by Tom Robson from The Hitting Edge

Recognition of pitches is as much a pre-swing mental exercise as a physical event in the batter's box. These thoughts are from a 12 year Major League hitting coach, Tom Robson.


While waiting on deck, try to time the pitch. Visualize the types of pitches the pitcher throws (a change-up, a big curve ball, a good fastball, etc.). If you have an idea as to what the pitcher features, you will be ready for any pitch.

In the batter's box, keep your head and eyes stable. Your posture should be strong. Your eyes should stay level to the ground as you take your approach. You try to recognize the pitch. To get the best possible view of the ball, it is best to have both eyes on the pitcher and his release point. Keep your eyes parallel to the ground during your approach. You should not start out as a 6-foot 2-inch hitter and end up as a 5-foot 9-inch hitter because of a severe downward head movement.

A good hitter gets into an early rhythm. This gives him a split second longer to recognize the pitch, leading him to make better decisions and attack only strikes.

Recognition occurs while the hitter is in motion. This is a key point. You cannot be afraid of movement. Moving in a slow rhythm is more efficient than jumping and lunging at pitches. We know this because scientific measurements taken by Bio-Kinetics show that the head does move during the stride and again during the swing. Normally, the head moves 8 to 10 inches during the stride and 3 to 4 inches during the swing. [See WebBall note below] These movements are acceptable as long as the hitter's posture stays intact. Because of the time factor, the hitter has to see and recognize the pitch as he's getting ready. He has only a few tenths of a second before the ball is on top of the plate and he has to attack.

One small thing that helps hitters recognize pitches is anticipating strikes. You don't have time to wait, see what kind of pitch it is, and then say to yourself, "Okay, it's a fastball away. I'm going to hit it." You have to anticipate that the ball is going to be in the strike zone and therefore you're going to swing on this pitch. Say to yourself, "I'm going to swing. No doubt. He's coming to me. Let's go." The only thing that should stop your swing is if the ball is not in the strike zone or if it isn't where you want it to be.

You have to anticipate that it's going to be a strike. You cannot wait to see the ball first and then react to it. That's old school. Many hitters are called guess hitters because they try to guess what pitch will be thrown and attack it with their best swing. A guess hitter is actually one who anticipates a certain pitch but reacts to any other pitch if the pitcher makes a mistake and leaves the ball up or in the middle of the plate. A hitter who anticipates fastball and times a fastball can still attack a bad or hanging breaking ball.

Clear your mind of all outside thoughts. Think this pitch, this moment. As I discussed in chapter 2, it doesn't matter if the bases are loaded in the bottom of the ninth and you have a full count. A hitter must be able to clear his mind and recognize correctly. This pitch, this moment has to be a part of your game plan and in your mind at all times.

Recognition leads to good decisions. The better a hitter's pitch recognition, the better decisions he's going to make as to which pitches to attack - he'll attack only strikes. When you see a hitter swing at a slider in the dirt or a pitch over his head, believe me, he wasn't trying to hit that bouncing slider or that pitch up high. He was trying to hit a pitch that for a split second he thought was going to be a strike over the plate. The more time a hitter has to recognize the pitch, the better his eyes will work, resulting in better decisions. The saying "see the ball, hit the ball" has been around baseball for years. It is the simplest of all instructions, but good hitters want better information.

After the ball is thrown, early identification - recognition - is probably the most important factor in hitting. Remember that you hit what you see, not what is thrown. The eyes will provide most, if not all, of the critical information your body requires to achieve any task. Everything you do in sports begins with what you see and how you perceive what is going on around you. Hitting a moving baseball will be the most difficult task the body is asked to perform.

A comment from WebBall: We agree with everything said in this article by Tom Robson except his implication that head movement is okay. If you read about Visual Perception, you'll realize that any head movement can interfere with tracking the ball. What Robson is saying is that head movement happens - part of the reality of many swings. True. But it is something you should try to resist if you need to improve your tracking ability.