3 Pitch Recognition Tips

New PATRICK JONES BASEBALL PODCAST

This week, I drove to Bowling Green State University to visit with their staff, watch a practice, and ended up recording an in person episode with Matt Rembielak ( Associate Head Coach) & Joey Cooper (Assistant Coach) 

Topics: 

* Players getting their offers pulled 

* How the new rules impact the type of player Bowling Green recruits 

* What Bowling Green looks for in a high school player

* Similarities between the players who have developed the most at Bowling Green

Listen: 

iTunes

Spotify

The best hitters, are the best predictors. 

They're able to predict based on past experiences. 

Their brain has a data base that impacts their swing decisions. 

Today, we're going to focus on pitch recognition and how we can help hitters (in a short amount of time) improve their decision making at the plate.

You may want to see an example of what I'm talking about. 

Look, no further that watching one of the greatest hitters of all time (in their prime) swing at pitch above their head. 

I'd love to see a video of Albert Pujols swinging at a pitch this far out of the strike zone in his career.

He faced Jenny Finch 1 time and he swings at a pitch that the catcher can barely catch it's so far up and out of the strike zone. 

Why? 

• He's never seen that pitch before. 
• He's never see that release point. 
• He can't predict what he hasn't seen before

Now, the difference between Albert and everyone else is he would've made an adjustments had he continued to face Jenny Finch several times. 

How? 

• Focus 
• Self-Awareness 

Plenty of hitters take reps tracking a ball, but they aren't locked in and processing what is happening. 

Not enough hitters visualize.

Visualization doesn't have to be some weird thing that people only do sitting down. 

It can simply be:

"If the ball starts here, it's going to end up there." 

Where Should Hitters Look? 

If you ask one of your hitters where they're look as the pitcher comes set, I bet you most of them don't have any idea. 

Helping them put together a system of where they look each time they're up at the plate could help them consistently improve their swing decisions. 

Based on some of my research and in talking with Ryan Harrison of slowthegamedown.com our eyes are designed to move side to side, not up and down. 

EMDR 

(eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) 

This is when people move their eyes side-side at a particular rhythm. 

They've found that is's shown to decrease the activity of the amygdala in the brain, which is responsible for fear and anxiety. 

With that in mind, I think teaching hitters when they start to feel anxious to have them move their eyes side to side, keeping their eyes on the same line as the release point, so the eyes are moving exactly how they're supposed to move, side-side.

If you would like more information on EMDR, here is a link with 2 short clips from the Huberman Lab podcast.

Beating Pitchers To Release Point

If the hitters get to release point too early and are starting, they won't see the ball as well as they could. 

And they're especially in trouble if they get to release point too late. 

There's a sweet spot of getting their eyes to release point just before the pitcher releases the ball. 

This takes practice, so hitter's must experiment to find out what works best for them. 

DRILL

Partner Toss 

Adding movement with vision training is vital, as hitters will eventually see a ball moving at them. 

I like this drill because it has movement and a stability component: the hitter has to balance on one leg. 

Directions:  

Equipment: 2 balls, and 2 people

1. Have the hitter stand on one leg. 
2. Flip them a ball in a different hand each time. 
3. Instruct them to toss the ball back to your hand. 

This is fun, challenging, and a great way to get their eyes prepped before they start hitting for the day. 

Whenever you're ready, there is 1 way I can help you:

1. Swing Decision Course

I am currently working on building a course to help hitters improve swing decisions. 

This would include:

* Drills 

* Modules 

* Visuals 

If you want to be added to the waitlist for this course, sign up here