How to raise great hitters

BBBD1969

BBBD1969

Bigger than the game.
Been reading all the threads about knucklers, change-ups, super-spinners, and other assorted pitches that just make this game of underhand slow-pitch softball so dern hard, and I had an epiphany.

There is probably no hope for us, but there IS hope for our children. Think about this: when we play adult men's slow-pitch softball the pitcher pitches to us the same way we'd pitch that big ol' plastic ball to our toddlers when we teach them how to hit with that big ol' red plastic bat. Soooooo, why not start throwing knucklers, super-spinners, change-ups, sliders, and whatever other underhanded (no pun intended) pitch you can think of to your 2 year old when you teach him to hit?

If our children can learn from an early age how to hit underhanded knucklers and change-ups and sliders and the dreaded super-spinner, maybe when THEY grow up and play slow-pitch they'll have a fighting chance of hitting .500, or getting a hit off the unhittable Andy Purcell.

Do it for the children!!! :(
 
csknight14

csknight14

Manager
Just raise them to be great baseball players. I'd rather my son be able to hit 95mph fastball then turn around and hit an 80mph off speed on the next pitch. If baseball doesn't pan out for him for some reason (like most of us) then worry about helping him with the lob. Growing up playing baseball will help his hand-eye coordination far better than teaching him to hit the slow ball at a young age IMO
 
mtiefenb

mtiefenb

Manager
csknight14 said:
Just raise them to be great baseball players. I'd rather my son be able to hit 95mph fastball then turn around and hit an 80mph off speed on the next pitch. If baseball doesn't pan out for him for some reason (like most of us) then worry about helping him with the lob. Growing up playing baseball will help his hand-eye coordination far better than teaching him to hit the slow ball at a young age IMO
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You really thought the op was serious :confused:
 
BBBD1969

BBBD1969

Bigger than the game.
csknight14 said:
Just raise them to be great baseball players. I'd rather my son be able to hit 95mph fastball then turn around and hit an 80mph off speed on the next pitch. If baseball doesn't pan out for him for some reason (like most of us) then worry about helping him with the lob. Growing up playing baseball will help his hand-eye coordination far better than teaching him to hit the slow ball at a young age IMO
Click to expand...

Have you not been reading the boards lately? Come on, we all KNOW it is MUCH MUCH harder to hit an 18mph changeup after getting your timing down on a 22mph normal pitch than it is to say hit a Jason Verlander change after seeing his 100mph gas.

And come on, RA ****ey's knuckler doesn't have anything on Purcell's or any other slowpitch pitcher's knuckler for that matter. A slow pitch knuckler is literally and virtually unhittable. Jesus couldn't hit a slowpitch knuckler.

Come on. Slow pitch is HARD man. Where's the love?
 
BBBD1969

BBBD1969

Bigger than the game.
mtiefenb said:
You really thought the op was serious :confused:
Click to expand...

Oh I AM serious bro, DEADLY serious.

Let me tell you the story of Tommy. Tommy's dad pitched to him when he was little, which is admirable. However, Tommy's dad was neglectful in the fact that he only threw little Tommy meatball pitches. Tommy grew up being able to hit the meatball pitch but nothing else. Now can you guess where Tommy is? Tommy is now a part-time utility player and pinch-runner for his company softball team. As soon as the pitchers in his league figured out the holes in his slow-pitch swing, they were able to exploit them, and it all goes back to Tommy's dad only pitching him meatballs when Tommy was 2.

What's worse is it's a USSSA league and Tommy absolutely freezes on the pump-fake-then-pitch pitch, and last week he struck out looking at two straight pump-fake-then-pitch pitches. The worst part? Tommy's dad was in the stands watching, and he doesn't even understand its HIS fault Tommy has holes in his swing. Sad. Truly sad. Their relationship is irreparable. :(
 
BBBD1969

BBBD1969

Bigger than the game.
Laoch said:
When do we teach them about shaved bats in league?
Click to expand...

When they get a little older, about 8 or so, and we introduce them to the age-old art of newspaper end-loading wiffle-ball bats. Or putting electrical tape on the barrel. Or both. Gives you an extra 5, 6 feet. Serious.
 
niteshadow

niteshadow

Addicted to Softballfans
This is america... lets just teach kids that the fatter they are, the better chance they have of being a great 301' hitter.
 
scrub

scrub

Addicted to Softballfans
A parent should never teach their kids how to play fatman rec sports. That's something you learn after failing at a real sport first.
 
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