To be honest, I don't think the Reds employ very good teachers.Originally Posted by 757690
To be honest, I don't think the Reds employ very good teachers.
I thought Adam Dunn played for the White Sox - oh wait, same thread different player.
Everyone always said the key for Dunn to be the monster everyone thought he could be was to be more aggressive early in the count - and when Dunn tried that early on in his career it led to one of his worst years ever.
Stubbs just isn't that great of a hitter. At any time in the count. Put him in the 7 hole where running into the occasional mistake and hitting it a mile can help the team more than forcing him to try and slap the ball around and then criticizing him when he doesn't do it successfully.
Phil Castellini puts the FUN in Trust Fund.
Seems one side values power more than speed.Choking up improves contact.They have been doing it ever since I've been watching baseball and I suspect before.
I don't know if this is the answer for Drew,maybe something's wrong with his eyesight.
Last edited by wlf WV; 11-06-2011 at 04:58 PM.
Or maybe he just doesn't read the ball well. There is only so much that one can do. Everything can't be taught. Some things you are just born to be able to do better than others.
Side question.... what is the thought process behind choking up? What benefits does it give aside from shortening the length of the bat?
More control.Evidenced in that most everyone does it when bunting.As you alluded,shorter angles and arcs.
I'm not saying Drew should do this,just that contact rate can be affected.
Bunting isn't swinging, so the fact that someone does something while bunting is irrelevant to what they do while swinging.
If it does indeed give you more control, why not just use a bat that is an inch shorter and not choke up? I am not questioning you here, I am generally just curious about the whole thing.
It's a circumstantial thing,kinda like letting the ball get deep with two strikes and taking the ball to the opposite field.
Not all AB or AB counts are the same.
No, I just like putting guys into positions where they can succeed - and that usually entails maximizing their strengths. Stubbs has a lot of raw power, but frankly he's terrible at making contact. Put him lower in the order where the K's won't hurt as bad and let him run into a few mistakes here and there and rack up a few RBI.
Phil Castellini puts the FUN in Trust Fund.
Choking up does give you more control. Pick up a bat and try it.
It also means that you won't hit one off the handle and mostly will get the fat part of the bat on the ball, but it takes away leverage and power.
Stubbs could do this and improve a bit IMO, but it would take away the threat that makes him intriguing. He just needs to learn to not be afraid to swing at a good one instead of always looking to go 5 or 6 pitches deep into the at bat.
Plate discipline is about two things:
1. Don't swing at pitches you can't handle if you have an option.
2. Don't let a good pitch to hit go by.
IMO, Stubbs approach is more like
1. Don't swing unless you have to.
Pitchers carve a guy like that up. Stubbs doesn't have plate discipline. Not even close.
I'm not a proponent of Stubbs swinging at the first pitch or taking until he has to. I'm a proponent of: (1) swinging at pitches that are good to hit no matter where they are in the count, (2) not swinging at pitches he can't hanlde with less than 2 strikes and (3) protecting the plate when he does have two strikes. He's not very good at number 3. IMO, the best way to improve his results is not to alter his approach with two strikes, its to avoid getting himself in so many unfavorable counts in the first place.
I'm not optimistic that he can do it.
Last edited by mth123; 11-06-2011 at 06:29 PM.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Well, that makes sense (the letting the ball get deeper part). I am still not entirely sure choking up does though. Not saying it doesn't, I am just not entirely sure it does either. It is something that has been done forever, but that doesn't mean it makes the same kind of difference today as it did in 1920 because we aren't using 38 inch long bats that weigh 46 ounces anymore. I am just looking for something that makes some sense to explain why it actually is beneficial.
I'm not sure I've read an article so full of baseball myths since I read Baseball Digest cover to cover growing up.
"Rounding 3rd and heading for home, good night everybody"
Less likely than Stubbs hitting .330.
When all is said and done more is said than done.
Texasdave from the SunDeck sent me this link.
Stubbs has been down this road before.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/...-for-big-hits/
Choking Up For Big Hits
Posted Aug. 21, 2007 8:58 am by J.J. Cooper
Filed under: Daily Dish
A little over a week ago, Dayton manager Donnie Scott and hitting coach Darren Bragg told their team that everyone was going to choke up on the bat. Tired of seeing inopportune strikeouts and looking for a way to speed up bats that were dragging in the August heat, the coaches thought choking up could help fix some bad habits.
Drew Stubbs and Juan Francisco can be thankful for the switch.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."
http://dalmady.blogspot.com
Everyone has a ceiling, Doc bumps his head whenever he writes about baseball.
He writes a decent enough personal interest story. Whenever he gets into "analysis," he loses me.
When all is said and done more is said than done.
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