Derek Jeter's Approach to Hitting
Have you ever wondered why Derek Jeter is known to hit with power to the opposite field?
The answer lies in the nature of hitting.
Go to batting practice before any major league baseball game and you will realize something pretty quickly: all big league ball players can hit fastballs with accuracy and power.
During batting practice, hitters know which pitches are coming, so timing is not a problem.
During live games, good pitchers use a mix of fastballs and off speed pitches to throw batters off, to keep them guessing.
For example, as a batter, if you were to expect a fastball but the pitcher throws a curveball, you would most likely be way ahead with your swing. The result would be a complete miss or a poorly hit ball.
Conversely, if you were to expect a curveball and the pitcher throws a fastball, you would most likely swing late and miss the ball.
Very few players have enough arm and wrist strength to look for an offspeed pitch but then to catch up to a fastball. Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds are two such players.
Derek Jeter does NOT have enough bat speed to sit on an offspeed pitch and catch up to a fastball. Assuming that the fastball is in the high 80s or 90s.
So what Derek does is he purposefully sits on a fastball every single time, and has the mindset of driving it up the middle or to right field.
In other words, Jeter has the intention of hitting fastballs a little late, so that he doesn't pull it into left field.
Why does Jeter do this?
Because if the pitcher throws an offspeed pitch, he can be early with his swing and the ball is likely to stay in left field instead of being pulled foul.
Since Jeter is always trying to swing a bit late to drive the ball up the middle or to right field, it's easier for him than most players to hit offspeed pitches into left field without pulling foul.
Hope that makes sense.
Derek Jeter is one smart player. Great instincts matched with effort and a good melon - these are the attributes that make him a great all around ball player.
- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com
The answer lies in the nature of hitting.
Go to batting practice before any major league baseball game and you will realize something pretty quickly: all big league ball players can hit fastballs with accuracy and power.
During batting practice, hitters know which pitches are coming, so timing is not a problem.
During live games, good pitchers use a mix of fastballs and off speed pitches to throw batters off, to keep them guessing.
For example, as a batter, if you were to expect a fastball but the pitcher throws a curveball, you would most likely be way ahead with your swing. The result would be a complete miss or a poorly hit ball.
Conversely, if you were to expect a curveball and the pitcher throws a fastball, you would most likely swing late and miss the ball.
Very few players have enough arm and wrist strength to look for an offspeed pitch but then to catch up to a fastball. Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds are two such players.
Derek Jeter does NOT have enough bat speed to sit on an offspeed pitch and catch up to a fastball. Assuming that the fastball is in the high 80s or 90s.
So what Derek does is he purposefully sits on a fastball every single time, and has the mindset of driving it up the middle or to right field.
In other words, Jeter has the intention of hitting fastballs a little late, so that he doesn't pull it into left field.
Why does Jeter do this?
Because if the pitcher throws an offspeed pitch, he can be early with his swing and the ball is likely to stay in left field instead of being pulled foul.
Since Jeter is always trying to swing a bit late to drive the ball up the middle or to right field, it's easier for him than most players to hit offspeed pitches into left field without pulling foul.
Hope that makes sense.
Derek Jeter is one smart player. Great instincts matched with effort and a good melon - these are the attributes that make him a great all around ball player.
- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com
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