When is the last time you saw a truly great Lead-Off Hitter in action? I'm not talking about a guy batting in the lead-off spot. I'm talking about a Brett Butler. I'm talking about a Lead-Off hitter who bunts, runs, takes pitches, draws throws, uses his legs as a weapon, turns walk into doubles and keeps the ball out of the air. Anyone...Anyone...Bueller...Bueller...
Exactly. Kids don't want to be this player anymore. They all want to DROP BOMBS. Unfortunately though, if you talk to scouts, power is a precious commodity (especially left-handed power)(in other words, not everyone has it).
A great tablesetter can change everything. Did you know most pitchers lose 2 mph off their fastball as soon as they go to the stretch? Did you also know it takes most pitchers 2 pitches to make the adjustment from moving from the windup to the stretch? (check this out the next time you're watching a big league game...the first hitter once the pitchers moves to the stretch almost always has a 2-0 count) Did you know most pitchers tend to rush to the plate causing their pitch to move from the unhittable "high rent" district (meaning they'll make lots of money if they pitch down there) to the "low rent" district (waisthigh...the place where extra base hits are born) once a base-stealing threat is on base?
There are college scholarships out there for kids like this. Only this kid, like the bald eagle, became an endangered species many years ago. And the main culprit...ESPN. I'll explain more tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment