Effective Velocity Part 2: Hunt or Be Hunted
"Hunt or be hunted." - Perry Husband
Last week, I wrote about the usefulness of effective velocity in regards to pitching. Even though effective velocity is very useful for pitching, it is also useful for hitting. Data and research has confirmed the effective velocity strategy in regards to squaring up the baseball and getting on base.
Before the effective velocity hitting strategy was used, hitters typically would guess what pitch was coming or use a strategy such as looking away, and reacting in. If you guessed wrong or were unprepared for what was coming then you were set up for zero success at the plate. Not to mention, the mind cannot register so much thinking when hitting. The effective velocity hitting strategy provides the hitter a clear cut process that allows the hitter clarity and trust when he steps into the batter's box. Clarity and trust are two elements that are crucial for success for a hitter when going against a high velocity or crafty pitcher.
Having clarity and trust at the plate are difference makers when hitting. In fact at the plate, the hitter should be in swing mode, or yes mode when the pitch is coming, and be able say no. The hitter should be able to say no to the pitch when he recognizes that the pitch that is coming into the hitting zone is not the desired pitch to square up. When you are guessing or looking in one area and reacting to the other, you most likely will say no too late.
While having clarity and trust are crucial parts to the machine known as effective velocity, it is not the whole concept. The concept for effective velocity is to look in the area where you consistently square up the ball and hit the ball the hardest. The hitter also looks for a specific pitch to square up as well, but for amateur hitters they should be looking for the fastball. I have not met a quality amateur hitter that isn't a fastball hitter. With all of this in mind, this strategy allows the hitter to have clarity and trust in where he wants to hit the baseball.
The issue with looking where you hit the ball the hardest is that some amateur hitters, may believe that they hit a specific pitch well, but in reality they don't square that pitch up as well as they believe that they do. There are a few ways to find out where the hitter squares the ball up. One way is using technology such as Rapsodo or Blast Motion devices to find where the hitter hits the ball the hardest. Another way, is a non-technological way, but you are still collecting data. During BP or an intra-squad scrimmage have charts printed out or have a piece of paper out and make sure the chart or piece of paper has the strike zones on it. For the piece of paper, you can draw the strike zones on the paper. Keep track with a pen where the hitter makes the hardest contact. Show the results to the player one-on-one in order for the hitter to have an understanding of where to look for and for what pitch to look for in order for success. With technology, you can write down the exit velocity, but without technology you can perceive which pitches the hitter squared up the hardest.
In summation, with the effective velocity hitting strategy, the hitter must find out where he squares up the baseball consistently while looking for the fastball. Once the hitter knows where he squares up the baseball consistently, this provides clarity and trust for the hitter where he can react to what he is looking for. This strategy works for many hitters from the amateur level up to the professional level to square the ball up and get on base consistently.
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