The Curveball: Part 4

Matt Schilling: From the Batting Cage

We have been discussing the curveball and how to hit it and how pitchers are trying to use it to get you out. Today we are going to discuss some different ways to practice hitting the curveball.

If you think about it, most hitters practice hitting fastballs about 99% of the time. Therefore it is no shock that most hitters are better at hitting fastballs than any other pitch. Imagine if in your daily routine or practice sessions you could change that to 75% fastballs and 25% off-speed pitches. You would make great improvement in your ability to hit off-speed pitches. What I have found is not only does it make hitters better at hitting breaking balls but it actually enhances their ability to hit the fastball and use the whole field. When you only work on hitting fastballs it is easy to develop the habits of lunging at the pitch, not keeping your weight centered, and not keeping your hands back; because you can get away with some of these flaws to hit a fastball. There is no way you could get away with these flaws when facing a pitcher who changes speeds (which most pitchers do).

So what can you do to work on hitting breaking balls? Here are a few ideas for you:

1. Change of speed side toss
Have a friend flip you normal good old fashion side toss; however, he will need to vary the height of the flips. A low flip will get to you quicker, much like a fastball. A high looping flip will be slower and take longer to come down into the hitting area, much like a curveball. Sometimes have him simply pump fake the pitch without telling you. If you can take the pitch centered and balanced you are in good position, if you have commited yourself forward, your in trouble. This drill will help you to feel yourself get to your launch position without commiting to a fastball or curveball and will give you the chance to hit either one.

2. Change of speed front toss:
Have your buddy set up behind an L-screen about 15 feet in front of you and flip you front toss, but rather than just pumping you straight pitch after straight pitch, have him loop the tosses up a little higher with a little spin on it. This will simulate a slower, looping pitch much like a breaking ball and it will get your eyes in tune with looking for spin.

3. Machine curveballs:
If you have access to a pitching machine, set it up to throw you curveballs. But don't set it up to throw the nasty sharp down breaker. Set it up to throw you hangers. A hanging curve is a mistake, HITTERS MUST KILL MISTAKES! The really good, tight, sharp breaking balls are great pitchers pitches. First train yourself to hit the mistakes, if you get good at that you can start working on the pitchers pitch.

4. Live BP:
If you have a friend or coach who can throw a decent breaking ball in batting practice, have him throw it to you. Have him throw you regular fastball batting practice, then breaking ball batting practice and then have him mix it up.

5. Pitch recognition:
Simply play catch with a buddy who pitches. Get about 60 feet apart and have him throw fastballs, breaking balls and change ups to you. It does not have to be full speed and you can do it standing up. Work to try to recognize the pitch in his release point. Shout out what pitch it is as fast as you recognize it. Sometimes you will be wrong...so what. The goal is to train your eyes and brain to recognize what pitch is coming to you as quickly as possible.

I hope these tips help you. Implement these drills into your practice sessions and see your batting average and hitting ability rise. Good luck!

Quote of the week:

Before everything else; getting ready is the secret of success.

-Henry Ford


Matt Schilling is the Senior Director of On-Field Instruction at Baseball Factory. Schilling graduated from Coastal Carolina University, where he was an All-Conference and All-State player while being voted the fourth best second baseman in the country by the Smith Award Group. Schilling went on to coach at Coastal for five years, helping them reach the top 25. He is also a former Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves.

Having a Quality At-Bat

Matt Schilling: From the Batting Cage

In my last blog, I talked about "The Quickest Way to Become a Better Hitter", which was to make sure that you swing at strikes. This week I thought it would be good to discuss exactly what a hitter SHOULD be trying to do each time he steps in the batter's box. While teaching hitting lessons at the Baseball Factory I often like to ask players what their goal is when they step into the batter's box. The most common answer that I get is: "To get a hit." While I can understand this thought process, I am not convinced it is the best approach.

In my opinion a hitter's goal should be to have a "quality at-bat." What is a "quality at-bat?" I would define it in the following ways:

1. You swung at a good pitch to hit.
   
2. You hit the ball hard.
3. Or, you did your job that particular at-bat.

Note that the hitter has control over all three of these points. You can't control whether or not you get a hit. You can't control whether the defense makes a diving catch and robs you. You can't control the umpire when he calls you out at first when you are clearly safe. But you can control your pitch selection, centering the ball on the barrel and whether or not you do your job.

So when a hitter says to me that his goal is to "get a hit," he is not setting a goal that he has total control over AND he is also setting a goal that a great hitter will reach only 35% (.350 hitter) of the time. Trying to have a "quality at-bat" each time at the plate IS realistic and can be obtained 70 to 80% of the time. If you achieve your goal more often you are going to be a more confident hitter which makes you dangerous.

I have seen too many young hitters celebrate a bloop single on a bad pitch, and then get angry when they line out to left field. Isn't that backwards? Shouldn't you be happy to hit the ball hard and angry to hit a lazy pop up? Coaches and scouts want players who hit the ball hard, often.

In reviewing the three points I mentioned that can define a "quality at-bat" I want to make sure that you understand them clearly. We talked about Point 1 in-depth last week. You must swing at strikes. Swinging at pitches in the zone gives you a much greater chance to get a hit.

Point 2 is also pretty clear: hit the ball hard. Ultimately that is the goal of hitting...to hit the ball hard. I have gone 0-4 many times and felt like I hit the ball great. Too many young players tell me they were 0-3 and not hitting well when in reality they hit the ball hard, just right at people. If you can hit the ball hard in 3 of 4 at-bats that is a great day.

Lastly, Point 3, do your job in that particular at-bat. This is the one that hitters often have trouble grasping. This is situational hitting. If you are up with a man on second and no outs, your job is to move the runner over. If you hit a dribbler to second, you did your job and had a great at-bat. If you are up with a man on 3rd and 1 out with the infield back, just hit a routine ground out to short. You will drive in the run and have done your job. That is a great at-bat. Too many hitters try to crank the ball to the outfield and wind up hitting a pop up. Now you are out, didnt score the run and took a bad swing. When faced with situational hitting opportunities don't be greedy, just get your job done and you will have "quality at-bats" and be a productive hitter.

Clint Hurdle, Manager of the Colorado Rockies, once gave me this simple formula:

Quality at-bat + Quality at-bat + Quality at-bat = A productive hitter

Simple but it makes sense. So when you are out playing in your games or coaching your players, preach to them to have a "quality at-bat" every time up and watch your players confidence, production, and average rise.

Schilling graduated from Coastal Carolina University, where he was an All-Conference and All-State player while being voted the fourth best second baseman in the country by the Smith Award Group. Schilling went on to coach at Coastal for five years, helping them reach the top 25. He is also a former Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves.

The Quickest Way To Become A Better Hitter

Matt Schilling: From the Batting Cage

Since America has become such a quick fix society I thought I would make my first blog a quick tutorial on how to be a better hitter…quicker. Now this is going to sound really basic and simple and corny but there is a lot of truth in it. While teaching lessons in our batting cages my instructors and I have annoyed our players to death with 1 simple credo: SWING AT STRIKES!!!

The quickest way to be a better hitter is to swing at good pitches to hit. Just about any hitter who takes the game seriously can hit a ball that is thigh high and over the plate. After all, this is the location that we practice hitting the most. Whether it is tee work, side toss, front toss, or a pitching machine, we all want our coaches to give us good feeds IN the strike zone. So most of the time we practice hitting GOOD pitches. Yet when hitters go into game situations they very often swing at bad pitches. It is really hard to hit a bad pitch solidly.

I always laugh when a player swings at a bad pitch and pops out and then comes to me and says “coach, something’s wrong with my swing, did you see what I did wrong?” Yeah I saw what you did wrong…you just swung at a pitch that was at your neck. There ain’t nothing wrong with your swing, you just swung at a bad pitch!

Hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult things to do in sports. As hitters we make it even harder by chasing bad pitches. Most bad hitters get themselves out. Most good hitters make the pitcher throw strikes. When you can get a pitcher to throw the ball over the plate you greatly enhance your chances of hitting the ball hard.

Chasing bad pitches are what I call “confidence busters”. Take a player that goes 0-3 while chasing bad pitches in two out of his three at bats. He is convinced he is not hitting well and that therefore something must be wrong with his swing. He starts questioning his swing, his ability, and his confidence is shot. Better yet, he has a bad round of batting practice before the game against a coach who struggles to throw consistent strikes in BP. The coach is frustrated because he has to throw to 12 hitters that day and he can’t find the strike zone so he instructs the hitters to “just swing at everything”. Now you have a team of hitters who go into a game with no confidence because they hit poorly in BP, and the last thing they did before the game was “swing at everything”. Now they go into the game and chase bad pitches, and perform poorly, and they develop bad habits…and poor confidence. It is a vicious cycle.

So the moral of the story is: ALWAYS swing at strikes. Make the pitcher throw the ball over the plate. Do not help him by chasing bad pitches. When training in the cages, swing at strikes. Develop good habits, don’t reinforce the bad. Swing at strikes and watch your confidence and your batting average rise.

Matt Schilling is the Senior Director of On-Field Instruction at Baseball Factory, Schilling handles all on-field elements, including one-on-one training.

Schilling graduated from Coastal Carolina University, where he was an All-Conference and All-State player while being voted the fourth best second baseman in the country by the Smith Award Group. Schilling went on to coach at Coastal for five years, helping them reach the top 25. He is also a former Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves.