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goyard
217 Posts |
 Posted - 09/28/2009 : 08:39:12
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| Seeing more young players using an open stance at the plate drawing closed at time of delivery or prior to swing. Thoughts out there toward open verse closed stance at the plate? Is there a natural tendancy to draw closed prior to the swing if you start front foot open and does it alleviate a player from flying open? How about the height at which he lifts or "slides" his front foot back closed ....any impact there? I know a closed stance can be too closed making it harder to hit the inside pitch as well. Are there situations in this wide open front foot stance where the batters leave themselves open or don't get the foot back over and down in time. I am a believer that hitters may have their own unique swing and stance...just curious of afvantages or disadvantages here? |
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Alter-Ego
802 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2009 : 08:59:38
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It's all about the timing mechanism and seeing the ball better. The biggest advantage to starting with an open stance is you can focus both eyes on the pitcher, better, as you are facing them more directly. However, the caution is getting the foot back down in plenty of time to start the hips and hands. It's the same issue for the big step on a normal stance. While it may generate more power, it makes it more difficult to time pitches and potentially get fooled on off-speed pitches.
In my opinion, one of the primary requirements for using an open stance is having very fast hands. Otherwise anything tailing in will jam you.
It can help alleviate the "stepping in the bucket" issue, though, because your momentum is carrying you into the plate, not away from it.
I guess it is like anything, it has to be right for the individual. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2009 : 09:15:19
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| My son uses this stance. He had traditionally had a problem with consistently being out in front of the ball and trying to pull everything. He was very suseptible to off speed pitches. We are using this to slow down the process a little and get him to step in in an attempt to keep his front shoulder closed. I think if you had a kid that was consistently late on the fastball, it would not be a good idea. It really all depends on the individual and what his strengths and weaknesses are. |
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loveforthegame25
448 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2009 : 13:14:21
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| dont matter where you start its where you are when your about to swing |
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NoDaddyBall
19 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 06:36:58
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| My son was struggling at the beginning of last season. I took him to a new batting instructor and, after watching his swing, tried him with an open stance. His batting average shot up right away. A second factor for him that also increased is his ability to hit an outside pitch to right field consistently. If a pitch is outside, he will hit it to the right side. He told me he is seeing the ball much better now. By the way, he does wear sports goggles. I think that in the closed stance he was not able to see the pitchers motion or the ball through the lens of his glasses. He would have to wait until the ball got to closer to the plate and in his corrected vision before he could pick it up to swing. |
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goyard
217 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 12:26:31
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| BBALLMAN & NODADDY - was this a short smooth transition to adapt to for your sons or was it a tough transition starting open? Are they really open or subtle? |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 15:02:49
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quote:
Originally posted by goyard
BBALLMAN & NODADDY - was this a short smooth transition to adapt to for your sons or was it a tough transition starting open? Are they really open or subtle?
Pretty easy really. Although we have done a lot of BP before taking it to the game. Needs to become a part of "muscle memory". Not sure I would just have him do it for his next at bat during the game, but do a bunch of BP - including T work, soft toss and BP from behind a screen - before he takes it to a game. |
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clg003
79 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 15:42:19
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| If they are doing something that puts them in a bad position at trigger time then you must make adjustments. But if whatever they are doing allows them to get to the correct trigger point then it doesn’t matter, some can change this and that to emphasize or exaggerate certain things but all in all it only changes focus. The main point is where you are at right before you pull the trigger. It’s like a pitching coach going to the mound and making up something the pitcher is doing wrong just to get them to change their focus. Believe me if one was better than the other than you would see every major leaguer doing it one way. If one way is better than the other than how did Gary Sheffield or Craig Counsel ever make it to the majors. Let them do what they want to add to their game a little of their own style and focus on post trigger pull fundamentals. |
Edited by - clg003 on 09/29/2009 21:23:25 |
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NoDaddyBall
19 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 20:41:18
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| My son took to it immediately. We had a tournament a few days later and his batting average started up that tournament. It only took him another week in the cage and he was totally comfortable with the new stance. My son is very coachable and he will do his best in whatever is asked of him. He was struggling so badly at the plate and he really wanted to fix it. We did a ton of tee, soft toss and batting cage work. I am fortunate to have a full sized batting cage so that part was just putting in the time with him. |
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bambino_dad
119 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2009 : 18:44:41
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I've found weaknesses with both approaches. Having tried both the closed and open stances with my son - we've settled on a comfortable even stance. The closed stance kept his shoulder from flying open and increased his oppo power, but the down and in fastballs weren't getting ripped like they should have. The open stance allowed him to put two eyes on the ball and read the seams much better than closed, but the down and away pitches weren't being taken to opposite field with the kind of power he needed.
The even stance allows him to attack both low and away and down and in pitch zones and hit the ball hard. The away pitches are hit away and the "in" pitches are pulled. His hitting coach has endorsed it and so far this Fall the results have been very good.
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Open vs Closed at the plate
