Watching 3rd strike

[Jim]

They should have an approach with less than two strikes and an approach with two strikes. No matter how many balls are on the hitter, the only thing that matters is how many strikes are on them. They should have the same approach 2-0 as the do when it is 0-1 (both less than two strike counts) Have the swing on and ready to go, when you get a good pitch to drive... hammer it.

Two strikes on the hitter means a different approach. It will be different for every hitter, but they need to try to battle and fight. Take the balls and swing at strikes. Some hitters let the ball get deeper with two strikes. Some look to hit every strike to the opposite field. Some look hard in while looking to hit the ball to the opposite field. Some shrink their zone a bit so that they don't try to protect too much, leading to chasing out of the zone.

Whatever it may be they need to try to be the toughest out on the planet.

Hambon47, One thing that you should never do is forget how hard this game is to play. You will lose credibility from your players if you come off sounding like you were Mr. Perfect player that never took a third strike. It's a part of the game as is when your pitcher walks a hitter or your fielder makes an error. Non of it is desired but come on, they are human.

Hitting takes courage. Hitting with two strikes takes even more courage... Encourage them.

 

[Sparky Guy]

Looking at the 1st and 2nd strike is as bad as looking at the 3rd strike.

No it is not!!!!! And yes it is.... Depending.....

If a pitcher is hitting her corners and comes up with a pitch that is painting the low inside corner I don't want my hitters going after that unless they have to. Take a look at another pitch and maybe getting one out further in the zone that may be easier to handle with better results.

If you're talking rec ball and you may only get two good pitches an at bat then the approach differs greatly.

 

[Sparky Guy]

Most kids that don't swing at the third strike are afraid to fail.

What I tell my kids is this. "If you're going to make a mistake, make a big one. At least that way I know you're trying. Mistakes we can easily fix. Lack of effort is much harder."

What I try and do with the kids is to tell them why they didn't make a certain play and then let them know how to fix the mistake. When a player drops a ball they don't need someone to yell at them to "Catch the ball!" That's what they were trying to do. They want you to tell them how to not do it again. Sometimes the answers are simple and other times you're scratching your head trying to figure it out yourself.

remember these are kids and maybe they just got fooled.

Heck... You major league players get fooled on pitches all the time. It's always good to see the opposition hitter get jelly-kneed on a good curve only to see it break over the plate for a called 3rd strike.

 

[BB875]

Really? I'm confused here. First pitch comes in as a change & you want your players swinging at that? I think they need to be selective when they're ahead in the count. Two strikes is when you open the zone a little and protect your at bat...

 

[BB875]

If the batter swings at strikes, they will be successful.

The batter has 3 shots at the ball; they need to use them all.

Looking at the 1st and 2nd strike is as bad as looking at the 3rd strike.

Scratch previous post...Here it is with the quote I was reading...

Really? I'm confused here. First pitch comes in as a change & you want your players swinging at that? I think they need to be selective when they're ahead in the count. Two strikes is when you open the zone a little and protect your at bat...

 

[BB875]

They should have an approach with less than two strikes and an approach with two strikes. No matter how many balls are on the hitter, the only thing that matters is how many strikes are on them. They should have the same approach 2-0 as the do when it is 0-1 (both less than two strike counts) Have the swing on and ready to go, when you get a good pitch to drive... hammer it.

Two strikes on the hitter means a different approach. It will be different for every hitter, but they need to try to battle and fight. Take the balls and swing at strikes. Some hitters let the ball get deeper with two strikes. Some look to hit every strike to the opposite field. Some look hard in while looking to hit the ball to the opposite field. Some shrink their zone a bit so that they don't try to protect too much, leading to chasing out of the zone.

Whatever it may be they need to try to be the toughest out on the planet.

Hambon47, One thing that you should never do is forget how hard this game is to play. You will lose credibility from your players if you come off sounding like you were Mr. Perfect player that never took a third strike. It's a part of the game as is when your pitcher walks a hitter or your fielder makes an error. Non of it is desired but come on, they are human.

Hitting takes courage. Hitting with two strikes takes even more courage... Encourage them.

Outstanding advice!

 

[absdad]

So ahead 2-0 you would advise swinging at a nasty pitch that barely catches the outside corner at the knees?

2-0, and 3-0 are a little different. What was the AB like for the previous hitter? They have to have a plan when they're up there. And the plan changes, with the count. What was the result of the previous AB's? Is the pitcher striking out alot of batters? Then you'd probably be a little more aggressive. If the pitcher is walking alot of batters, then you're going to be pretty conservative. So two different scenarios, and two different plans for the same 2-0 count.

If the pitch is obviously coming in as a strike, then they need to go for it. If you start training them to lay off of the outside and inside pitches, then you're training them to wait for the fat pitch. Sometimes it works to their advantage, but more often than not, it doesn't. Nothing worse than a watched 3rd strike.

 

[PA SB Dad]

If the batter swings at strikes, they will be successful.

The batter has 3 shots at the ball; they need to use them all.

Looking at the 1st and 2nd strike is as bad as looking at the 3rd strike.

I'm with Quincy on this one. Sometimes the best pitch to hit is the first one down the middle. Drives me crazy when the girls let that one go and then try to hit pitches further and further out of the strike zone.

 

[chinamigarden]

To quincy: your reply doesn't make sense to me, 1 & 2 strike don't produce an out, 3rd one does.

Can't have a third strike if you don't have 1 and 2. Granted they are different, but in the scheme of things, you can't train a kid to swing at strike 3 if you have her taking strike 1 and 2 all the time.

Also if you have a kid who you are trying to break the habit of not swinging at strikes, you are going to have to accept that she is going to swing at some bad pitches.

 

[chinamigarden]

I guess we agree to disagree.

If you are trying to break a kid from not swinging at strike 3, meaning it happens often. You have to let them swing at strike 1 and 2, you are never going to get a kid more aggressive on strike 3 if you restrict them on earlier pitches. Once a kid has it figured out, then you can start to be more situational in your approach. I certainly works better then having them run.