Once upon a time, long ago, I wrote a breakdown of my golf swing and throw in (article here). Here's another attempt at making sense of a couple other things....
Swing Batter
I grab whichever bat I think might give me my best shot at not just making contact but actually getting a hit. Some people like the end loaded, some the semi-ended loaded....I go with the balanced bat. The balanced bat gives me no extra pop for my swing path. It only gives me the ability for my shitty swing path to have any success rate. So I have my bat and I step up to the plate. There is a man on first and one on second, one out, bottom of the third inning, score is tied at 4. This is not a crucial at-bat by any means. A lot of ball yet to be played. But I can't go 0 for 2 to start the game. I have to earn being #2 in the order. Hands are sweating, I'm still feeling like I might yak because I tracked a ball in the outfield no more than 8 MINUTES AGO (I'm so freaking out of shape it makes me sick), and the 5 beers and half a large pizza I downed before the game are playing games with my stomach and esophagus. Concentrate. Whatever you do don't swing and miss. I dig my back foot in. I'm not comfortable stepping in the canyon someone else dug into the ground so I've set up right in front of it. Whatever you do don't step back in that hole and fall down. I angle my foot toward the pitcher. I feel it gives me better ability to drive to the ball and not fall away from it. My feet are now set. Now.....let's take a look at the rest of the stance. Hunched over? Nah....I'm pretty straight up and down. I feel balanced. Elbows up so I can make a decent swing no matter where the pitch is. Got the bat angled toward the pitcher to help me keep from undercutting the ball and popping up to the shortstop. Ready to rock n roll. The pitcher releases the ball. Don't miss it you asshole. Seems a little flat....is it too flat? Will it hit the mat if I don't swing and I'm stuck with a stupid strike? You don't need that pressure, just swing, and don't freaking miss it. I take my stride to the ball, my bat flattens (idiot!), my elbows are too low (come on....we just talked about this!) and I'm dangerously close to letting my foot fall back into the canyon (broken ankle here I come). I make contact with the ball. It's shit. Pop up to the shortstop. Nice swing you asshole. You should have just missed it.
Unleash It
Hands are still sweating from that at-bat I just messed up. We only scored one run that inning. Crap. Needed to be better. Gotta hold them. No errors. Whatever you do don't drop the ball. If it comes to you don't drop the ball. You can't do anything if you drop THAT FREAKING BALL. Let's see...how should I play this guy? He's hit the ball all over the park tonight. He watches. He figures it out. He puts the ball in places where you can't get to it. He's gonna do it again too. Dammit. I'll force him to hit it to my left. There's a man on second who isn't too fast, one out, fly ball and it's a judgment call on whether or not he's tagging up and going to third. If I force the batter to hit to my left and put it more toward right field that will give the runner a little confidence. But he's still hosed....just don't drop the ball. The pitch is a little inside....uh oh. The batter is either going to try to pull it and put it right at me or he's going to try to slice it and pop it up a little. If he pops up, and doesn't get it out far enough, I'm golden. Boom! Works to a charm. Don't drop the ball! I'm in a perfect spot. Ranging to my left I get behind the ball. I'm not the best at approaching a ball with any pace because I'm afraid I'm going to DROP THE BALL. I'll just camp out a little and maybe start to make an approach at the last second. Caught. Phew. Barely. Don't drop it now though. Don't ruin it. It's just far enough that the runner has the confidence to run on me. Feet are ok, arm's a little tingly, hands a little sweaty, but I've got it. Put a good throw on and he's nailed. You've got a great glove at third who will bail you out if the throw at least beats him there. I'm online. I've got enough behind it. He's hosed. Out by a step and a half. That hurt. If you would have dropped it your arm wouldn't feel dead now. Come on! Nice throw....but come on!
No comments:
Post a Comment