I am a rhythm and timing minded coach. I pay attention to the mechanical side of the swing just as much as everybody else, but I've come to understand that when you get to higher levels, rhythm and timing (and seeing the baseball) are the most crucial aspects to being successful in the batters box. The truth is it doesn't matter how pretty your swing is if you can't be on time. There have been plenty of kids out there with nice BP swings that can't translate it to the game. I think a big reason for this is because rhythm and timing aren't talked about as much in the baseball world when it comes to working with our hitters.
I think most of us would agree that we want our hitters to have simple thoughts in the batters box. We want them to trust their preparation and compete, let their muscle memory take over. I personally don't want thoughts such as "what are my hands doing," or "my stride is messed up" etc. Thoughts about rhythm and timing eliminate the cluttered/distracting physical thoughts, and let's a hitter just react and trust. But in order to understand how to have good rhythm and timing, you need to know how to "dance with the pitcher."
When dancing with the pitcher, you have the understanding that he provides the rhythm. Some move slow, some move fast. Whatever your pre-swing movements are as a hitter, you need to know how to sync up with what the pitcher is doing. The weight transfer, and the stride and separation are all a part of the dance... I'll get to that in a second.
One more thing about dancing with the pitcher...nobody likes a stiff dancer. I'm sure all of you have been to a wedding and seen one... it's tough to watch. When dancing with the pitcher, you need to have loose, rhythmic movements just like you would on a dance floor. This will help fast twitch, and the ability to see the baseball better.
A big part of rhythm and timing is knowing when to start your load. I am convinced there are three different types of hitting speeds that we need to be conscious of. 1) Advanced hitting speed (at our level NJCAA 92-97), 2) Good hitting speed (82-91), 3) Below hitting speed (70's). All of these dictate when we can start our load.
**I'm going to start with "good hitting speed" first as it makes it easier to compare the others.
Good hitting speed: We see a lot of these guys. Typically they can't only rely on their fastball, they need secondary pitches as well. To be on time, we need to load/store energy at hand break, and have our foot up at max peek ready to come forward as the ball is leaving the fingers of the pitcher. By doing this we will be on time, and allow our eyes to get our foot down...we should never feel the need to rush our foot down.
Advanced hitting speed: these guys can bring it. You would want to start the process of load/store energy just a tad sooner, so that you then could have your foot up at max peek a tad sooner as well. If your foot gets up too late vs. these guys, you'll get blown up. Again, let your eyes put your foot down, it doesn't need to be forced. Loose/rhythmic movements help with this. These would be the "load early" guys.
Below hitting speed: These guys main objective is to get you out front- they can be very effective if allowed. I tell our hitters all the time that these guys "they have nothing to beat you." Many times, our hitters will go right into their 2 strike approach if they find themselves struggling to let the ball travel against these guys. Hitters that become comfortable "loading late,"can handle these guys well. These hitters also become better 2-strike hitters as well. Depending on how slow the pitcher throws, as a hitter, you may not want to start your load/store energy until the ball is just about to leave the pitcher's hand. That means the stride and separation may occur as the ball is already traveling at you well out of the pitcher's hand.
A couple more notes:
1) Hitters with really short strides need to make adjustments accordingly. These hitters are simple, and probably will need to load later than any other guy who has a leg lift/load into back hip style, because it takes you less time to get your foot down and hands back...AKA EVERY HITTER IS UNIQUE.
2) Jose Bautista talks about not wanting to get his foot down early, but to "get his foot up early" to be on time. You watch any of these guys with a leg kick action, their foot is off the ground as the ball is damn near half way to them. This is when the stride and separation/pitch recognition phase of the swing is taking place. They are letting their eyes put their foot down.
3) The key to the idea of loading early, and loading late, is I want to have the same tempo and feeling of when I start to when I end, both against 72 as 94. I can accomplish this by knowing when to start my dance with the pitcher. It would make no sense for me to start my load as if I'm facing 94, when I'm actually facing 72. I would have a really difficult time getting into a good spot to hit consistently. We need to have a simple plan for every pitcher we face. When we are able to have the same feeling/tempo with 72 and 94, it then becomes easier to buy time when we are able to recognize offspeed out of the hand.
4) We should practice our rhythm and timing with the 3 speeds before stepping into the batters box. This could be done by standing in for bullpens, or in the dugout timing up the pitcher (that one is big!), so that it almost becomes second nature itself. You don't want to have to think too hard about when to start in the batter box when most important thing is to see ball, hit ball. By practicing, and having plan before stepping into the box, we can make this second nature as well. A simple thought in terms of rhythm and timing would be "load late," or "load early," and then let your preparation make it happen.
5) There is a lot more that goes into rhythm and timing (offspeed hitting, 2-strike, plus count) but we will leave that for another day.
In closing, let's keep our thoughts simple. When it's time to compete, it's time to trust our muscle memory, and to be on time. Nobody likes a stiff dancer. Loose/fluid movements will help many aspects of your swing. Understanding the three hitting speeds, and how they relate to your preswing movements, can help you be in a good spot to hit more consistently. Most importantly, compete your ass off.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in terms of rhythm and timing, I would like to hear them. Also please retweet this post if you feel like it's worthy. This is about creating thought/discussion, so the more that can see it the better.
Yours in baseball,
Burm
I think most of us would agree that we want our hitters to have simple thoughts in the batters box. We want them to trust their preparation and compete, let their muscle memory take over. I personally don't want thoughts such as "what are my hands doing," or "my stride is messed up" etc. Thoughts about rhythm and timing eliminate the cluttered/distracting physical thoughts, and let's a hitter just react and trust. But in order to understand how to have good rhythm and timing, you need to know how to "dance with the pitcher."
When dancing with the pitcher, you have the understanding that he provides the rhythm. Some move slow, some move fast. Whatever your pre-swing movements are as a hitter, you need to know how to sync up with what the pitcher is doing. The weight transfer, and the stride and separation are all a part of the dance... I'll get to that in a second.
One more thing about dancing with the pitcher...nobody likes a stiff dancer. I'm sure all of you have been to a wedding and seen one... it's tough to watch. When dancing with the pitcher, you need to have loose, rhythmic movements just like you would on a dance floor. This will help fast twitch, and the ability to see the baseball better.
A big part of rhythm and timing is knowing when to start your load. I am convinced there are three different types of hitting speeds that we need to be conscious of. 1) Advanced hitting speed (at our level NJCAA 92-97), 2) Good hitting speed (82-91), 3) Below hitting speed (70's). All of these dictate when we can start our load.
**I'm going to start with "good hitting speed" first as it makes it easier to compare the others.
Good hitting speed: We see a lot of these guys. Typically they can't only rely on their fastball, they need secondary pitches as well. To be on time, we need to load/store energy at hand break, and have our foot up at max peek ready to come forward as the ball is leaving the fingers of the pitcher. By doing this we will be on time, and allow our eyes to get our foot down...we should never feel the need to rush our foot down.
Advanced hitting speed: these guys can bring it. You would want to start the process of load/store energy just a tad sooner, so that you then could have your foot up at max peek a tad sooner as well. If your foot gets up too late vs. these guys, you'll get blown up. Again, let your eyes put your foot down, it doesn't need to be forced. Loose/rhythmic movements help with this. These would be the "load early" guys.
Below hitting speed: These guys main objective is to get you out front- they can be very effective if allowed. I tell our hitters all the time that these guys "they have nothing to beat you." Many times, our hitters will go right into their 2 strike approach if they find themselves struggling to let the ball travel against these guys. Hitters that become comfortable "loading late,"can handle these guys well. These hitters also become better 2-strike hitters as well. Depending on how slow the pitcher throws, as a hitter, you may not want to start your load/store energy until the ball is just about to leave the pitcher's hand. That means the stride and separation may occur as the ball is already traveling at you well out of the pitcher's hand.
A couple more notes:
1) Hitters with really short strides need to make adjustments accordingly. These hitters are simple, and probably will need to load later than any other guy who has a leg lift/load into back hip style, because it takes you less time to get your foot down and hands back...AKA EVERY HITTER IS UNIQUE.
2) Jose Bautista talks about not wanting to get his foot down early, but to "get his foot up early" to be on time. You watch any of these guys with a leg kick action, their foot is off the ground as the ball is damn near half way to them. This is when the stride and separation/pitch recognition phase of the swing is taking place. They are letting their eyes put their foot down.
3) The key to the idea of loading early, and loading late, is I want to have the same tempo and feeling of when I start to when I end, both against 72 as 94. I can accomplish this by knowing when to start my dance with the pitcher. It would make no sense for me to start my load as if I'm facing 94, when I'm actually facing 72. I would have a really difficult time getting into a good spot to hit consistently. We need to have a simple plan for every pitcher we face. When we are able to have the same feeling/tempo with 72 and 94, it then becomes easier to buy time when we are able to recognize offspeed out of the hand.
4) We should practice our rhythm and timing with the 3 speeds before stepping into the batters box. This could be done by standing in for bullpens, or in the dugout timing up the pitcher (that one is big!), so that it almost becomes second nature itself. You don't want to have to think too hard about when to start in the batter box when most important thing is to see ball, hit ball. By practicing, and having plan before stepping into the box, we can make this second nature as well. A simple thought in terms of rhythm and timing would be "load late," or "load early," and then let your preparation make it happen.
5) There is a lot more that goes into rhythm and timing (offspeed hitting, 2-strike, plus count) but we will leave that for another day.
In closing, let's keep our thoughts simple. When it's time to compete, it's time to trust our muscle memory, and to be on time. Nobody likes a stiff dancer. Loose/fluid movements will help many aspects of your swing. Understanding the three hitting speeds, and how they relate to your preswing movements, can help you be in a good spot to hit more consistently. Most importantly, compete your ass off.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in terms of rhythm and timing, I would like to hear them. Also please retweet this post if you feel like it's worthy. This is about creating thought/discussion, so the more that can see it the better.
Yours in baseball,
Burm
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