In the last series, I explained about attacking the upper and lower strike zones. This time, it is a story about attacking the left and right courses. Of course, the method of attacking the ball close to my body (inside pitch) and the ball far from me (outside pitch) must be different.
I have stressed the importance of building ‘walls’ in swing several times. Here, ‘wall’ means fixing the pelvis from the left shoulder in the case of a right-handed hitter.
When a hitter swings, his shoulders rotate anyway as he rotates his back and hips. However, it means that the shoulders should not rotate before the waist. Especially when hitting an outside ball. When responding to a ball to the body, you need to open your shoulders a little faster.
I was especially obsessed with ‘The Wall’. It was believed that when the enemy invaded, the walls should be closed to the end. So, even if it was a strike, I hardly thought about hitting the inside ball. Ever since I was young, I thought, ‘The moment I became conscious of the ball to my side, this at-bat was over’.
To respond to an inside pitch, the shoulders are supposed to open first. I hated that. When the shoulders are open, they will respond to the ball coming deep into the body. It’s hard to hit a side strike, but it’s to touch the ball. Even if you hit the ball in the center of the bat with that attitude, there is a high possibility that it will be a foul.
In his heyday, I was told that “Kim Tae-gyun is good at hitting the inside ball as well.” In fact, there were times when the in-course batting average was quite high. But that was a good response, not a good attack. When an inside pitch came flying when he had to hit it, he used the rotational power of his waist to counter it. It was a hip turn to push the ball, but it was not a swing with my full strength.
I mainly aimed for the outside pitch. The outside is the course where pitchers throw best. On the other hand, it is difficult for the batter to hit the ball properly because it is far from the field of view.
Outside balls are hit with the
right hand A key factor for a right-handed hitter to hit outside balls well is to use the right hand well. It means that you hold the bat with both hands, but you have to give ‘moderate’ strength to your right hand at impact.
We already know why you should hit with your right hand. You’ve probably seen many times where a batter releases a pitch that bends or falls outside the strike zone (with only the left hand in the case of a right-handed hitter). This is an action in which the ball is too far from the batter, so the right hand is removed from the bat and only the left hand is used to make contact. At this time, even if the ball hits the bat accurately, most of these hits become powerless pop-fly or bend into the foul zone. This is because there is no power applied to the batted ball.
In order for the ball that hit the outside ball not to be a foul, you have to use your right hand power. That way, the hit ball lands in the fair area. 안전놀이터
However, you should not be so conscious of this that you put too much effort into your right hand. This is because the right wrist turns (the back of the hand faces the sky). Even if the ball hits the center of the bat, it is easy to drive and become a ground ball. That’s why when hitting the outside ball, you have to give ‘moderate’ power to your right hand.