lefty slapper?

[gvm]

what is a good pitch to throw to a lefty slapper?

 

[Cat5]

Im no authority...just have a young daughter who is a student of both pitching and lefty-slapping. I'd imagine that an inside pitch would be best- slappers often choke up on the bat and would find it easier to see & hit an outside ball. An inside ball might hit closer to the handle and might force them to put the ball into play in an easier fielding position. A dropball is also more difficult to see when you are running towards a pitch, rather than a fastball or a riseball which has an easier trajectory to keep an eye on. I could be wrong though .

 

[gvm]

i heard high outside could create pop ups. also,what do you think about a curveball from RH pitcher? good idea? or a bad idea?

 

[coach james]

It will depend on the slappers approach. Some will run straight while others will tail out towards first. Pay attention to this when calling the pitch. If she tails, then stay high and outside. If she comes straight, then stay high and in. Keep in mind its her objective to beat you with speed and she's wanting to stay on top of the ball. So I will stay away from drop balls, and call mostly rise balls or top of the zone fastballs with an occasional change up at the ankles, just to disrupt timing.

 

[grounded]

If they are soft slapping and choking up on the bat...high outside works well. They have difficulty covering the outside of the plate. Power slap, inside works..especially if they attack the inside corner of the box. If they run thru the box as opposed to just doing a crossover step, change ups can work because they are so timing dependent. Like coach james said, the hitters objective is to stay on top of the ball, so staying high in the zone makes things harder for them in general

 

[gvm]

The vast majority of college coaches pound the left slapper with screwballs from a righty, but that is not necessarily the best thing. The lefty Ricketts of course, pounds them with her curve, like she does everyone else. It seems they are worried about hitting the slapper. I would say you can stay away a bit but you also have to come inside. I have rarely seen a righty curve thrown, but have seen rises and changes.

i'm glad i asked ! the curveball was just a new approach i was gonna try today. so thanks for the great advice.

 

[halskinner]

They wouldnt try to slap if the pitcher didnt make it so easy for them to time her pitches. You need to fix that.

 

[Ken B]

A crise, a scrise then a crop.

 

[SBFAMILY]

High Inside if she is a good slapper.

 

[joemcq51]

I used to go low and away with a screw to the lefty slappers. I have in the last year added the inside drop with a lot of success. At this point I say move their eye level on every pitch. High and in, low and out, etc....