Not pulling the ball often enough

[arther itis]

WHEN IN DOUBT, HIT TO RIGHT....there is no problem hitting the right side...pulling the ball to left is little league mocho bull

when you hit to right: everyone on base advances 2 bases....the right fielder has to throw the ball all the way across the field
if you hit to left the leftfielder has a shorter throw to third then the shortstop has to first plus he is probably charging the ball

with men on base, if you hit to right, you don't even have to get a hit, but you will move the runners

remember when you ever played second base with a runner on second you never tried to get the guy going to third

i played with a team that if you forced out your lead runner at third by hitting to the third baseman you got a $25 fine

we would use the money to have at team party at the end of the season. we never collect any money but we could have made enough to send to team to disney world

this should be a Sticky

 

[DRock88]

People tell me I need to pull more also. It's never my teammates, though. My production is just fine. If you're not doing poorly, no reason to change. I'll force it backside until it doesn't work anymore.

 

[Dakota Deerwood]

I have been playing ball since I was a kid, up through college, and switched over to softball at 22...for some reason my power alley is RC field, but sometimes I feel like it's all I do...I have plenty of power, and when I do turn on the ball I hit it out consistently, but I seem to just live in RC field...my buddies tell me I should pull the ball more often...

Does anyone else have this problem? is it really a problem since I hit the ball well?

Thanks for any serious input

I have the same problem as you. When I first made the switch over from Baseball to Softball, I pulled everything... and hit the ball out (many times for outs)... so I became a RC/RF hitter, because I rarely hit the ball out backside..

Hitting the ball in the RC gap or backside is usually more beneficial to your team (especially with the HR restrictions).. I would just stay with what works.

 

[matte22]

all i do is pull the ball. if i try to go oppo i usually fly out,

 

[Pete D]

Take the pitch that comes into YOUR zone that you are most comfortable with and hit the p*ss out of it. I hit it out to all fields but mostly to Center/RC seems to be where the ball goes the most. I found that if I insist in trying to hit to left I go away from my usual zone and can dive into the ball and over stride which can result in an easy fly out or hard grounder.

You take what each pitch will allow you to take - obviously you like the pitch in a certain place that you can take to the right side. The last time I checked homeruns to the right side counted just as much as they do to the left + you have the added bonus if being less likely to hit into double plays and more of a chance of advancing the runners when you are consistant with your swing to the off side. Your eyes, hips, legs, and shoulders stay back better going to the off side. Count your blessings - most guys would love to enhance their team value and be able to go off field situationally - you do it naturally....

Take what your body and the pitch (in your zone - not just a strike) give you on any particular day or at bat........don't turn yourself into an anxious swinger - thise are the ones with the highest failure rates - it's your at bat = control it - work it.......

 

[RightSideHitter]

The worst thing you can do is try to pull the ball and mess up your swing. If you are hitting with power to RC, then your swing does not need to be changed. You start messing with it just because your teammates say to pull the ball and you will not be able to hit as well as you do now.

As others have said, not only is hitting to the right normally towards weaker fielders (that's debatable once you reach a certain level), but hitting to the opposite field also gives you another advantage: Slice. If you get that slice working and keep the ball fair, defenders will hate you. I can't tell you the number of times I've hit a line drive to right, had it slice towards the line, and run away from the defender.

Stick with what works for you. What works for someone else may not work for you. And what works for you may not work for them. Hit the ball hard and away from the defense.

 

[Wheels33]

If your only hitting RC. Work on hitting more to rf down the line. Widen your range but stick to your strengths. I'm all rc/rf, middle when in slump. Only time I pull is to challge 3rd baseman and (grounder)no one on base. Using my speed to get on base. Only do that once every 20 hits tho.

 

[Digglesauce]

I'm assuming coming from baseball you don't hitch/load as much as your average softball HR hitter so you could try that to make your swing a bit more violent, which generally results in pulling the ball. I struggled with this when I first started playing slowpitch. I was wondering how in baseball I could hit HR's but in slowpitch I'm popping out and have warning track power. You have to generate everything yourself when the ball slows down, and what helped me was opening my stance, loading up, pointing my lead plant foot.

The pointing my lead foot when you plant helps opens your hips and come through the zone a bit faster.

Or you can not change a damn thing and just swing earlier and time the pitcher.

 

[Ronnie G]

How old are you now?

It takes several years to become a well-rounded slow pitch hitter. I started playing slow pitch at 16 (34 now) and have learned to hit hard line to line, but I don't have a lot of home run power.

Over time, your approach e.g. stance, step, swing will look totally different than anything you ever did in baseball. And it should. The timing is totally different, and that just comes with doing it and going with where the ball is pitched. But work on it!... Take BP and try to pull every inside pitch.

If your natural power alley in slow pitch is Right Center, it's a built in advantage. But it really does take a few seasons to put it all together.

26, 27 next month...i started playing a bit right from high school but mostly hard ball until about 22 or so

 

[Ronnie G]

last night i tried to pull the ball a few at bats...1 i hit out, and 2 went up the middle.

i think its pitch selection, but i guess if right field works then go with it...i just see these guys get up and hit monster LC field shots and im thinking I can do this, and i do it during BP or whatever, and then game time comes up and i dont hit a ball to the left side of the field

 

[Ronnie G]

Agreed. What I read was, "Guys. I nail RC with ease, but when I swing for pull, I just mash 400 foot bombs. What gives?!"

nope. more of I do nail RC, but sometimes wish I mashed bombs to LC because I do have the capability and teammates question why i dont turn on it more often.

 

[mattya420]

I quit pullin' it and now I put it wherever I want......My wife's a go getter

 

[Window]

Get a lefty opo line drive bat, It should help.

 

[Ronnie G]

I quit pullin' it and now I put it wherever I want......My wife's a go getter

ha! :thumb:

 

[teamriot38]

"guys, i have an issue. I hit about .900 in league ball and i'm probably a .700 b level player for tournaments. I can hit a straight up rocket to dead center field , i can pull the ball 400+, and i need a life jacket because im drowning in *****. My issue is that i cant find a good turf shoe. Any help?"

op .

 

[Ronnie G]

im gonna blame hitter anxiety :wtf2:

 

[DoctaJ]

I would say it probably has to do with pitch selection, like others have said. But, I don't see how hitting oppo is a problem... wish I could do it consistently

 

[Rdd/Easton 10]

be very aggressive when trying to pull...u need to hit the ball out in front. Hitting oppo is easier as u can wait for the ball to get on ya...when looking to pull attack the ball.

 

[Spackler]

just call yourself out in front of teammates when coming up, like "man if I cant pull this underhand pitch I suck"

 

[arther itis]

bump for more looks

 

[swingnmiss]

A lot of guys who have trouble pulling the ball have their hands too close to their shoulder/body in their set. I actually have my hands around ear level, pushed back about to the shoulder and 6" or so away from my body. The problem is when you get your hands too close to your body or over your shoulder, you start to cast in your swing. Your hands move in a circular motion away from your body in your swing. Instead of a straight line path from back to front. When you cast you have trouble pulling the ball and the only ball you can drive at all is the one you push.

 

[Normy]

A lot of guys who have trouble pulling the ball have their hands too close to their shoulder/body in their set. I actually have my hands around ear level, pushed back about to the shoulder and 6" or so away from my body. The problem is when you get your hands too close to your body or over your shoulder, you start to cast in your swing. Your hands move in a circular motion away from your body in your swing. Instead of a straight line path from back to front. When you cast you have trouble pulling the ball and the only ball you can drive at all is the one you push.

I'll definitely try this. Pull side has been horrid lately.

 

[swingnmiss]

I'll definitely try this. Pull side has been horrid lately.

Try it and get back to me. Just push your hands out away from your body about 6" in your set and you should see a difference.

 

[Normy]

Try it and get back to me. Just push your hands out away from your body about 6" in your set and you should see a difference.

Sure will man. Thanks

 

[z00ted 85]

A lot of guys who have trouble pulling the ball have their hands too close to their shoulder/body in their set. I actually have my hands around ear level, pushed back about to the shoulder and 6" or so away from my body. The problem is when you get your hands too close to your body or over your shoulder, you start to cast in your swing. Your hands move in a circular motion away from your body in your swing. Instead of a straight line path from back to front. When you cast you have trouble pulling the ball and the only ball you can drive at all is the one you push.

Whoa, this is awesome. I think this may be my problem. I went from being able to hit every line to line with authority to lazy pop ups to left and only heat when i go straight right field. My teammates are at a loss too. Thanks Swing, I'm gonna try this out and see if there is a difference.

 

[swingnmiss]

Whoa, this is awesome. I think this may be my problem. I went from being able to hit every line to line with authority to lazy pop ups to left and only heat when i go straight right field. My teammates are at a loss too. Thanks Swing, I'm gonna try this out and see if there is a difference.

Yeah, give it a try and let me know how it goes for you.

 

[z00ted 85]

Yeah, give it a try and let me know how it goes for you.

Huge difference! I still suck but I've been able to pull the ball with heat rather than the lazy fly balls from before. Thanks Swing!

 

[swingnmiss]

Cool........Hope I was able to help some.

 

[smarkley3]

This is the easy way to do it if you don't want to put in the practice. I take what I am given and go with it.

I get two ABs a week, I try to put the tiny sweet spot on the ball and go with the pitch

 

[dunkky]

I swear by swingmiss's suggestion. had a pick up game on Thurs. went for 4 for 4 with two doubles. i was able to snap and extend better. now i need to swing 500 times more like that to register in my muscle.. only problem is my elbow... it hurts..