In
Selective Hitting, the motivation for selective hitting was described, and the strike zone and hitting zone were defined. If your scorebook shows a player is hitting the ball weakly and rarely getting walked, then this is a strong indication that the batter needs to develop a selective hitting technique. Although the strike zone is from the knees to armpits based on the natural batter's stance, the pitches a batter should swing at are defined by his hitting zone (the area encompassing two or three baseballs centered on his sweet spot).
In Part 2, the concept of adjusting the hitting zone based on the pitch count, fielder location, and the batter situation will be discussed.
Expansion and contraction of the hitting zone based on the ball / strike count
The smallest hitting zone is when the batter has a "hitter's count." Hitter's counts are 0-0 (0 balls and 0 strikes), 2-0, 3-0, and 3-1. These are the counts when a pitcher is more prone to make a mistake or throw a pitch near the middle of the plate. The hitting zone that applies in this case is two baseballs wide by two baseballs high centered around the hitter's sweet spot. These counts are the hardest to teach to be patient, especially if the pitch is high in the strike zone or around the batter's eyes. The batter must be selective and only swing at pitches within his preferred zone, even if it means he takes a strike.
The hitting zone expands slightly if the batter is behind in the count but has less than two strikes. When the count is 0-1, 1-1, or 2-1, the hitting zone should be expanded to three baseballs wide by three baseballs high centered on the sweet spot. Using this slightly expanded zone is sometimes described as being "selectively aggressive" because, even with the expansion, the batter is only looking for pitches that cover about half the strike zone. The object is to aggressively attack any pitch within the preferred zone and let the pitch go by if it is outside the zone. Even if the pitch is a strike, the batter is still guaranteed at least one more pitch.
With two strikes, the hitting zone is expanded to ½ a baseball larger than the umpire's strike zone. The reason for expanding beyond the strike zone is that umpires are human beings and make mistakes. With two strikes, the batter must protect the plate. At this time the batter's objective is to either foul the ball off if it is slightly out of the strike zone (in hopes of getting a better pitch next time) or make solid contact to put the ball in play.
Teaching young batters their hitting zones and having them consistently apply them will improve their hitting success and confidence and is a good way to put them in charge of their time at bat. We have successfully taught 10, 11, and 12 year old players this concept.
Adjusting the hitting zone based on the game situation
An advanced application of selective hitting is adjusting the hitting zone based on the location of the outfielders or if there is a base runner with less than two outs. This adjustment is not just an expansion of the strike zone around the sweet spot but may include shifting the hitting zone. Adjusting the hitting zone based on the situation requires ten times the effort and practice so it is best to start developing this at the U13 and U14 level.
Fielders' location: It is common for an opposing coach to shift the outfield based on a batter's physical characteristics or perceived bat speed. The physically bigger players are supposedly pull hitters and physically smaller hitters are opposite field hitters. If a batter pulls a foul ball, the outfield shifts. If the batter fouls a ball off the opposite field foul line, the outfield shifts. If an opposing coach shifts the fielders in such a manner, it creates an opening for the batter to get an extra base hit by hitting the ball to the field that the outfielders shifted away from. 
If the fielders shift, then the batter's hitting zone shifts as well. If the fielders shift position, expecting the batter to pull the ball, then the hitting zone shifts to the outside part of the plate so the hitter can drive the ball in to the opposite field. The hitter's sweet spot does not shift, just the two (or three) ball hitting zone moves so that the sweet spot is in the middle but on the inner part of the hitting zone. If the fielders shift, expecting the batter to hit to the opposite field, then the hitter's sweet spot moves to the middle, outer side of the hitting zone. See Figure 3.
The hitting zone also shifts back on the plate when hitting an outside pitch to the opposite field. The key is to let the ball get "deeper" into the strike zone, by about twelve inches, before the swing starts. From tee-ball on up, coaches are telling the batter to extend his arms and hit the ball in front of the plate, which is correct except when a player is in a situation where he wants to drive the ball to the opposite field.
The difference between pulling a pitch and hitting a ball to the opposite field is a miniscule amount of time. If the pitcher is throwing a 65mph fastball, this translates into waiting an extra 1/100th of a second [2] before the batter swings. Fine tuning a batter's swing to this level requires player maturity and a lot of practice.
Base runner on first or second with less than two outs: The objective is for the batter to hit the ball to the right side of the field so that the base runner has a chance to reach third base on a base hit or fly ball to right field. This means a right handed batter needs to hit the ball to the opposite field and left handed batter needs to pull the ball. The hitting zone shifts towards right field. The batter's sweet spot is now on the left hand side of the hitting zone. See Figure 3.
Runner on third with less than two outs: In this scenario, the batter is looking for a pitch they can hit into the outfield so the runner on third can tag and get home. The hitting zone remains centered around the batter's sweet spot but the batter is selective by waiting for a fastball that he can hit hard and in the air to the outfield for either a base hit or a fly out. As long as the outfielder does not field the ball while running toward home, the base runner on third should be able to score.
Drills will focus on effective practice drills and the results from players and teams who have worked to develop selective hitters.
[2]
D 12 in (change in contact point) = 1 foot / ( (5280 ft / mi) * (65 mi / hr) * (1 hr / 3600 sec) ~ 0.01 sec ~ 1/100 sec
If you've enjoyed reading this post then please subscribe to my full text RSS feed.