HOW ABOUT YELLING WHEN THE PLAYER HAS BACKED UP AND PRAISING HIS HUSTLE EVEN WHEN HE WASN'T INVOLVED BECAUSE THE PLAY WAS MADE CLEANLY. THE MORE YOU PRAISE GOOD TEAM DEFENSE, THE MORE YOUR PLAYERS WILL HUSTLE ON DEFENSE.

The Most Important Thing to Know to be a Good Hitter

Want to know the secret of all good hitters? They think HIT every pitch. They KNOW they are getting a pitch to hit and here is the key: GOOD HITTERS HAVE TO STOP THEIR SWING, POOR HITTERS HAVE TO START THEIR SWING.

Hitters that worry about their mechanics (stride length, hand position, good pivot, etc.), not swinging at a bad pitch, only swinging at a good pitch, or any other thought other than hitting the ball hard will not hit to their potential. 

Coaches: This means that you need to set the tone by what you tell your hitters during the game. Are you giving them the freedom to attack every pitch? or do your instructions to them during the game turn their thinking to mechanics or not failing (swinging at bad pitches) instead of attacking each pitch.

A comment from the dugout such as: "Don't swing at the curveball in the dirt" moves the goal from hitting the ball to not hitting the ball. The hitter wants to please his coach so he is more concerned with not swinging at the curveball than attacking the ball (in other words he has to start his swing instead of stop his swing). If the hitter gets a good pitch to hit he will be just a little late to react -- he may still hit it, but will not really drive the ball because that was not his primary goal.

It has been shown that hitters that think hit every pitch actually swing at fewer bad pitches. But the most important thing is that young hitters will have alot more FUN when they are allowed to think attack on every pitch.

HITTING KEYS #3

Vision is the final hitting key (see below for the first two). We are not talking here about 20/20 vision, but about having our eyes in the right place at the right time. The easiest way to teach young hitters this skill is to have them stand in the batter's box in their stance, but with their glove on instead of a bat in their hands. Have them catch balls thrown to them and then ask where their eyes were looking during the pitcher's motion and at the pitcher's release. Most of them will not be able to tell you where they were looking during the motion and that is good. This is because during the motion they were seeing the "whole picture" - this is what some coaches call "soft focus."  During the motion the eyes should not "hard focus" on any area. At release the eyes then naturally move to release and "hard focus."

Many young hitters "hard focus" too soon in the release area or on the pitcher's face, etc. and so actually do not pick up the ball when it comes out of the pitcher's hand. The second part of vision is staying with the ball. Catch also helps the hitter realize this because his eyes will track the ball into the glove (not start to look up like many hitters do in their swing).

Besides "hitter's catch" MSA has other vision training drills that we take our students through at the academy. 

HITTING KEYS #2

Hitting can be broken down into three areas: mechanics, timing and vision. Our first key (see below) focused on mechanics. Today we will look at timing.

There are two points in timing: 1) Timing the release of the pitch. 2) Timing the arrival of the ball into the hitting zone.

Timing the release of the pitch is done with the hitters approach. The approach is the load and stride. This is where the hitter must get in rhythm with the pitcher. To put it simply, when the pitcher's arm is reaching back the hitter is going back into his load. When the pitcher's hand is coming up to release the hitter is into his stride.

The timing of the ball is done with the hitter's back hip, which is where the swing is triggered.

At MSA we use some verbal and physical drills to get hitters to learn the skill of timing. It is the key to being able to hit the good fastball and adjust to offspeed pitches. Once this skill is learned the hitter becomes much more confident and successful.

HITTING KEYS #1

Mechanics is the first area of hitting that we will address. The tee is great for working on mechanics.

Hitting off a tee is used at all levels of baseball. In fact, major league hitters hit off a tee much more than you might expect. Although it is very easy to hit a ball sitting on a tee, it takes concentration to do it properly and get the benefit of hitting off a tee.

When hittng off a tee, make sure you:

1. Put the ball in the proper contact zone.

2. Don't start your swing as your foot is coming down. Stride then swing.

3. Drive through the inside of the ball.

4. Hit the ball with relaxed shoulders.

5. Hit the ball with backspin.

MSA coaches use very simple yet effective drills to get hitters to feel how their body should work in the swing. These are all natural movements that the hitter can easily work on at home.

THROWING KEYS

A key to arm health and strength is proper mechanics and conditioning. There are keys for both older and younger players.

Throwing Preparation for High School Players:

* Long Catch: All players should begin playing long catch for 15 minutes, 3 times per week.

            If you don't have any place then throw long (at least 100') then throw into a net.

* Pitchers should also be doing light weight rotator exercises and should do some pre-throwing rotator movements to "heat up" the rotator. MANY HIGH SCHOOL PITCHER ARM INJURIES ARE CAUSED BY LACK OF OFF-SEASON PREPARATION.

* Proper Footwork: Fielders/Catchers should be working on proper footwork at all times, even in their game of catch.

Throwing Preparation for Younger Players:

* PARENTS NEED TO CHECK GRIP: All young players grip the ball wrong when they begin playing. That is because their hand is too small. To grip the ball, the young player places the thumb under or outside their index finger. The proper position is in between the index and middle finger. The player needs to make this adjustment as soon as their hand is big enough, but many keep the improper position up into their high school years. This hurts their velocity and control.

* Learn proper footwork: "Most bad throws are caused by bad feet.." The earlier players learn to use their feet for accuracy, the more fun they will have playing.

MSA has programs and materials (such as our Workout Member Book) that cover throwing programs and arm exercises. MSA instructor and former major league pitcher, Geoff Zahn, has developed programs for high school pitchers that are among the best in the country.