You're called a Batter or a Hitter, NOT a Walker.

[Bulldog Bruce]

Seems like these kids have been taught from the beginning to be a "disciplined" hitter. Get your perfect pitch. You do have to figure out how to hit a good pitchers pitch sometimes.

You HAVE to be guessing to let any fastball over the middle of the plate with two strikes on you just go by. How do you get fooled by an 83 MPH fastball? Miss it, pop it up, top it, but don't just let it go by. Hancock can hit as a selective hitter. I still think James would be better being more agressive. Him walking with runners on base is a <17>n' waste of an AB. I mean the defense will do it to you intentionally if they are scared, so why is he looking for it? Cumbest needs to be a little more aggressive and stop guessing with 2 strikes. I told Chris Maloney that Clark needs to stay taller on the back side to get his swing shorter. Hines I like what I see so far except he seems to kind of wind up to hit a pitch he thinks he should crush. He needs to just trust his existing swing. That ball he hit over the right field lounge was a fluid motion to the ball. It did not have that extra load move. A relaxed chest makes the swing faster, not muscling up. Rafael and Will always had the same relaxed motion through the ball. I like what Tanner is doing just needs to continue and he will figure it out.

Hitting in this weather can be tough. We can turn this around.

 

[Cooterpoot]

See, now you've got me interested, because I had this same argument with a "college hitting coach" a couple months ago.

 

[dog12]

Agree.

Early in the count, big hitters (e.g., James) should be looking for a fastball over the plate.

And . . . if they get a fastball over the plate (or, a fastball they like, regardless of the pitch location), then they should hammer it.

In my opinion, a hitter will get only one or two good pitches to hit each AB, so he has to be ready to swing the bat on those pitches.

A hitter should never let a belt-high fastball that's over the plate go by without swinging at it.

 

[patdog]

The best pitch to hit is almost always the first strike you see. You damn sure don't want to be swinging at balls, but if you get a strike, you better be swinging. I remember watching the Braves years ago when they had a shortstop who was a free swinger and didn't walk much. Someone asked him if maybe he shouldn't try working the count more. He said you can't walk off the island.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I'm with you Bruce!! And man it goes all the way to the beginning. I see it every day, and my man Dave Holt rants about it weekly. You said it all in your first sentence. Teach them to swing. And stop getting pissed at 9 year olds who swing at bad pitches. Then you have parents berating them from the stands when they do it too. Of course they are timid after all that garbage.

I get it for smaller guys and punch/judy hitters. You want to get on base and cause disruption. But it doesn't work for the majority.

I'm sold that if we start teaching kids to be hitters again, the pitching wouldn't be quite so dominant and we'd start to see a premium on location/junk again rather than just velocity, and waiting on 'mistakes'.

 

[Mr. Cook]

 

[Smoked Toag]

I know you're semi-joking but walks and HBP should be a consolation prize. You have to have a hitter's mentality and if they walk you, fine. That has to be developed young so when they get to high school, college and beyond, they actually have the ABILITY to play moneyball.

Walks and base stealing definitely wins in youth travel ball, though. And that produces the hitters we see today, where the only ones who make it are the ones who are so good/quick that they can hit anything while being selective. And thus - good pitching can straight dominate what it considered to be a good hitting lineup.

 

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Renteria?

ETA…It was Rafael Ramirez.

 

[aTotal360]

He reminded me of a hard throwing Armando Reynoso.

 

[patdog]

Yep. Ramirez.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I'm not joking at all. I am a firm believer in the Ted William's theory of hitting. If you have 20/10 eyesite and lighting quick twitch muscles, it is the best way to hit. If you don't have those physical gifts, time to make adjustments. Also need to concentrate on what physical tools you do have.
Moneyball works when you have Zito, Mulder, and Hudson. It is about filling out a team with a limited budget. It is not an approach to hitting for the players. All hitting it situational. There are times walks are great. There are times when walks are bad. When Barry Bonds came to the plate with bases loaded and his team was down 2, they walked him intentionally. Walk bad for that situation. If your job at that moment is to get RBIs, hitting is what needs to be done.
I have definitely heard "you can't walk off the island" statement before. All I am saying is that there can't be one approach to hitting that fits everyone.
On another thought, Whoever put up that first "No Pepper" sign needs to be found and hung. We played a ton of pepper and it teaches you to hit at all angles and guide balls wherever you want. It is a GREAT bat control drill and a bunch of fun when you play Tip It. Even a power guy like me found good basics in that.

 

[paindonthurt]

Walking isn’t bad.

Hitters who refuse to walk often hurt their average and the team.

Would I rather see a double in the gap with runners on? Sure but don’t swing at junk out of the zone bc you “don’t want to walk”.

That’s just selfish baseball.

 

[paindonthurt]

Getting on base more works better than getting on base less.

Feel like that’s universally understood but maybe not.

 

[Cooterpoot]

It's a game of adjustments. Pitch to pitch, AB to AB. Situation to situation. Scouting reports are ridiculous, so everyone knows everyone. Hell, I've seen hitters fake a weak swing just to get that pitch again.

 

[mcdawg22]

Todd Walker was a hitter. Think about that.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Getting on base more works better than getting on base less.

Feel like that’s universally understood but maybe not.

Hitting Grand Slams works better than not hitting them.

Your statement makes no sense. I am NOT saying make an out instead of walking. I am saying your GOAL should not be to walk in some situations. Runners in scoring postion a hit is better than a walk. Your GOAL should be weighed towards get a hit. If you are a lead off batter that doesn't have power to hit it over the fence, then by all means take a walk. There are batters that we would yell from the dugout "take one for the team". Those guys do good to take a walk or a HBP when they can.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Getting on base more works better than getting on base less.

Feel like that’s universally understood but maybe not.

You’re not even on the same depth of thought here. You are surface level only. I doubt you will ever really understand what we’re talking about.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Who said to do that? I said don't take a <17>n' 84 MPH fastball down the outside portion of the plate because you think you hit it better if it is on the inside portion of the plate. Don't cry about a fastball that is a half inch low when the ump rings you up. There are time you need to expand the strike zone and have to handle those pitches.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Yes an excellent hitter, as was Larry Walker.

 

[patdog]

Taking strikes doesn't get you on base more.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

That's my complaint. We are watching strike three just outside the zone too much snd complaining to the umpires. Freaking swing.

 

[paindonthurt]

So who do you think is trying to get walked?

 

[paindonthurt]

I’m never on your depth of thought.

And I’m really appreciative of that.

 

[paindonthurt]

Ok but just bc you watch strike 3 doesn’t mean you are trying to walk.

I agree with you. Don’t take a close pitch With 2 strikes but that doesn’t mean you are trying to walk.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Getting on base more works better than getting on base less.

Feel like that’s universally understood but maybe not.

View attachment 23957

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Actually watch our hitters. Watch how many immediately go to remove there hitting armor when they think they got ball 4. I guarantee they think working for a walk is a main goal of their AB. If you are Kam James and there is a runner in scoring position, you should be disappointed to walk. He has been trained all his life to work the count and for that result to be desirable. He let's very hitable pitches go by during his ABs. He needs to be more aggressive to drive in those runners and take the walk if he has to.

I hated when a wild pitch moved up runners while I was up. Almost always I was then given 1B. My AB resulted in no RBI and that is not a good thing. My last AB in College was just that. We are down 6-5 against South Carolina in the CWS with runners as 1B and 2B, 2 outs, and I am up. Second or third pitch goes past the catcher and the runners move up. The opposing manager then points to 1B and I go there. T Loe hits a very hard ground ball to the SS and that's ball game. By all your saber metrics or any other measure me up in that situation is better than T Loe. I believed that. That should be the mindset of hitters like James, Cumbest, Clark, Tanner, Hines. It is your job to get that run in, period. Don't rely on the guy behind you if you can help it.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

So who do you think is trying to get walked?

I think Kam James is not aggressive enough. I think Cumbest guesses too much and needs to work on reading and reacting better. Hancock is fine with a walk. I have not seen some of the others enough to have an opinion on them specifically. That's where it falls to just a general observation about most hitters working the count in today's hitting theory.

I you watched TA last year he was outstanding at situational hitting. He never really was fooled by any pitch. He took bad swings at borderline balls to just foul them off at times. He always knew what his main objective for that AB was. He gave himself chances to come through in those clutch situations and succeeded much more than failed. If you let belt high fastballs go by when runners are out there, you are not giving yourself a chance.

 

[mcdawg22]

Yes an excellent hitter, as was Larry Walker.

And Jimmie Walker was Dy-no-mite.

 

[Mr. Cook]

And Johnnie Walker is a good blend

 

[tacodawg]

Long gone are the days of contact hitters. Mostly everyone is looking for the perfect pitch to go ham bone. With these bats nowadays, contact is contact and should be enough.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

I think it really boils down to being a truly good hitter vs a great hitter. As you well know, good hitters can hit pitchers' mistakes. Great hitters hit pitchers' pitches AND their mistakes. You go looking for that gimme pitch to crush, but you also hit that pitch that is not a HR ball. I think you are correct that, at times, hitters today let too many single and double balls go by looking for that bomb ball. Granted, certain game situations may dictate a slight change in approach, but the overall goal remains the same.
As far as walking, I think that you are correct that some need to battle more and not anticipate a walk. I was always taught that if it's close, you better foul it off and get another pitch. As a hitter, you should never let the umpire make that final decision on a close pitch. I'd say a walk is never bad, a walk just changes in-game dynamics. A walk is only bad if the next hitter fails to do his job. All great hitters want to get it done themselves, but you've gotta factor in what a walk does to pitcher morale in critical situations. If a walk is what that AB produces, the next hitter comes to the box with a slight advantage.
3 words i heard throughout college.. HIT THE FASTBALL!!!!!!!

 

[Cooterpoot]

The definition of a great hitter has been amended to justify a .230 hitter that can hit 15 HRs. It's a damn shame.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

True that. I've always said, and will stick by it, that a .300 average for a collegiate hitter (SEC or not) should be your low end average guys. If you hit below .300 collegiately, you better have an extremely high OBP or be a significant power source. Otherwise you're replaceable. Averages of .350+ are going to be your top end guys with the elites around the .400 mark.

For pros I'd say that is more of a .250/.300/.330 range.

 

[dog12]

Taking strikes doesn't get you on base more.

Especially fastball strikes.

For every pitch, look fastball.

If the pitcher throws you a belt-high fastball out over the plate, then you have to hit that ball right in the face and drive it hard somewhere.

Doubles, triples, home runs.

 

[patdog]

Agree. You can be a little bit selective on a no-strike count. If it's a nasty slider on, you are better off letting that one go. But with 1 strike, you can't take strikes, and with 2 strikes and college umpires, you almost have to swing at anything close.

 

[The Peeper]

Our National Championship team only had 2 "average" hitters, Tanner Allen (.383) and Rowdey (.323). Unless you count Kyte McDonald (.389 w/ only 18 AB's) or Cumbest (.306 w/ only 121)

 

[Smoked Toag]

Our National Championship team only had 2 "average" hitters, Tanner Allen (.383) and Rowdey (.323). Unless you count Kyte McDonald (.389 w/ only 18 AB's) or Cumbest (.306 w/ only 121)

80-20 rule. 80% of your production will come from 20% of your lineup. That's 2 guys at most.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

If you'll recall, until those two found their groove, things did not look so great for us.

 

[Junction John]

Brandon F. Walker is the heart and soul of the podcast*