What's up guys, Coach Madden, YouGoProBaseball.com and I'm here again with Matt Antonelli, Major
League Hitter for the Padres Organization.
We came up in the Padres Organization together.
Also, he has a YouTube Channel, Antonelli Baseball so be sure to check that out.
He's got a ton of great information over there.
But today we're going to talk about, he's going to talk about, how to hit a slower pitcher
or a junk ball pitcher because I see a lot of young players, they actually hit better
off of the fast guys sometimes.
But when they get that guy that's throwing a little bit slower, under hitting speed,
you know they say, or throwing that junk, they just struggle.
What are some things a guy can do to have better success against a slow pitcher or a
junk ball pitcher?
Sure.
So, there's a couple of ways.
I think the first thing starts when you're not even in the batter's box.
So it starts from the dugout.
Just identifying what does the pitcher throw?
Is he somebody that's going to try to get you out with a whole lot of off speed or just
throws a lot slower than maybe the previous guy or other guys that you've faced.
So knowing that, having an understanding before you even get here.
Ok what does this guy throw?
What's my game plan?
How am I going to prepare for that?
Then when you get to the on deck circle, it's really really important to now get in sync
with the pitcher.
So I'm not going to get in sync with a guy that throws 92 the same way that I'm going
to get in sync with a guy that throws 62.
I just can't do it.
So I'm trying to pretty much dance with the pitcher and I need to understand when am I
going to get started, when am I going to get my foot off the ground?
If a guy is not throwing hard, I'm going to get ready later.
If a guy is throwing really really fast, I've got to get ready earlier.
So I have to have an idea of when I'm going to get ready and you don't do that here, you
do that on the on deck circle.
So I'm there and I'm just mimicking an at bat and I'm saying ok I'm watching this pitcher
go through his wind up and I'm saying "alright, when do I have to get my foot up in the air?
Let's get it up now..." and then you look at it and go "ohhh I was a little bit late
there".
I'm trying to get my foot down when that ball is about half way to the plate.
That's when I'm trying to get ready to launch my swing.
So I do it "ohhh I was late there", or "oh man I'm way too early", I'm just sitting there
and the ball is not even close to half way.
Ok now I've got to try a little bit later.
So you're doing that there so that when you get in the box, now I'm ready to go.
Now I don't have to take a pitch.
Most guys get up here and they go "ok let's time the pitcher here and ohhh I'm way too
early", strike one and now you're already behind in the count.
So I do all that stuff back there.
So that's the first thing.
The first adjustment is that I have to get ready differently against a slow guy than
a fast guy.
Once I figure that out, the other thing I think helps is when you get ready to hit and
the things that I talk about are getting pulled back.
So as I'm moving forward, I'm pulling back this way.
That keeps me centered and balanced.
What you see with most kids when they face somebody that throws slow, you see this right
here.
They go and "ohhhh" and they can't stop themselves, everything gets forward too much.
Because they're used to just "ok I'm on time for that hard thrower and I'm never going
to be too far forward, I'll hit it, but if I do the same thing off a guy who throws slow
and nothing keeps me back, well then I can't stop myself and I'm just out over my front
foot".
You see that in 90% of swings when all of a sudden they throw in the guy that throws
nothing but breaking balls.
So what I need to feel is, as I'm getting ready to hit and as I'm striding, this move
right here, this pulling back action keeps me back.
So if I don't have that, I get forward.
My hands comes forward, everything comes forward.
I can't stay on any slow pitching.
But if I pull back as I'm moving forward, so I'm loading my upper body is literally
loading as I'm striding forward, well now if it's slower, I can stay back here.
You've heard before "you've got to keep your hands back" right, slow pitchers you've got
to keep your hands back.
Well, it's not just keep them back.
I can't just push them back here because they're still going to want to come forward.
I've got to pull back.
This keeps me back until I want to swing.
If I don't have that, I can do everything else right, you can throw 100 different things
at me and I'm not going to be able to hit slow pitching.
I've got to be able to be on time by working it in the dugout or in the on deck circle,
in combination with being pulled back so that I don't get over my front foot, I stay balanced
and now all of a sudden, I can drive the ball, and hit the ball much much better off of slow
pitching.
We call that in pitching the separation.
We want good separation in pitching and for hitting too.
So once you get that separation just keeping it back there so you don't get out front.
That's a great piece of advice.
Now from a pitching perspective, if I see a guy who I get out in front, maybe I throw
a slider and I see him way out in front, guess what I'm throwing that next pitch?
Something lower and slower until he makes an adjustment.
So as a hitter I would say you've got to make those adjustments with the pitcher because
he's kind of going off what he just saw from you.
So it's almost like a chess game.
Absolutely.
Playing the chess game and seeing who's going to make the adjustment quicker and be able
to come out on top.
One other question I've got for you or maybe it can be perceived as a tip from those viewing
it, in general as a hitter what are you looking for in a 2-0 count?
So this depends a little bit again on the level that you're at.
So the higher you get, the more information you get, and once you start getting tons of
information, you know we talked about I didn't spend a ton of time with the Major Leagues
but when you're in the Major Leagues, you know, you have a really good idea of everything
this guys is going to throw.
You get percentages before the game.
They say in a 2-0 count the guy throws 94% two seam fastballs or 52 whatever.
That's kind of how you put your game plan together.
So if you're at a high level and you have the information, then use that information.
But for most players, they don't have that information so what you do, again it goes
back to the dugout, when I'm sitting there I'm watching all the hitters, if I'm a righty,
I'm watching all the other righty hitters on my team.
If I'm a small guy, I'm watching all the other small guys and I'm saying "ok how is this
pitcher attacking this guy?".
Because if you're at a level where there is not much information, that you don't have
that much information on him, he doesn't have a whole lot of information on you, so pitchers
will say "ok here's a big guy, right handed hitter, big guy, hits in the 4 hole" you're
probably going to pitch him like you would most big guys that hit in the middle of the
line up.
So if you pick a guy that's similar to you, now all of a sudden you say "ok now let's
see how the pitcher is going to attack this guy".
Oh and 2-0 this guy always, every time, 2-0, he throws a breaking ball, breaking ball,
breaking ball.
Well if I have that information, I have enough of it, then I could sit breaking ball if I
want to.
Ok that's probably getting a little advanced but if you do enough paying attention.
You know a lot of kids just sit in there and they got their soda drinks and their pop corn
and stuff and nobody is watching anything and then you go to the plate and it's 2-0
and you're like "I don't know, I guess I'll just see the ball and hit it, right?"
that's akldjflkajdlks see the ball and hit it.
But if you pay attention, you're a student of the game, now you can start to put together
a game plan.
Now if you don't have any of that stuff, what I always kind of revert back to is, I want
to try to get on my pitch.
So if I have no idea, I've never seen this guy before, no one else on my team is like
me, I don't know what he's going to throw, typically we tell guys to get on the fastball
because we practice hitting fastballs every single day.
Some teams practice hitting breaking balls but 95 to 100% of your work is going to be
on fastballs, most guys hit that best.
So at that point, 2-0, it's my pitch, I'm sitting fastball where I want it.
It differs a little bit but most guys are going to be somewhere in the middle chunk
of the plate about waist high, I'm sitting on fastball, I'm anticipating I'm going to
get a fastball, I'm getting ready to hit it.
We say yes yes no approach.
So I'm thinking yes yes yes if it's there then I'm rolling yes "boom" and then I whack
it and I hopefully hit a double.
If it's not there, if it's not my fastball right there, I'm thinking yes yes yes oh it's
not there all of a sudden I just slam on the brakes and say no and again it can be a strike.
It can be here or here but it's not the pitch that I'm looking for 2-0.
I just say no.
Now it's 2-1.
I say good pitch and now we go back to thinking about what the situation calls for next.
That's a great way to think about it to especially for a junk ball pitcher or slower pitcher
is having that yes yes no approach because then you're always ready for those junk ball
guys who are throwing stuff out of the zone, you're going to be able to hold back.
You're still going to be ready for the pitch, for the fastball, but you're going to be able
to hold back on off speed.
So if you don't know about yes yes no, you have a video on your channel about that.
I do.
So head on over there and watch that video because it's a good one.
I've seen it before.
Of course you've got to go check out his channel in general because there's a bunch of great
hitting information, a bunch of baseball information.
You want to get the information out of this guy's head.
He's a Major League Hitter, Major League Middle Infielder, so go over there and check it out,
subscribe.
Oooop, you ok?