Friday, May 4, 2012

the last book I ever read (The Complete Game, excerpt five)



from Ron Darling's The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball and the Art of Pitching:

Mets catcher Brian Schneider called for a fastball down and in, but to a left-handed hitter that's the danger zone. You're better off coming in belt-high or higher against a lefty. Generally, there's one exception to this rule, and I learned it from Mel Stottlemyre: when the batter happens to be a natural right-hander. In this case, the right arm is dominant, which means the bottom hand on the bat is stronger as it comes through the zone, in a powerful backhand motion, so when you assemble a book on a left-handed hitter you need to know how he throws as well. Normally, the stronger hand is on top and can only guide the bat through the hitting zone; when your bottom hand is your lead hand, you're better able to drive a ball that's up in the zone, so this is where the pitcher will do well to keep that ball down and in.

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