"Great Take"

One of the ways you can tell if a hitter has good mechanics doesn't even require them to swing the bat. You can tell a lot about a hitter by how they TAKE a pitch.

It shows their intent for the pitch and how mechanically efficient they are. When I watch hitters, this is one of the things I always look at.

 Things you see

• How often are they off balance?

• Do they push their hands forward?

• Come out of their back hip early?

Movement that sticks out

• Upper body load 

• Bat path

• Sequence

• Gather

   

There are three types of takes. Let's talk about all three below.

Process Take

There are various reasons why a hitter would take a pitch during an AB.

• Pitcher is having a hard time finding the zone.

• They aren't picking up the ball well.

• Trying to slow the game down

Amateur Take

Here's the thing with the amateur take, we've all been there. From All-Stars to little leaguers, sometimes we don't have a plan at the plate, and it shows. However, mechanics are the most common reason hitters are put in this category.

• Sequence is off

• Off balance

• Bat path cuts in the zone. 

• No plan 

All-Star Take

The best hitters in the world share common traits from a mechanical standpoint.

How they take a pitch is the same.

• Bat path

• Sequence

• Balance

As you can see from the example below, look at the bat as he takes the pitch. Compare that to the take above. Can you see anything different?

You can see how deep his take is vs. mine.

This is important because when he does swing, his bat will get in the zone deep and be able to adjust to different pitch types and speeds. 

So the next time you're watching a game, watch how a hitter takes a pitch. It will tell you something about them, good or bad. 

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

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