Teaching the high level pattern

[Towny9]

If your timing is bad then the mechanics tend to break down (even in good hitters) as the hitter adjusts to being early/late. I also believe that a hitter can have bad mechanics and good timing.

 

[_MIA_]

If your timing is bad then the mechanics tend to break down (even in good hitters) as the hitter adjusts to being early/late. I also believe that a hitter can have bad mechanics and good timing.

Agreed. But what do you make of kids constantly complaining that the pitcher is “too slow”? If you took a pitcher who just threw slower (eg nothing else outstanding) , eg 85 mph fastball, and put them in a MLB game what do you think would happen? I don’t think that is simply a matter of kids just not having enough experience with making the adjustment..

 

[TDS]

Not all mechanics (movement patterns) allow for the same timing window.

 

[clemenslee1]

Agreed. But what do you make of kids constantly complaining that the pitcher is “too slow”? If you took a pitcher who just threw slower (eg nothing else outstanding) , eg 85 mph fastball, and put them in a MLB game what do you think would happen?

Mechanics would break down, but not due to bad mechanics. I would say its more due to their mental approach and preparation. If we are talking young players, most do not have a game plan approach. they are not taking the time, pre-game, game time, in the dugout, on deck etc. to prepare. I think it should be noted that most MLB players understand who they are facing ahead of time, or from past experiences and formulating a approach and prepare themselves. This in itself allows for a better and high chance of Good mechanics "ON TIME". Instead of being stunned mentally and breaking down. Just my opinion

 

[Work=wins]

Good timing = balanced actions. If actions are mechanics, then you cannot have good timing w bad mechanics. Timing is of the ball so the level of pitching matters. Keep that in mind when thinking what good timing is.

 

[_MIA_]

Mechanics would break down, but not due to bad mechanics. I would say its more due to their mental approach and preparation. If we are talking young players, most do not have a game plan approach. they are not taking the time, pre-game, game time, in the dugout, on deck etc. to prepare. I think it should be noted that most MLB players understand who they are facing ahead of time, or from past experiences and formulating a approach and prepare themselves. This in itself allows for a better and high chance of Good mechanics "ON TIME". Instead of being stunned mentally and breaking down. Just my opinion

I think that is a bit of wishful thinking

 

[Towny9]

Agreed. But what do you make of kids constantly complaining that the pitcher is “too slow”? I am sure you have heard this before..

I usually tell them that is something only bad hitters say. If slow pitchers were harder to hit the higher levels would be full of them. Most kids don’t have the ability or concept of what waiting means. They swing right out of the hand. Those same kids usually chase pitches out of the zone too. A lot of coaches teach kids like that to stay back and try to hit slow pitching to right field. That only makes it worse as they now have to wait even longer.

I like the cue, slow feet, fast, hands against slow pitching, and I try to slow my tempo down considerably. Keep your hands back as long as you can and sling as hard as you can. Kind of like slow pitch.

 

[Towny9]

A lot of hitters, especially young, and an experienced ones, will slow their hands down in order to adjust to the timing of a slower pitch. They can still be on time with the pitch by doing this, it’s just not a great way to hit the ball hard.

 

[_MIA_]

I like the cue, slow feet, fast, hands against slow pitching, and I try to slow my tempo down considerably. Keep your hands back as long as you can and sling as hard as you can. Kind of like slow pitch.

If you think this is good advice for all pitching (and it seems pretty solid to me..) then what does this say about their mechanics in general that you have to tell them to do it for slow pitching?

 

[CoachJD]

I also believe that a hitter can have bad mechanics and good timing.

Not only is this true, but if I had to choose, I'd rather have a hitter with bad mechanics/good timing than perfect mechanics/bad timing (I include pitch recognition as part of timing, since one informs the other).

I believe this because I think it's easier to fix mechanics than timing issues for a bunch of reasons, and being on time is going to lead to positive outcomes even if it doesn't look pretty.