END GAME:
SEEING IS BELIEVING WITH HITTERS AND PITCHERS

- Tony Abbatine, Frozen Ropes

Before science and technology invaded baseball training, there once was a way for all pitchers and hitters to learn their trade and to defeat their opponent. Hitters relied on their “smarts” and their eyes, while the pitchers only objective was to keep the hitter from getting to first base and beyond.

What really matters in the mini-battle that occurs every time a pitch is thrown?  A review of both the hitter and pitchers “end game” may be helpful in today’s Generation V (video analysis) of players and coaches.

HITTERS

Bat speed, barrel quickness and “perfect” swing movements as defined by the industry alone will not allow hitters to succeed. No one will dispute that the first part of the swing is the visual information that is processed in order for the hitter to determine “where, what when and if the ball will enter the strike zone. The old adage “see it hit it”, in its purest sense, many times, determines the success or failure of the hitter. In fact, most mechanical breakdowns in the swing can be attributed to the visual mis-information taken in by the hitter as the pitcher releases the ball.

Think about how many times we have told hitters to “stay back” or tell them they were late or under the thrown pitch. The symptoms we see as coaches in the batters box are caused by the hitter’s inability to properly recognize or “read” the ball and the miss- timing of the pitchers delivery.

To have the advantage over the pitcher, hitters need to understand that the most common mental pattern in our industry is thinking hard. This is how we process linear information, like arithmetic. The problem for hitters is that the harder they concentrate and the harder they focus the less they see. As players (and human beings!) as our attention narrows, the natural rhythm of our visual field goes into spasm and we lose flexibility and openness. Hitting coaches need to be very careful using the “fine focus” and “window” teaching cues that restrict a hitter’s visual efficiency. The “reading” of the seams or seeing the red (seam) patterns of a thrown baseball is dependent on the eyes ability to stay relaxed and “open” during the pitchers delivery and at ball release.

Herein lies the challenge.

The traditional “fine focus” look at the “window” of the pitcher's release point contradicts the realities of what the good hitters and good “eyes” do as they begin to “read” where to go with their swing. At the high school and college level, hitters make the decision to swing (or not to swing), as the pitch is approximately half way to the plate. The need for early “reading” therefore is crucial to give the hitters the most time to process what the eyes are seeing.

To better solve the puzzle of “what, where and when” the pitch is arriving; the hitters commitment to seeing becomes an exercise in discipline.  Maximum pitch recognition is premised on the hitter's ability to reduce the inside chatter or analytical thoughts that invade many hitters.

Clearly, the most important part of the hitter’s quest to win is the fractional seconds prior to ball release and the ensuing ball release time by the pitcher. In those precious seconds, the hitter now has the opportunity to do what all great hitters do; cheat. The battle to beat the pitcher is many times won by the astute hitter’s ability to see the myriad of “cookies” (pre-pitch cues) all pitcher reveal prior to ball release. From the major leagues to high school, changes in a pitchers arm slot, wrist angles, elbow height and head position all provide the hitter with the edge before the ball is thrown.

Hitters that control their thoughts in order to allow their visual skills to take over the swing will have the “head” start in the battle. Hitting drills that prioritize the visual realties of game speed will give hitters the environment to practice “visual” hitting. The “work short, look long” mantra of reminding hitters to always start their T or short-toss hitting drills with a look to the mound will give the eyes a much needed stretch and remind players that hitting is played from 60ft out and a pre-swing gaze out to where the pitcher will be during the game is a great habit all hitters possess. The ultimate advice coaches can provide to their hitters is to take whatever swing they have and be on time with it come game time.

Good timing, as we know starts with good “reading” skills. You can only read effectively if you as a hitter make reading the priority. Good hitters, like great readers understand that simply looking at the words does not provide for great reading comprehension. Great hitters not only see the ball, they read and understand the “story” being launched from the pitchers mound!

PITCHERS

From the mound, pitchers win by simply reducing the amount of times runners reach base and score. The “model” arm action and biomechanical pleasing delivery has little to do with pitching success. The more we research the “perfect delivery” the more the industry realizes that until we can measure and snap shot “dynamic muscle activity” not static joint measurements, there is no one way to delivery a pitch.

The pitchers priority of a consistent release point for maximum location efficiency becomes the true game-day objective. Beating the hitter then becomes more of “seeing” where (swing plane), when (early or late) and what (the pitch the hitter sees the best) the hitter is swinging at and also evaluating what the umpire “sees” to be the strike zone for that game. 

Velocity increase and delivery efficiency are key components to off-season training and long-term goals for pitchers.  Game-day success however, is premised more on the pitcher’s ability to eliminate the “velo” and mechanical chatter and allow his “reading” of the hitter and the strike zone to get the hitters out.  The pitcher that is able to allow his eyes to take over his delivery and lead the body to its objective, (release points) will have the clear advantage. The hitter that truly makes “seeing the ball” the only objective in the swing and has a strategy to “clear the picture” has the advantage.

When both the pitcher and the hitter truly play the game with their eyes, the game within the game becomes a special event to watch.


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